Podhurst Orseck Attorney Honored by FAWL

MIAMI, FL – June 2014 – Katherine W. Ezell, partner at Miami-based litigation boutique Podhurst Orseck, P.A., recently received the Mattie Belle Davis Award from the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL). The award was established in honor of the late Judge Mattie Belle Davis who was a founding member of FAWL at its inception in 1951.  Judge Davis had a life-long commitment to equal opportunity, justice and the success of women in law. This award is given in her honor annually to an outstanding woman lawyer.

“Kathy Ezell is an exceptional role model for women in the legal profession, and her ongoing dedication to helping women and the community deserves recognition,” said Deborah Baker, Miami-Dade FAWL President.  “Kathy’s words when she accepted her award could not have been more appropriate, she spoke of respect, value and kindness; three qualities she embodies and inspires the rest of us to be more mindful of.”

Ezell’s practice includes commercial litigation, business torts, class actions and personal injury cases. She was appointed by the Governor to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Florida Supreme Court, served four years on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, chaired the Dade County Bar Association’s Legal Aid and Public Service Committee, and was appointed by Governor Bob Graham to the Florida Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women.

Ezell is also actively involved in the community.  For nearly 25 years she has represented children, parents and guardians in dependency cases through the Miami Guardian ad Litem Program, Put Something Back and Lawyers for Children America.  She is a Past-President of Foster Care Review of Miami Inc., a volunteer agency that assists the Juvenile Court in monitoring the safety and well-being of children in foster care, and was recently named one of their top 25 most valuable volunteers.  Ezell is a past president of the Two Hundred Club of Greater Miami, Inc., an organization which raises money for the benefit of dependents of firefighters and local, state and federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

Throughout her career, Ezell has received numerous awards for tireless efforts in giving back to the community.  She has been honored with the Dade County Bar Association’s Richard C. Milstein Award for Excellence in the area of Public Interest Law, the Florida Supreme Court’s Tobias Simon Award, Foster Care Review’s Douglas Halsey Award, and the Children’s Volunteer Award given by the Family  Resource Center of South Florida, to name a few.

She is a member of the Miami-Dade Justice Association, the Cuban American Bar Association, the American Justice Association and the American Bar Association of which she is also a Fellow. She attended Stetson University and Stetson University College of Law where she earned her Bachelors of Arts and juris doctor degrees, respectively.   In 2006 she received the Stetson Lawyers Association’s Ben C. Willard Award given annually in recognition of humanitarian achievement and “that extra effort to prevail [for] the benefit of the Citizens of Florida”.

About Florida Association for Women Lawyers:

Miami-Dade Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL) is a volunteer bar association dedicated to actively promoting the advancement of women in the legal profession, expanding the leadership role of its members in the community at large, and promoting women’s rights. To achieve these goals, Miami-Dade FAWL furthers the common interests of its members and encourage camaraderie and learning among its members. Miami-Dade FAWL promotes women’s opportunities and rights, upholds the highest standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession, promotes reform in the law and facilitates the administration of justice. Membership in our organization is not limited to women – it is not the Florida Association “of” Women Lawyers, rather, it is the Florida Association “for” Women Lawyers. Therefore, men and women who support its mission are welcome into Miami-Dade FAWL’s membership.  Please contact Deborah Baker, President of Miami-Dade FAWL for more information. 

About Podhurst Orseck:

Miami-based Podhurst Orseck, P.A. established over four decades ago, is a top flight boutique firm concentrating exclusively in trial and appellate litigation.  The firm is dedicated to offering the highest caliber legal representation in both federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the United States.  The firm’s commercial practice focuses on complex civil litigation of all types.  The firm serves as general litigation counsel to several major corporations, as well as represents companies and individuals in substantial matters of commercial litigation.  The firm’s general tort practice places a major emphasis upon representing claimants in aviation, mass torts and products liability litigation.  From its inception, the firm also has cultivated an appellate practice, handling appeals of not only the firm’s trial lawyers, but of other lawyers throughout the nation, in the various state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.  The firm’s practice serves clients residing or based throughout the United States, and in several foreign countries.  The firm has consistently received an AV-Rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, the highest possible rating, based on legal ability and general ethical standards.  For more information, please visit www.podhurst.com