Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Harry Shorstein recenty concluded his fifth term as the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit (covering Duval County, Clay County and Nassau County in Northeast Florida). In 2008, he decided not to run for a sixth term and to return to private practice with Shorstein & Lasnetski, LLC.

Mr. Shorstein attended the University of Florida for college and law school. After graduating from law school, he served as a Captain in the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. Upon his return, he worked as a Division Head at the Jacksonville Office of the Public Defender. After leaving that office, he spent several years as a Division Head and then Chief Assistant at the Office of the State Attorney. After the State Attorney’s Office, Mr. Shorstein served as General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville.

In 1991, Mr. Shorstein became the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. He held that position for almost eighteen years until deciding not run again in 2008. As the State Attorney for the Jacksonville area, he tried a variety of criminal cases, including over 30 murder cases, all of which he won. He also implemented a groundbreaking juvenile justice program that focused on rehabilitation and education that won national acclaim and was copied by prosecutors across the country. His extensive experience and accomplishments as a trial attorney have been chronicled by 60 Minutes, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report and others state, local and national media outlets. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

After over two decades of public service, Mr. Shorstein decided to return to private practice where he spent 15 years representing the rights and interests of individuals and businesses prior to becoming the State Attorney. In private practice, he defended clients on criminal matters in state and federal court, including complex white collar cases. He handled serious and complex wrongful death and personal injuries cases, and he represented companies in all varieties of business disputes. Another area where he has developed extensive skills and experience is in the representation of professionals in civil litigation and in front of licensing and other administrative boards.

Florida Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney
Practice in State and Federal Courts in Florida and Georgia

Stephen Andrew Mosca is originally from Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from the Academy of Aeronautics in 1979 and worked as a structural design engineer for various large aerospace companies for 20 years.

By 2002, with the Cold War having ended, the attacks of September 11th inspired Stephen to return to university to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia. This experience sparked an interest in law and in 2004, Stephen enrolled at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida, graduating in 2006.

From 2006 to 2008, Stephen worked as an Assistant Public Defender for the 4th Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville, Florida handling thousands of criminal cases. Stephen has experience in the juvenile, misdemeanor and felony courts. He has experience in misdemeanor and felony jury trials as well as bench trials and has won issues preserved for appeal. Since entereing private practice, Stephen has had success in civil trial cases and been trained in Foreclosure defense.

Stephen believes in a strong, comprehensive defense strategy for his clients. Where applicable, investigation and a strong motion practice is employed along with negotiation with opposing attorneys in order to maximize options before a client must choose whether or not to proceed to trial.

Stephen's technical and science background, combined with his life experience and legal education, represents a skill-set that is unique in the local legal community. Stephen believes strongly in the Constitution of the United States, in the presumption of innocence, and in the exercise of a strong defense on behalf of an accused citizen in their struggle against the awesome powers of the government.

For 20 years, Stephen defended the United States Constitution by helping to develop America's most advanced weapon systems. Now, he is working to defend your rights as granted by the same Constitution he has always sought to defend.

After 23 years with the U.S. Department of Justice, Charles Truncale practices criminal defense in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. He represents clients facing a wide range of criminal charges in state and federal courts. He also has an extensive practice in appellate and post conviction remedies and ligates wrongful death and complex civil fraud cases.

Steve Fahlgren is a general practioner in Hilliard, Florida. He handles most types of civil litigation but does not take cases against consumers and does not practice criminal law. For a listing of practice areas, please see them below.

Mr. Fahlgren also practices debt collection defense and credit litigation throughout Florida. He is AV rates (the highest) by Martindale-Hubbell, the oldest and most widely used lawyer rating service. Mr. Fahlgren recognizes that credit reputation is becoming even more important every day. For over four years, Mr. Fahlgren has represented consumers exclusively in consumer litigation matters. During his more than eleven years of experience, Mr. Fahlgren has represented consumers in litigation relating to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Florida's Consumer Collection Practices Act, Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Consumer Leasing Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Florida's Motor Vehicle Retail Sales Finance Act, Florida's Motor Vehicle Repair Act, Florida's Title Loan Act, Florida's Motor Vehicle Lease Disclosure Act, Florida's False Advertising law, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Housing Act, and has also handled claims involving fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conversion, civil theft, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and restitution. Mr. Fahlgren has litigated credit report errors and is very experienced in all facets of Fair Credit Report Litigation from the credit dispute letters to the requirement that credit bureaus maintain reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy.

