Phillip Miller's Advanced Deposition College

Phillip Miller

Miller Law

I am an army brat. Both of my parents served in WWII, my mother as a nurse in the Pacific and my father ran a combat ambulance company in Sicily and then Italy. I went to elementary school in 5 different states and high school in 3. By the time I was 22, I had finished college and a masters’ program. Although I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I had to make some decisions quickly; both of my parents died that same year. I took on the task of raising my baby sister, working full-time, and going to law school at night. It sounds awful now, but at the time I didn’t know any better. I started my practice by joining a group of 3 other lawyers who were reputable, but not so much looking for an associate as someone that would rent an office from them. I paid $500/month for the space with “light” secretarial help. It was “eat what you kill” and I was able to get by and start my own firm within 6 years. I’ve never been on a payroll. I am admittedly an un-medicated obsessive-compulsive, workaholic, control freak. I work constantly.

Robyn Wishart

Wishart Brain and Spine Law

Robyn Wishart, personal injury lawyer and founder of Wishart Brain and Spine Law LLP in Vancouver BC, has represented clients in the BC Supreme Court, and Court of Appeal since March 2001. Robyn’s practice focuses on catastrophic and complex personal injury cases, as well as insurance litigation. For the first 7 years of her practice Robyn represented some of the largest insurance companies including Lloyds of London. Robyn is a highly respected trial

Ed Ciarimboli

Fellerman Ciarimboli

When I was fifteen, I met the love of my life. As most high school romances go, we dated, broke up, dated again, broke up again etc. Then at 20 the love of life moved to Florida. I thought we were just on a break. She didn’t. She got married and had three kids. I was very single. We didn’t see or talk for twelve years. She got divorced. I had never dated anyone with children. And then she googled me and we started talking. She came back home for a family wedding, and we decided to meet for coffee. That was seventeen years ago. I was lucky to get a do over with the one true love of my life and I was going to make damn sure that I didn’t lose her again. With the addition of our daughter, we now have four beautiful children that are as close as close can be, a grandson who lights up all of our lives, two dogs, two cats and some wild animals on our farm in Northeast Pennsylvania. 

Maxey Scherr

Scherr Law Firm

Jay Vaughn

Hendy | Johnson | Vaughn | Emery

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s a miracle that I am here. My mother had a very difficult time trying to have a family, suffering multiple miscarriages. My older sister was born in 1971 and after that, my mother was pregnant with my brother Ryan who sadly was delivered stillborn in 1974 after learning that the doctor inserted the needle too far while checking the amniotic fluid. My mother had another miscarriage or two after that and was told not to try any more as she was high risk. Well, she became pregnant with me and I was born 2 months premature weighing only 4 lbs. As my Dad tells me all the time, I could fit head to toe in the palm of his hand. My Mom calls me her miracle baby.

Joe Fried

Fried Goldberg LLC

I was born in San Diego, California. I was the 4th of 5 kids and the first son. My Dad was a doctor but as a young man he was part of the fight for the establishment of Israel and it was always his dream to live there. My family emigrated to Israel when I was 5 years old. We lived there through the 1973 war after which we moved back to the United States – first to New York and then to Atlanta. After losing several friends in high school to DUI related crashes, I became a police officer. I investigated many crashes and testified in court a fair amount. I saw first-hand the difference that a good lawyer can make. I attended the University of Georgia School of Law, followed by a federal court clerkship and then entered private practice. I was appointed to serve part-time as a magistrate judge, while working full-time as a trial lawyer. Unlike lawyers who do lots of things at the same time, I have always specialized. I spent the first few years of my practice handling mostly birth trauma cases. I then happened into a case where a woman burned alive following a survivable rear impact crash. This led to me specializing this unique aspect of automotive product liability for about 10 years. I told Ford that I would stop suing them if the fixed the problem with the Mustang and while it took a while they finally did.

