Legal Services & Lawyers

Joel is a Shareholder at Forizs & Dogali, having joined the Firm over six years ago. Joel handles a wide range of legal matters for both plaintiffs and defendants, and enjoys the variety that comes with having a general civil litigation practice; however, he focuses his law practice in three main areas of the law: securities and investment litigation, trademark litigation and commercial litigation.

In the area of securities and investment litigation, Joel has represented many investors, agents, brokers and broker-dealers in both customer and industry disputes, in matters involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation and negligent supervision, among several other areas. In this regard, Joel has previously served as litigation and corporate counsel for a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker-dealer, where his duties included representing the corporation and its various subsidiaries in arbitration and litigation proceedings. He gained valuable insight into the securities industry while serving as litigation and corporate counsel.

In the area of intellectual property law, Joel has counseled many clients concerning trademark selection, registration and protection. He also has experience litigating inter partes trademark proceedings before the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and has prosecuted and defended trademark infringement claims in state and federal court. Joel has also assisted clients with domain name disputes in Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Proceedings (UDRP) and in courts.

In the area of commercial litigation, Joel has litigated a myriad of cases in state and federal court. Some of these cases include Class Actions, Civil Rights Claims, Breach of Contract Claims, Real Estate Claims, Lender Claims, and Personal Injury Claims, to name just a few.

Pablo B. Morla is dedicated to serving the interests of his clients in a wide array of cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, subrogation, business or commercial disputes, and select insurance defense litigation matters.

Prior to establishing Morla & Associates, P.A., Pablo worked for a large defense litigation firm, representing insurance companies and large businesses. That experience gave Pablo the practical knowledge and drive to establish Morla & Associates, P.A. in order to prosecute and defend cases on behalf of his clients in a wide array of practice areas. Read more at www.MORLALAW.com.

Peter A. Sartes is a shareholder of the Law Offices of Tragos & Sartes. Mr. Sartes is one of Tampa Bay's most resourceful, up-and-coming attorneys. His vast formal education includes a finance degree and an MBA along with his law degree. His extensive education coupled with his years of training in tactic and strategy gained during his tour of duty as a United States Army Cavalry Officer provided the foundation necessary for his development into an effective trial strategist.

Since joining the Law Offices of George E. Tragos in 2001, Mr. Sartes has represented clients in both criminal and personal injury cases. His diverse background makes him a coveted asset in the firm's arsenal. His ability to scrutinize details, assess case strengths and recommend courses of action have proven to be essential in defending all types of criminal prosecutions, as well as preparing for complicated civil litigations. Mr. Sartes' expansive financial background makes him particularly capable of deciphering complex financial documents to identify issues necessary to successfully defend tax, fraud, and financial cases.

Throughout his legal career Mr. Sartes has represented a broad spectrum of clients including the first international arms dealer to be indicted during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a client involved in the fifth largest drug seizure in US history, and everyday people fighting to protect their rights in local courts.Mr. Sartes attended both the University of Toledo and Stetson College of Law and is admitted to practice in both Florida State and Federal courts. He was an associate at CB Richard Ellis, the worlds leading commercial real-estate brokerage firm, before deciding to fulfill his dream and pursue a career in law.

His legal career began at the Public Defender's Office in his home town of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Sartes is the former Chairman of the Traffic Court Rules Committee of the Florida Bar, and currently serves as the liaison to the Rules of Judicial Administration Comittee of the Florida Bar, and as the Sixth Judicial Circuit representative on the Florida Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors.

He has served as the Past- President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Clearwater Bar Association, and he has also served as the Chairman of the Clearwater Bar Association Technology Committee. Mr. Sartes holds a BV rating from Martindale-Hubble which is the maximum rating a lawyer can receive who has been admitted to the bar for less than 10 years. He has also been published in The Journal, of the Appellate Section of the Florida Bar, the Florida Bar Journal , The Florida Defender, the journal of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Res Ipsa, the publication of the Clearwater Bar Association.

Jeffrey R. Garvin is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer who has litigated catastrophic injury and death cases throughout the country for over 30 years. During that time period he has tried before juries: cases involving aviation, automobile and boat accidents, medical and legal malpractice and defective products and has achieved multiple verdicts in excess of $1 Million. Mr. Garvin has been a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum® since 2004.

Beginning in law school Mr. Garvin demonstrated excellence in advocacy by receiving the Best Trial Lawyer Award. That tradition has continued throughout his career and in 2005 he was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America ® in which he has been listed in each successive year. He is also listed in Law and Leading Attorneys and selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers ® continuously since 2006. Additionally, Mr. Garvin has achieved an AV® peer review rating from the Martindale-Hubbell group; this is their highest possible rating.

Mr. Garvin is the President-Elect of the Florida Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a past president of the Calusa Inns of Court, Past President of the Edison Community College Endowment Corporation, and Past President of the Sanibel-Captive Rotary Trust Fund. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Florida Trial lawyers for 14 years chairing virtually all of their committees. Mr. Garvin has lectured extensively to numerous legal associations including the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Georgia and South Carolina and Maine Trial Lawyers Associations. He has published numerous articles and was a co-author of Trial Advocacy: The Official Handbook of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyer.

A 1973 graduate of the University of Florida, College of Law, Mr. Garvin is licensed to practice law in Florida, and North Carolina, and has been admitted to numerous Federal Courts and various state courts throughout the country.

Mr. Garvin has been a pilot since 1975 and holds both single engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings and his hobbies include flying, fishing and skiing. He has been married to his wife, Susan since 1975 and they have two children, Leland with whom he practices law and Daryl who teaches school in Fort Myers.