Family Law

• Divorce
  A: A collaborative divorce is a non-adversarial divorce process designed to avoid the hostility traditionally associated with divorce proceedings. In a collaborative divorce, attorneys for both sides enter into a binding agreement to withdraw as counsel if the spouses are unable to agree to mutual terms of divorce. By proceeding in a non-adversarial manner, a collaborative divorce aims to protect the privacy of the divorcing couple as well as better fit their individual needs by independently reaching a mutual agreement instead of through a final order of a judge. A collaborative divorce may include enlisting the help of specialists in mental health, children, and finance in order to assist the attorneys and their clients on the way to a satisfactory agreement.
• Child Support
  Our firm is here to support and guide you through the difficult family issues you face. A family crisis may become a legal matter, but it doesn’t have to become a legal crisis. Our experience in child support, child custody, divorce (dissolution of marriage), guardianship, and modifications of divorce agreements and decrees makes NeJame Law’s family lawyers effective advocates; our compassion makes us a source of support and well-grounded advice.
• Child Custody and Visitation
  Although having represented lenders and developers, and construction companies for years, Ken Morse has concentrated in the last 15 years on divorce and family law, representing many high profile clients and professionals, both husbands and wives in complex divorces, involving real estate and businesses. He has developed a network of experts necessary to the practice of family law such as child custody evaluators, mental health professionals, business evaluators, accountants, and guardian ad litem to protect the children. His experience is broad in divorce, child custody, child support and alimony modification, and parental relocation.
• Guardianship
• Spousal Support
  When you’re involved in a divorce, custody battle, or alimony and support modification action, you want timely answers to your questions. Because emotions can run so high in family law matters, it’s crucial that you obtain professional and objective legal representation from an experienced Orlando family law attorney. If retained as your attorneys, NeJame Law can take the time to explain the issues in your case, the applicable law, the various options available to you, and possible outcomes. Armed with this knowledge, you can then make the best possible decisions about your case and your future.
• Child Abuse

