December 30, 2025 – Upchurch Watson White & Max is pleased to announce that mediators Robin A. Blanton, Sheri L. Critelli, Vincent M. D’Assaro and Michael A. Weiss have been inducted into the Florida Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals for 2026. Their selection follows the Academy’s peer-vote review and due-diligence client interviews conducted in recent weeks.

NADN is an invitation-only association of experienced civil mediators and arbitrators recognized by their peers and clients for excellence in alternative dispute resolution. Membership is limited to a small percentage of full-time civil neutrals in each state and reflects both depth of trial experience and a sustained commitment to high-quality ADR services.

These four inductees bring decades of combined litigation and mediation experience to UWWM’s panel:

• Robin A. Blanton had been a civil trial lawyer in Vero Beach for more than 40 years and now serves as a full-time mediator and arbitrator. A Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator and Qualified Arbitrator, he is also a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and longtime member and past president of the Palm Beach Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. His practice as a neutral draws on extensive jury trial experience in personal injury, wrongful death, commercial and insurance-related disputes.
• Sheri L. Critelli is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator, Qualified Arbitrator, and Certified U.S. District Court Mediator for the Middle District of Florida. Before joining UWWM as a full-time neutral throughout Florida, she spent 34 years as a civil trial lawyer representing individuals, corporations, and insurers. She specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, premises liability, negligent security, commercial litigation, construction defect, malpractice, property damage, insurance disputes, and sexual assault and battery. During her career, she litigated thousands of cases across Florida and participated in approximately 100 jury trials. Her psychology degree and extensive litigation background give her the ability to relate to and empathize with litigants.
• Vincent M. D’Assaro, who mediates from UWWM’s Orlando office and throughout Florida, has been a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator since 2005 and now devotes his professional time exclusively to dispute resolution. Over more than 40 years as a litigator in Georgia and Florida, he handled civil defense matters and later catastrophic injury cases for plaintiffs, trying well over 100 cases to verdict. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and longtime member of ABOTA. His mediation practice includes personal injury and wrongful death, trucking, premises liability, negligent security, dram shop and construction-related disputes and other areas of practice.
• Michael A. Weiss, based in South Florida, has been a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator since 2015 and is also a Certified Arbitrator. He began his legal career defending personal injury and medical malpractice claims and later represented only injured plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death matters, including automobile accidents, funeral home and cemetery abuse, medical malpractice, premises liability and insurance disputes. His balanced experience representing both sides for over 30 years comes across in his mediation practice that regularly addresses high-stakes injury, insurance and property disputes.

The four mediators’ Academy listings will appear on the Florida Chapter roster and the NADN national roster, as well as in the national defense bar’s neutral directory.

For more information about these and other UWWM mediators, or to schedule a matter, visit www.uww-adr.com.