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For the most current information and to coordinate or schedule, contact Ellen L. Leesfield's case manager:
Erika Vanyi
Email:
Toll-Free:
(800) 264-2622
Phone:
(305) 266-1224
Please feel free to use our convenient, interactive calendar to schedule your next appointment.
Schedule NowLocation:
One Biscayne Tower
2 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 2030
Miami, FL 33131
Phone:
(305) 226-1224
Direct:
(800) 264-2622
Email:
Retired Judge Ellen L. Leesfield has been Mediating and Arbitrating since she left the Miami-Dade Circuit Court Bench – where she served as an Administrative Chief, a Judge in the Civil Lengthy and Complex Trial Division, and a Judge in the General and Criminal Divisions – in 2013.
As a Judge, she presided over hundreds of trials, including the civil trial against the government of Cuba for the execution of an American businessman; the trial of the infamous “Spider Man Cat Burglar” and countless Commercial, Professional Malpractice, Products Liability, Construction, Employment, Partnership, Franchise and Real Estate cases.
She joins Upchurch Watson White & Max after 10 years as president of her own Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, serving as a mediator, arbitrator, private judge, and umpire. During her years in this practice, she arbitrated over 150 cases and mediated nearly 1,000 cases including Business Disputes, Construction, Employment, Franchise, Health Care and Insurance Disputes “Payor/Payee," Personal Injury, Products Liability, and Real Estate. Her settlement rate is extraordinary. Ellen also served as special master in a hotly litigated dispute brought by the Miccosukee Indians and positioned it for final resolution.
As a panel member of the American Arbitration Association, Ellen has been admitted to the distinguished International Panel, as well as the Healthcare Panel, the Lengthy Complex Commercial Panel, the Employment Panel, and the General Civil Panel.
Ellen has been honored with numerous awards including the Judge Steve Levine Award for Integrity, Fairness and Professionalism; the Justice Gerald Kogan Judicial Distinction Award; and the Judge Mattie Belle Davis Award for Community Service. Throughout her tenure on the bench, she trained incoming judges at the Florida Judicial College and her colleagues at judicial conferences. She also taught for over 10 years at the University of Miami Litigation Skills Program.
J.D. ~ Nova Law School (with Honors)
Undergraduate ~ University of Florida (with Honors)