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Chelsea Simmons earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida (2005) and her J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law (2008). Ms. Simmons is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law, a distinction from the Florida Bar in recognition of her experience and professionalism in the courtroom. Less than 1% of all attorneys in Florida are board-certified in criminal law.
• DUI/DWI
  “We live in Texas and went to Orlando for Christmas break. Police stopped us and unfairly charged my son with DUI. Not knowing anybody in Orlando we felt lost and scared!” - S.J.
• Wrongful Death
• Traffic Violations
  After being stopped for speeding at over 100 mph, the client performed field sobriety exercises. The police testified that the client failed the exercises and refused a breath test.
• Sex Crimes
  Ms. Simmons has represented thousands of clients facing a wide range of charges, from traffic cases to sex crimes, robbery, and murder. Ms. Simmons is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law, a distinction from the Florida Bar in recognition of her experience and professionalism in the courtroom.
• Fraud
  Scheme(s) to Defraud (including, but not limited to: insurance fraud, forgery of checks, uttering a forgery, false verification of ownership to a pawnbroker, unemployment compensation fraud, public assistance fraud, etc.)
• Robbery
  The client was arrested for stealing from Home Depot and struggling with security guards. The State charged one count of Robbery and filed for mandatory sentencing of 15 years in the event of a conviction.
• Burglary
• White Collar Crimes
  Michael has handled many state and federal cases involving Drug Trafficking, White Collar Crimes, cases involving wiretaps, Murder, DUI’s and DUI manslaughter, conspiracy cases of all kinds, pill mill cases, Medicaid and Medicare fraud, organized fraud, wire and mail fraud cases along with lower-level circuit and county court charges. Michael LaFay prides himself on dedicating his time to researching issues to help his client’s cases be successful. Michael’s impressive trial outcomes are definitely one that very few defense attorneys can touch.
• Theft
• Misdemeanors
  After law school, Pausha Taghdiri decided to attain crucial trial experience and chose to work as an Assistant State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida serving the citizens of Orange and Osceola County. As an Assistant State Attorney Pausha prosecuted and litigated a vast array of misdemeanor, juvenile and felony cases as well as litigating countless motions and jury trials. Obtaining the trial and courtroom experience that he sought, Pausha left the Office of the State Attorney to join a civil litigation law firm.
• Drug Crimes
  To the people who are seeking a lawyer of action and good results, look no more you have found him. Attorney Eric Barker is a very calm and dedicated council in other words be patient with him he's one of the best. On behalf of the Ulysse family and friends we simply want to say we're grateful to you Attorney Barker for defended our nephew on his drug charges of which you did excellent more than we expected, THANK YOU.
• Assault
  Assault, Aggravated Assault, Battery, Aggravated Battery, Battery by Strangulation, Battery on a Law Enforcement Officers, Resisting an Officer With or Without Violence
• Murder
  During a vacation in Central Florida, the client's wife called 911 and ran screaming from the hotel room covered with blood. The wife was cross-examined for two days and it was conclusively shown that she had concocted the entire crime in order to gain an advantage in divorce court.
• Homicide
  Ms. Simmons has represented thousands of clients facing a wide range of charges, from drug charges to sex crimes, robbery, and murder. She has completed over 85 jury trials, including numerous homicide trials including a death penalty trial, winning a life verdict in the State of Florida vs. Scott Nelson (2019). Prior to joining NeJame Law as a partner, Ms. Simmons specialized in homicide and manslaughter cases, having handled dozens of such cases and being recognized for her expertise in all areas of criminal defense, including complex murder cases and trials. Ms. Simmons is also a member of the Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
• Forgery
• Manslaughter
• Internet Crimes
  If you’d like to file a defamation lawsuit over something said about you online, you need to be represented by a team of lawyers who are experienced in handling internet law cases, as it can be challenging to fight defamation cases posted by people with screen names or anonymous email addresses. Additionally, to have a valid claim you must be able to prove certain elements, as people are generally free to express their own opinions and thoughts online.
• Hit and Run
  Auto accidents: Car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents account for a large amount of the personal injury claims we see. Also, if you’ve been injured in a hit and run accident or were involved in a school bus accident, you can trust us to know how to find the maximum insurance that may be available through the at fault party to compensate you fully for your injuries.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Attorney Diglio-Benkiran handles both litigation cases and transactional matters. Whether it’s non-compete violations, partnership breakups, contract disputes, buying and selling business, drafting or litigating contracts, or dealing with corporate governance matters, she’s been there and done that.
• Business Disputes
  John W. Zielinski was born in Hammond, Indiana in 1961. He attended the University of Illinois, earning his bachelor's degree in 1983 and his Juris doctorate in 1986. Mr. Zielinski has more than 25 years of civil litigation experience, practicing in several jurisdictions, including Florida (2001) and Illinois (1986). Mr. Zielinski litigates disputes in both state and federal courts, including the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States District Courts for the Middle District of Florida. He routinely and successfully litigates civil disputes, including commercial contract disputes, real estate contract and partition actions, commercial landlord/tenant disagreements, mortgage foreclosure cases, and contested wills.
• Intellectual Property