Mr. Fahlgren handles cases in the following Florida counties and occasionally handles cases outside of those counties when the circumstances merit: Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Hamilton, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee, Union, Citrus, Lake, Marion, Sumter, Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry and Lee. Mr. Fahlgren handles cases in the following Florida cities, among others: Jacksonville, Bryceville, Hilliard, Orlando, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Daytona Beach, Deland, Haines City, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Bartow, Casselberry, Cocoa, Edgewood, Fort Meade, Atlantic Beach, Celebration, Deltona, Eustis, Eagle Lake, Fort Myers, Hawthorne, Holly Hill, Lady Lake, Lake Wales, Maitland, Neptune Beach, Palm Bay, Lake alfred, Lake Mary, Melbourne Beach, Mount Dora, Ocoee, Orange Park, Keystone Heights, Oviedo, Ponce Inlet, Indialantic, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Leesburg, Longwood, Minneola, Clermont, New Smyrna, Palatka, Port Orange, Brevard, St. Cloud, Tavares, Winter Garden, Winter Springs, Sanford, Tampa, Winter Haven, and Winter Park. Many of Mr. Fahlgren's clients cannot afford to pay on an hourly basis, so Mr. Fahlgren often takes cases on a contingency fee basis if the client's expectations are reasonable.

After graduating with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law, Mr. Fahlgren began his legal career practicing commercial litigation and collection law at Foster & Kelly, P.A. He then joined Fisher, Rushmer, et al and expanded his practice to the areas of consumer litigation and employment litigation. Mr. Fahlgren left Fisher, Rushmer et al. to form his own firm, Law Offices of Steven M. Fahlgren, P.A., to focus on consumer litigation. Mr. Fahlgren, who formerly served as a Counterintelligence Agent in the U.S. Army, is a member of the Florida Bar, the State Bar of Georgia, all state and federal courts in Florida, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Fahlgren is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers, and is a graduate of Leadership Orlando Class 48.

Mr. Fahlgren has published various articles on Consumer Law. Over the years, Mr. Fahlgren has lectured on computer law and internet related issues and has provided information in in numerous stories for television, radio and newspapers. For over a year, Mr. Fahlgren hosted a popular radio show entitled "For the Consumer" on AM 950 WTLN in Orlando.

Mr. Fahlgren also handles a very select few cases involving employment law matters. He has filed claims for age discrimination, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, unpaid wages, Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act. Mr. Fahlgren's jury trial experience includes a patent infringement trial lasting in excess of five weeks and a ground breaking same-sex sexual harassment trial in which Mr. Fahlgren's client obtained a jury verdict for an amount in excess of one million dollars.

In November 2007, Mr. Fahlgren and his co-counsel obtained a record $2.9 million dollar verdict against Equifax for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Mr. Fahlgren is also a Certified Circuit Civil Mediator and has fulfilled the arbitrator training required by the Supreme Court of Florida for court appointed arbitrators. Having represented both sides in his career, Mr. Fahlgren is a successful mediator.

For more information, please feel free to contact Mr. Fahlgren's office by contacting me at (904) 845-2255 or my cell (407) 852-1711. My email for potential clients is stevefahlgren@gmail.com

Practice Areas
Local government law, including serving as general counsel for the St. Augustine – St. Johns County Airport Authority and the City of St. Augustine Beach, Florida. Mr. Burnett’s practice also includes real estate development, real property and construction litigation, land use planning, comprehensive planning and concurrency, development agreements, financing and transactional matters. Mr. Burnett has represented all participants in the real estate development business including landowners, developers, contractors, lenders and brokers. His experience includes management of sensitive and controversial applications for development approval. Mr. Burnett has also handled litigation of contested zoning matters before the trial and Appellate Courts.

Education

University of North Florida, B.B.A. 1994
Widener University School of Law, J.D. 1998
Experience

Former Assistant County Attorney in St. Johns County, Florida.
Former Assistant State Attorney in St. Johns County, Florida.
Former Shareholder at Rogers Towers, P.A.
Regularly serves as outside counsel to local governments.
Represents numerous landowners and developers in negotiating with local government to obtain Development Agreements and Impact Fee Credit Agreements.
Represents landowners and developers seeking amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and vesting under the Comprehensive Plan.
Successful plat and street vacations.
Extensive trial experience, including over thirty jury trials and non-jury trials, as well as mediation and arbitration.
Representation of owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals in disputes and litigation involving both commercial and residential contract and construction claims.
Professional Activities

St. Augustine Lighthouse (Board Member and Founding Lights Member)
St. Johns County American Cancer Society (Former Cattle Baron)
St. Johns County Bar Association (Past President)
St. Johns County Education Foundation (Board Member)
St. Johns County Salvation Army (Advisory Council Member)
Flagler College (Prior Visiting Instructor)
Bar Memberships

The Florida Bar
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Commissioned 2d Lieutenant,US Army Infantry at age 19 (1968),served as a rifle platoon leader with the 1st Cavalry(Airmobile) in Viet Nam, 1968-1969. Cases on appeal, of note, see 968 So2d 1079; 912 So2d 28; 764 So2s 653;605 So2d 890; 558 So2d 133 and 504 So2d 1265.