peter l. wechsler, esq. the wechsler law group, · pdf filepeter l. wechsler, esq. curriculum...
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CURRICULUM VITAE
PETER L. WECHSLER, ESQ.
The Wechsler Law Group, LLC
7345 S.W. 131 Street, Suite 100
Pinecrest (Miami), Florida 33156
T 305.213.1222 / F 786.242.2062
www.WechslerLawGroup.com
OCCUPATION: Attorney/Mediator/Arbitrator
BAR ADMISSIONS: Florida and New York
BOARD CERTIFICATIONS: Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by National Board of
Trial Advocacy (NBTA)
Board Certified in Civil Pretrial Practice by National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA)
CERTIFIED MEDIATOR: Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Civil Mediator QUALIFIED ARBITRATOR: Florida Supreme Court Qualified Aribitrator
MARTINDALE- HUBBELL: AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating SPECIAL LICENSES Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance
agent and agency Services, Bureau of Licensing approved me to instruct the following courses:
Ce 3-24a-Adjuster Law and Policy Ce 3-24b-Adjuster Ethics Ce 3-24c-Adjuster Optional Ce 5-620-Law and Ethics Update-Adjuster PRACTICE AREAS: Product Liability Civil Trial and Litigation
Complex Commercial Litigation Mediation/Alternate Dispute Resolution/Arbitration Electronically Stored Information (ESI) and eDiscovery Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
Peter L. Wechsler, Esq.
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Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) Torts Professional Malpractice Motor Vehicle Crashworthiness and Handling
Insurance Coverage and Disputes
Asbestos
Catastrophic Injuries
Biomechanics of Injury Trauma
FEATURED AS TOP LAWYER
AND SUPER LAWYER:
Listed as one of Top Lawyers in South Florida Legal Guide 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Annual Edition, in areas of Litigation-Torts and Products Liability-Defense.
Selected by Florida Super Lawyers 2006 in General Litigation
Selected by Florida Super Lawyers 2007 in Torts and Product Liability Defense
Finalist as Most Effective Lawyer 2007 by Daily Business Review
Selected by Florida Super Lawyers 2010
Selected by Florida Super Lawyer, Product Liability Defense, 2011
Selected as Top Attorney, Personal Injury Defense: Products Law 2012 Selected by Florida Super Lawyers 2012 Selected by Florida Super Lawyers 2013, Personal Injury Defense: Products
Selected by Florida Super Lawyers 2014, Personal Injury Defense: Products
Selected by Super Lawyers Business Edition 2014, The Wechsler Law Group,
LLC (Peter L. Wechsler) Personal Injury-Products
Selected by Super Lawyers 2015, Personal Injury Products: Defense
Top Lawyers of Miami, Selected by Peers, Published in Miami Magazine, 2015
Selected by Super Lawyers 2015 Business Edition 2015, The Wechsler Law
Group, LLC; Litigation.
Selected by Super Lawyers 2016; Personal Injury Products Liability Defense.
Peter L. Wechsler, Esq.
Curriculum Vitae contd.
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Top Attorneys of South Florida 2016 as Published in the Daily Business Review
EDUCATION:
Law: Juris Doctor (1969)
Suffolk University Law School
Boston, Massachusetts
Honors: American Jurisprudence Award-Commercial Law, Massachusetts Indigent Defender Program
Undergraduate: Bachelor of Science in Accounting (1965)
Long Island University
Brooklyn, New York
LAW SCHOOL AFFILIATIONS: Nova Southeastern University Law School
Board of Governors (1988-Present)
WORK EXPERIENCE:
2013-Present Florida Mediation Group, Inc.
Miami, Florida
Mediator. In conjunction with my law practice at The Wechsler Law Group, LLC, I have associated with Florida Mediation Group to conduct my mediations. I chose Florida Mediation Group due to their outstanding reputation, expertise, quality of FMG mediators, and the excellent service provided by the efficient staff of Case Administrators. I will continue my law practice and mediate statewide.
So what do you get when you select me as your Mediator?
First, I come to every mediation extremely well-prepared. When I read your submission, I examine the hidden layers that you or opposing counsel might not even be aware of. I look for subtle clues that tell me why your client or the opposition feels angry, disrespected, or even sad. You rightfully focus on legal rights, remedies, and defenses. I study that as well, and seek to understand the motivations, interests, biases, and emotions of the parties and of your opposing counsel.