Sach Oliver

Oliver Law Firm

I was named after Satchel Paige the baseball player. People often ask me why there is not a “t” in my name and the truth is that my parents were afraid I would be called a satchel bag at school. I was raised in the small town of Viola, Arkansas and give the credit of my success to my wonderful parents, Eddy and Jeanie Oliver. I basically drove my mentor, Frank Bailey, nuts until he agreed to hire me. The first three phone calls to Frank’s office resulted in failure because the office manager simply told me, “Mr. Bailey was not hiring.” I brainstormed magic words with my parents and called back a 4th time asking if I could just spend “5 minutes with Mr. Bailey.” Thank goodness Frank agreed. In those 5 minutes, Frank determined I had great potential and hired me to trim the boxwoods and plant begonias in the firm’s garden. I told Frank that I would do whatever he wanted me to do for little or no money under one condition… If Frank went somewhere on a case for any reason, he must take me with him. We have been together ever since. I am married to Codi Oliver who is a pediatric occupational therapist. We have two daughters, Reesa and Reagan. One of our favorite things to do is ride horses together on our ranch in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. I am passionate about my faith and discipling men to be their best.

Carl Solomon

Solomon Law Group

Carl L. Solomon is a native of Columbia, South Carolina where he attended W.J. Keenan High School (87). Carl’s passion for serving the community propelled him into the practice of personal injury law. To further his service, Carl founded the Solomon Law Group, LLC (2010). He is a graduate of Florida State University (B.S. Economics) and the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in college and law school, Carl served in several positions, including President of the Black Student Union (FSU), Director of Off-Campus Housing (FSU), Chief of Staff – Student Government (FSU), Student Senate (USC), President of Black Law Student Association (USC), Student Senate (USC), and Student Body President (USC).

Joe Camerlengo

The Truck Accident Law Firm

I was born in New York and lived there until my parents lost everything in the winter of 79-80 and moved us to Florida. We first lived in a campground in South Florida. Working our way back from a tent to an RV, to a townhouse was a character-building experience for our whole family. I am proud of those humble beginnings, and they steeled in me a mantra to never take things for granted and that with hard work anything is possible. I grew up for the most part in Ponce Inlet, Florida surfing and playing sports. I attended the University of Florida, obtaining my BSBA in Finance and Juris Doctorate degrees with honors. I went to law school to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. Along the way, I took Trial Practice and fell in love with the Courtroom and being a trial lawyer. I worked as an insurance defense attorney for over 7 years, defending car crash cases, medical malpractice cases, insurance claims, etc. In 2001, I switched sides and started my own firm representing those injured and killed at the hands of others. My crusade into trucking and CMV crash cases started in 2008 when I signed up my first real trucking case. I represented the family of a beautiful 19-year-old girl killed by a tractor pulling double trailers down a little county road in Florida. The truck driver was illegally driving the county roads between Jacksonville and Tampa, but logging the miles like he drove I-95 to I-4, so he could run one more trip without being over hours in his logbook, even though he clearly was. What was worse, the local terminal managers for the over 5,000-unit national motor carrier were training its drivers to do this! I dove into the applicable regulations and laws, I was relentless in written discovery and depositions, and consulted the pioneer trucking attorneys like Joe Fried. At the conclusion of that case, we were able to: 1) tell the family exactly what happened and why; 2) obtain a substantial recovery for her family; 3) educate the trucking company of the improper training and company sanctioned hours of service violations; and 4) get the large national motor carrier to agree to never drive tractors pulling double trailers on the county roads of Florida again. I was hooked. The greatest reward in handling trucking cases is when you can get safety measures changed or improved and knowing that there are potential clients you will never meet because you prevented future crashes and saved their lives. Since that case, I decided to jettison all other types of PI cases and for the last 8 years have handled almost exclusively tractor trailer, bus, and commercial motor vehicle crash cases. I was among the initial class of 9 lawyers that achieved NBTA board certification in Truck Accident Law. I am also Board Certified in Civil Trial by the Florida Bar and the NBTA. I have been in leadership in many of the national trial lawyer leadership organizations that deal with these cases. I am a past president of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, past chair of the AAJ Bus Litigation Group, Chair-Elect of the AAJ Interstate Truck Litigation Group, Co-Chair of the Florida Justice Association Truck Litigation Group, and remain on the board of the National Board of Trucking Trial Advocates and the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. My passion is pursuing justice for these families and helping other great trial lawyers do the same. Whether through being active on listserv, sharing forms, depositions and documents, teaching at various programs, or helping strategize via zoom or a telephone call. When I am not working, I am hanging out with my wife and daughters, coaching soccer, when I can surfing or playing golf.