Employment Law

• Wrongful Termination
  Employers and employees are often times confronted with legal issues related to the workplace. Employees may face different types of discrimination and discriminatory practices, including wrongful termination, dealing with a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, on the job defamation, illegal manipulation of time by employers, and denial of leave and benefits.
• Employment Discrimination
  THE MOST brilliant, and dedicated professionals I ever met… the BEST decision of my life (and should be yours too)! I have engaged in a very complex Civil matter with my employer a Celebration-based Cruise Line (a subsidiary of probably the largest entertainment and theme park conglomerate in the world) regarding age discrimination, an extremely hostile workplace, and many other legal matters related to the same. I was referred to NeJame Law by a long-time close friend, a brilliant Attorney “Of Counsel” to NeJame Law, Matthew R. Gross who I admire, trust, and respect. The Honorable Mark NeJame is widely known “to hate bullies” and I was up against some very nasty ones. I was very skeptical because of the size and influence of “the Rat”; however, Attorney Andrew C. Hill was not intimidated by them at all. Attorney Hill worked diligently day and night on my case, I have emails he would send for my review date and time stamped at 02:47 am, he literally worked “around the clock” on my case. He was thorough, prompt, and dedicated to my case and made me feel as though I was his most important client and was always available and accessible to me; even outside normal business hours via. his cell phone and email, Attorney Hill is a tremendous advocate and I cannot over-emphasize enough his total command of the Law – he outsmarted them at every turn. Also, part of the team was John Zielinski another super accomplished attorney whose command of the law left me speechless. I am not a celebrity – I am an everyday working man however I felt as if I had my own “dream team” of Attorneys. If I was a celebrity or multimillionaire the NeJame Law Firm would still be my FIRST and ONLY choice. I turn 50 this year so I have life experience and I have dealt with law firms and attorneys in the past; I can tell you that never in my life have I been so excellently represented. I am compelled to honor the man responsible for it all, the honorable Mark NeJame. While I never had the privilege of meeting him in person he was actively involved in my case and oversaw everything; I don’t know how he does it, with such a large and successful firm, celebrity clients, television expert speaking engagements, charitable work, a family, but he does. He knows the most minute details of every case his firm is handling and the Honorable Mark NeJame (my personal hero) is the culmination of greatness. He hand-selects his Partner attorneys and is active and aware in every case and HE CARES! You see many “talking heads” on television touting the commitment of their firms and their proposed compassion, until I went to NeJame Law I never met a team of dedicated professionals that actually lived up to their hype. The Honorable Mark NeJame is the real deal – he is irreplaceable and Orlando should be proud, grateful and honored that he is a part of our community and despite his phenomenal success he remains grounded and still cares so passionately about his client
• Employment Litigation
  Born in Leesburg, Florida, Rick Smith is a second-generation Floridian and has been litigating for approximately 25 years in North and Central Florida. In 1994, he graduated from the FSU College of Law in Tallahassee and obtained his J.D. with High Honors. From there he practiced law in Jacksonville, Florida at a downtown law firm handling primarily employment lawsuits, criminal defense, and appeals. In 1999, Rick and his family moved to Orlando. He has been dedicated to serving and representing clients throughout Central Florida in a wide array of civil matters including employment disputes, commercial and consumer contract disagreements, product liability and wrongful death matters, premise liability lawsuits, slip and fall, negligent security, automobile, and trucking accident claims, ADA accessibility matters, workplace discrimination, and retaliation disputes, wage and hour concerns (unpaid wages, overtime, & minimum wages), non-compete agreement enforcement and defense whether relating to employment or independent contractor situations and defamation litigation. His expertise is extensive as an experienced Orlando trial attorney who knows his way around the courtroom and system.
• Non-compete Agreement
• Severance Agreement
  Beyond the courtroom, Rick Smith handles various transactional work for his clients. A shortlist of his prior experience assisting his clients includes drafting and/or analyzing various commercial and consumer contracts, creating custom employment handbooks and policy manuals, conducting or assisting in internal employment investigations as to sexual harassment and discrimination, handling wage and hour audits, forming and registering certain company entities, preparing various powers of attorney, drafting and/or reviewing severance agreements, creating and/or analyzing employment or independent contractor agreements, and more.
• Sexual Harassment
  Prior to joining NeJame Law, Pausha was offered a position with the nation’s largest plaintiff’s firm where he advocated for the rights and interests of employees across the country in various aspects of Employment Law. Passionate about helping others in their times of need, Pausha honed his litigation skills while primarily representing employees concerning areas of conflict including wage and hour dispute. Pausha can also assist in employment matters regarding sexual harassment, overtime disputes, contract and labor issues, unjust termination of employment, and hostile work environment matters. Looking to further expand his areas of practice, Pausha joined NeJame Law’s Civil Litigation Division as a passionate advocate for those in need of a dedicated trial attorney to stand beside and support them in their times of need. Pausha handles a wide variety of commercial and civil litigation matters, working alongside the litigation team in his division. Wanting to be able to dedicate more individualized time to his clients and not be limited into one particular area, Pausha is a welcome addition to the civil trial team of NeJame Law.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Michele Diglio-Benkiran was destined to be a Business and Real Estate Law attorney. Having grown up in an entrepreneurial family she learned and absorbed business from a very early age. Coming from a hard-working family of entrepreneurs, her father was among the largest and most successful business brokers in Florida. It was through these beginnings that Michele caught the bug for business.
• Premises Liability
  If you or your loved ones have been injured in Orlando or surrounding areas as a result of a car or truck accident, slip and fall, premises liability, or dog bite? If so, our experienced, dedicated, passionate, and compassionate personal injury attorneys from NeJame Law are here for you. We strive to assure that our clients receive maximum financial compensation for any injuries they have received. Whether negotiating a favorable settlement or taking your case to trial, our Orlando personal injury lawyers work alongside you to provide you our very best representation as we challenge any insurance company who would seek to limit or deny your claim. Consistently we hear of other attorneys ignoring or not even meeting with or speaking with their clients. At NeJame Law you will hear from us regularly. You are not treated like you are on an assembly line or a lottery ticket. Personal Injury – Personal Attention.
• Construction Litigation
  Ken Morse is a native of Chicago, Illinois but raised In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended college at the College of Wooster and graduated from Law School at the University of Akron School of Law in 1973. His education was interrupted by service in the United States Army as a Military Police Corps. He has practiced law in Central Florida since 1974 and concentrated in Family Law and Civil Litigation. His experience includes substantial construction litigation experience and real estate law.
• Real Estate Transactions
  Real estate matters can be complex due to a wide array of state and federal laws, regulations, ordinances and policies governing real estate transactions, both residential and commercial.
• Property Damage
  In addition to helping injured individuals seek compensation for their damages, we also provide comfort and guidance for grieving families who have lost spouses, siblings, and children in accidents. In addition to recovering medical bills, property damage, and lost wages, we can recover additional damages through a wrongful death claim. Some of these damages include loss of companionship, burial and funeral expenses, and lost income.