Second, I understand that cases have to settle, but also realize mediation is a voluntary, self-determinative process. As I have worked through the paradox, for the mediator, of having to settle cases while letting you and your client really control the outcome, I have learned to be a decision architect. My job is to help you and your client make the very best decision possible in light of great uncertainty, risk, ambiguity, and emotion. That decision must be made with an acceptance of the deep consequences to the lives involved for the years ahead. If I accomplish those two
Peter L. Wechsler, Esq.
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aspects, I have done my job well.
Third, I connect to you and your client on multiple levels. Emotions flow through every mediation. I have learned to listen carefully, validate and vindicate where appropriate, help create meaning, and provide a safe space for your stories to be heard.
Fourth, as a broad generalist, Ive been lucky to learn a lot. Each case is another tutorial in life, business, and finance. When you mediate your case, you want a smart, well-prepared, decision architect, not a legal specialist who has not trained nor practiced as a professional mediator. My goal is to get your case settled with a deal that will stick. At some point, if the mediation is a traditional distributive negotiation, we have to start the dance. My job here is to act as a neutral cognitive counselor and negotiation coach. I help you and your client avoid the decisional errors that plague many lawyers in negotiation.
2013-Present The Wechsler Law Group, LLC
Pinecrest (Miami), Florida
Founding Member. I am the founding partner of The Wechsler Law Group, LLC, which is a law firm and a Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution group dedicated to the practice of effective and innovative law, mediation and dispute resolution. We specialize in Product Liability, Torts, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death; Motor Vehicle Crashworthiness; Biomechanics of Injury Trauma; Case Evaluation; Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards; Insurance Coverage and Disputes; Mass Torts; Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA); Hague Convention; Professional Liability; Asbestos; Premises Liability; Trials and Trial Strategy; eDiscovery and Electronically Stored Information (ESI).
The dispute resolution aspect of the law firm is available to attorneys and judges for, pre-suit mediations, court ordered mediations, insurance umpires, first-party insurance claims, and discovery disputes including electronically stored information (ESI).
1992-2008 Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell, P.A.
Miami, Florida
Senior Partner/Shareholder and Chairperson of Tort, Product Liability and Insurance Defense Section. I was the head of litigation department in Miami office. Handled complex jury and non-jury litigation matters in the areas Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, Mediation and Alternate Dispute Resolution, Product Liability, Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA); Service and discovery under the Hague Convention; Motor Vehicle Crashworthiness, Biomechanics of Impact Trauma, Insurance Disputes, Professional Liability, and Medical Malpractice Defense. I represented numerous insurance companies, financial institutions, automobile and product manufacturers, physicians, individuals and corporations in a wide range of legal issues. I served on the Management and Compensation Committee.
Peter L. Wechsler, Esq.
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1983-1992 Rumberger, Kirk, Caldwell & Wechsler, P.A.
Miami, Florida
Managing Partner and Senior Resident Partner of Miami office. In 1983 I launched the Miami law firm of Rumberger, Wechsler & Kirk, an association with Rumberger, Kirk, Caldwell, Cabaniss & Burke, P.A., an Orlando law firm. I specialized in litigation involving motor vehicle crashworthiness and product liability and represented many of the worlds leading automobile, and truck manufacturers in their state and national litigation. Representative clients included: American Motors Corporation, Audi AG, Chrysler Corporation, Dana Corporation, General Motors Corporation, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc., Navistar International Transportation Corp., Nissan North America, Inc., Porsche Cars of North America, Inc., Volkswagen of America Inc., and Volkswagen of Germany. I concentrated in personal injury and wrongful death, insurance defense, asbestos, medical malpractice, professional liability and complex commercial matters. In 1988 the two firms merged to form Rumberger, Kirk, Caldwell, Cabaniss & Wechsler, P.A. and became Senior Resident Partner of the Miami office. I continued developing statewide and national trial practice, and served as a registered Florida lobbyist on seat belt legislation, and protective orders. I lectured nationally on my areas of practice.
1970-1983 Walton, Lantaff, Schroeder & Carson
Miami, Florida
Senior Par