Drawing upon more than five years of practiced legal expertise, Mr. Pickens excels as an associate attorney with Meldon Law. Born and raised in Crescent City, Florida, he focuses his practice on driving under the influence (DUI) and criminal defense cases. Mr. Pickens continues to further his knowledge of these areas by regularly attending seminars and conferences.
Before embarking on his professional journey, Mr. Pickens earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology from Westminster College in 2011. Subsequently, he graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2014. He later gained valuable experience in the field during his years as an assistant state attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Between 2014 and 2017, Mr. Pickens tried a range of criminal cases covering misdemeanors and felonies.
Outside of his primary responsibilities, Mr. Pickens retains his professional alignment with the Florida Bar, the Young Professionals of Ocala, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Additionally, he contributes to the legal community as the president of the Marion County Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. With a plethora of knowledge at his disposal, Mr. Pickens has authored DUI defense guides for the Third, Fifth and Eighth Judicial Circuits, as well as numerous articles through Meldon Law.
In light of his outstanding achievements, Mr. Pickens has been recognized on several occasions, having been featured in the American Academy of Attorneys’ Top 40 Under 40. He was additionally presented with a Top 10 DUI Defense Attorney Award from Attorney and Practice Magazine and an AVVO 10 Rating. Most recently Mr. Pickens has been included in Marquis Who’s Who.
EDUCATION
Thank you for taking the time to find out more about me. I am currently an Associate Attorney with Meldon Law. Before joining the firm in 2017, I practiced law in Ocala with the State Attorney’s Office for almost 3 years. During my employment as an Assistant State Attorney, I handled numerous criminal cases ranging from misdemeanor DUIs to 1st degree Felonies. I’m a fourth generation Florid
Raymond J. Rafool, II, a partner at Rafool, LLC, is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, all courts in the state of Florida, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, and the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida. Mr. Rafool, Board Certified, by The Florida Bar in Marital and Family Law and certified by the National Board of T
Bill Skopelja was born and raised in Northwest Indiana, about 45 minutes outside of Chicago. He received his Bachelors Degree in English Literature from Purdue University in 2004 and his J.D. degree from Nova Southeastern University School of Law in 2007.
While attending NSU law school, Mr. Skopelja completed an internship at The Everglades Law Center. The ELC is a nonprofit law firm ded
Alex Turner is a real estate attorney in Miami Beach, Florida. Although today Alex is most commonly known as a real estate lawyer, primarily focused on real estate related litigation, Alex began his career as a criminal defense attorney. Alex was born and raised in Miami-Dade County, he speaks Spanish fluently. Alex was recently selected by the American Academy of Attorneys, as one of the Top 1
Attorney Christian D. Walled was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He attended St. Thomas University School of Law. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Matthew Spohrer is a partner with the firm. He practices in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, intentional torts, consumer protection, and insurance and contract disputes.
Spohrer earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Florida Coastal School of Law, Jacksonville, Florida and his undergraduate degree from Florida State University. His professional affiliations
Megan Cunningham is a graduate of the University of North Florida where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Political Science.
Ms. Cunningham then continued her pa
An AV Rated Civil Trial attorney with more than 30 years of experience, Bernard F. Walsh first began his career protecting the rights of the public as an attorney for the State of Florida. For the next three years, as a trial attorney for the State of Florida, Mr. Walsh handled numerous high profile trials concerning serious felony crimes.
Since 1982 Bernie has exclusively practiced pers
In 1982, a young Alia Adhal moved with her family from Pittsburgh, PA to Panama City. Graduating with the Mosley class of 1989, Alia went on to Gulf Coast and Florida State University, attaining a bachelors of Science degree. Alia continued her pursuit of education at Florida Coastal School of Law in 2000. Since then, Alia has diligently worked in the field of law. She has 12 years of trial exp
Attorney Michael Goodson is the managing attorney of the Fort Walton Beach office. He received his Juris Doctor with Honors from the University of Florida and is currently working toward a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Florida. Prior to law school, he earned his Bachelors of Science in Psychology with High Honors and a Bachelors of Music with Honors from the University
Gilberto Lacayo serves as “of counsel” to Gimenez and Carrillo. Mr. Lacayo was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He is fully bilingual in Spanish and English. While in law school, he was a member of FIU’s Trial Team, competing and placing in the top 4 of each competition he was a part of. Prior to law school, he worked as a paralegal for various attorneys, making invaluable connections t
Daniel A. Murphy received his Bachelors’ Degree in Criminology from the University of South Florida December, 2009. Mr. Murphy attained his law degree, Cum Laude, from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School – Tampa Bay Campus, April of 2015.
Associations & Memberships
Mr. Murphy is a member of the Florida Bar since October, 2015. The Florida Bar is the organizatio
Magdalena Cuprys received her Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law in 2002. She was admitted to the practice of law in California in 2003 and in Florida in 2006. Before law school, she completed two bachelor’s degrees, one in Political Science and one in Latin American Studies, at the University of Chicago in 1999 (AB Degrees Political Science & Latin American St
Bryan M. Truyol, Esq. is a bilingual family law attorney who has worked for the Law Offices of Karim Batista, P.A. since 2016. Mr. Truyol represents individuals in various family law matters, including dissolutions of marriage, prenuptial agreements, domestic violence, paternity, and the modification of various post-dissolution issues such as alimony and child support. He is also an adjunct pro
Attorney Avita M. Samaroo practices Personal Injury Law at NeJame Law. Mrs. Samaroo helps her clients through difficult periods in their lives with compassionate yet assertive advocacy. She utilizes her diverse experience, analytical know-how and creativity to unwind complex personal injury cases which ultimately allows her clients to receive the true value for their injuries.
Background
Daniel’s practice involves litigating serious personal injury and complex business litigation cases. Daniel’s business litigation practice involves complex business and intellectual property litigation disputes in the areas of trademark and copyright infringement, trade secret litigation, false advertising, unfair competition, franchise related litigation, breach of contract claims, partner
Mother, wife, family law attorney, business owner, woman rights advocate and philanthropist are one of the few hats that Rania Arwani wears on a daily basis. After gaining her B.B.A. in Finance from Texas, she planned to be a stock market analyst, and after working in that field for a short period of time, she felt that something was missing and that’s not where her passion was. Shortly there
Michael R Phillips is a trial attorney who concentrates his Family Law practice on complex divorce cases, child custody, business valuations, and military issues. He is a Barrister and past Jacksonville Executive Committee member of the Florida Family Law Inns of Court. Attorney Phillips is an active member of Rotary International – Beaches Oceanside and Jacksonville Chapter President of the