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization
• Family Visas
  If you are in need of an Orlando Immigration Attorney to assist you with any investor visa, citizenship, family visa, or removal proceedings, NeJame Law is here for you. Let our expertise and experience help you during this most important time.
• Work Visas
• Investor Visas

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  DeLayne Penland is an Associate Attorney with the firm’s Personal Injury Division. With her outgoing personality, commitment to her clients, and dedication to securing the best recoveries possible for them, DeLayne joined NeJame Law with an almost unparalleled background in personal injury. Beginning her legal career in 2007 as a paralegal, attorney DeLayne Penland had a thirst and love for the law. Once securing her paralegal degree, she decided to open her own company, providing paralegal services for Personal Injury attorneys around the state. Many resolutions from many Personal Injury law firms were actually the result of the hidden work and talent of DeLayne through her paralegal company. She would do the work, research, and secure the settlements and then turn them over to the attorneys who hired her, with them receiving the credit. After almost a decade of providing such services on thousands of personal injury cases for numerous lawyers throughout the state, DeLayne decided that she would go to law school herself. Upon her completion of law school she went to work for another litigation firm but when the opportunity to join NeJame Law occurred, she was quickly made an offer and soon joined the firm. Since then she has provided extraordinary services to the firms many personal injury clients, including relatively minor injury cases to those including death and massive injuries.
• Medical Malpractice
  Medical malpractice or Pharmaceutical Negligence: Unfortunately, our own doctors, surgeons, and other medical professionals can sometimes make errors, leaving us in pain and sometimes permanently injured. NeJame Law will assist you in determining who is responsible for such life shattering mistakes such as birth injuries, surgical errors, and prescription overdoses.
• Auto Accidents
• Dog Bites
  Premises liability: This area of the law covers a range of matters such as being attacked or hurt by the negligent hiring or supervision of another. A lack of providing proper security, not having properly lighted premises, or falling down stairs that weren’t maintained properly, or being involved in theme park accidents are but some examples. Property owners are responsible for keeping their premises safe and when they violate this obligation, they are accountable. Other types of premise liability accidents include slip and falls and Dog bites.

Trusts and Estates

• Wills
• Power of Attorney

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  Are you falling behind on payments or having a difficult time paying your mortgage? Are you starting to get phone calls from your bank or lender? If you’re facing the loss of your property due to foreclosure, not all hope is loss—there are alternatives that our Orlando foreclosure attorneys can help you to consider. At NeJame Law, our team is passionate about helping our community through any legal issue they’re facing, including financial problems. We recommend giving us a call as soon as possible—ideally before the foreclosure process has begun. The worst thing you can do in this situation is to wait and pretend that it’s not happening. We can determine your next steps and offer you much-needed legal guidance if you want to keep your home.