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Joel Yanchuck is a native of St. Petersburg and has served the legal needs of the Tampa Bay community for almost 40 years. Joel began his career as an assistant prosecutor in 1968 and then moved into private practice where he defended criminal cases and represented victims of injury claims.
In 1978, he became the senior partner in the firm, establishing Yanchuck and Thompson in downtown St. Petersburg.
Since then he has established a reputation for successful negotiation of injury claims through the mediation process. This accomplishment was honed by years of courtroom experience, a thorough knowledge of the adjusters in the insurance community, and careful preparation.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with Joel Yanchuck, call him at 727-822-6313 or contact him online.
Professional memberships
The Florida Bar
Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association
Florida Justice Association
Jyanchuck@yanchuckberman.com
Mr. Berman is a native of Staten Island, New York. He moved to Florida to attend the University of Miami where he graduated in 1973. After graduating law school he went to work for the Pinellas State Attorney’s Office where he became one of the lead prosecutors in major felonies with more than 200 jury trials.
Ira joined the firm in 1980 and developed an extensive criminal defense practice, accumulating 25 years of jury trial experience in all types of criminal charges. He is chief of the pre-litigation department in the firm and regularly meets with clients, advising them on strategy and monitoring the progress of their cases.
He maintains continuous contact with insurance adjusters in an effort to achieve a swift and fair resolution of every client’s injury claim.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with Ira E. Berman, call him at 727-822-6313 or contact him online.
Professional memberships
The Florida Bar
iberman@yanchuckberman.com
Mr. Wadley is the third senior member of the firm with 30 years tenure. He is a Tampa native who attended Auburn University for his undergraduate education, and Stetson University College of Law. He received his law degree from Stetson in 1981. He received Board Certification status in criminal law in 1994. He was elected President of the Pinellas County Criminal Trial Lawyers Association in 1996.
In 1998, he received board certification in criminal trial practice from the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. Beginning in the early 1990’s and for over ten years, Mr. Wadley was qualified by the criminal administrative judge in Pinellas County to defend capital murder cases and was on the court appointed attorney list for capital crimes. During this time period, he was also a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel attorney, defending federal prosecutions in the District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Mr. Wadley has extensive trial experience in criminal cases ranging from DUIs to first degree murders, and complex, white-collar crimes such as federal bank fraud and money laundering cases. Mr. Wadley also has tried civil cases, such car accident injury claims and police misconduct. Mr.Wadley has written and argued appellate briefs at the state and federal level, with appearances at the Second and Fifth District Court of Appeals in Florida and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami and Atlanta.
Mr. Wadley has been honored with an AV Pre-eminent rating by Martindale Hubbell and has been so rated since 2002. Tampa Bay Magazine declared him one of the Best Lawyers in Tampa Bay in 2010. He is the lead litigation trial lawyer in the firm and oversees all aspects of litigation from preparation through trial.
Mr. Wadley is a member of The Florida Bar, American Justice Association, Florida Justice Association, American Bar Association, St. Petersburg Bar Association and the Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with W. Thomas Wadley call him at 727-822-6313 or contact him online.
Professional memberships
The Florida Bar
Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association
St. Petersburg Bar Association
Florida Justice Association
American Association for Justice
American Bar Association
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal
United State District Court for Middle District of Florida
AVVO Rating: SUPERB
TWadley@yanchuckberman.com
D. Keith Thomas is a trial lawyer with Yanchuck, Berman, Wadley, Thomas & Berman P.A., who brings over twenty-nine years of civil trial practice to the firm in cases involving significant injury or death suffered as the result of negligence of another. Recently, Mr. Thomas was elected by his peers to join a distinguished group of attorneys as one of Florida’s Legal Elite in Florida Trend Magazine. He has been rated as one of Florida’s Top Lawyers in Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Magazine and has achieved the highest lawyer rating, AV Preeminent, by Martindale-Hubbell for fifteen continuous years.
Mr. Thomas focuses his effort on areas of practice including auto collisions, products liability, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, negligent security, nursing home negligence, and medical malpractice. He is admitted to practice in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit U.S. District Court, and in federal court for the Middle and Southern District of Florida.
Mr. Thomas began his working career as a civilian research and development engineer for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Department of Defense. He worked on the design and development of airborne mine countermeasures at several of the U.S. Navy’s laboratories, including field operations and tests on-board ship and helicopter. As such, he has a detailed knowledge and understanding of mechanical design and manufacturing, as well as physics and biomechanics.
Given Mr. Thomas’ unique background and technical education, he is remarkably positioned to evaluate and handle cases involving defective products and accident reconstruction in a comprehensible manner. His engineering background and understanding of the complex geometries and forces at play in trucking collisions and product manufacturing gives Mr. Thomas the ability to analyze, evaluate and prosecute complex cases, as well as work with our experts to maximize potential recoveries for the clients we represent.
Mr. Thomas earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and worked for the Department of Defense before attending and graduating with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law. Initially, Mr. Thomas defended insurance carriers and their insured’s in a wide array of injury and death cases. However, 15 years ago, Keith re-focused and committed his practice to the exclusiverepresentation of victims and their families in catastrophic injury and death cases. Mr. Thomas’ defense background gives an inside perspective on how these cases are perceived and handled by insurance carriers and large corporations whose defective product or negligence has resulted in devastating losses to individuals and their families.
It is estimated that fewer than seven percent of all practicing attorneys have engineering, science or math undergraduate degrees, and most of those lawyers practice in the areas of patent and intellectual property law. Having a trial lawyer who is also an engineer, as well as a former insurance defense lawyer, on our Trial Team gives Yanchuck, Berman, Wadley, Thomas & Berman a different and additional perspective in personal injury litigation, resulting in a tremendous advantage to our clients.
Keith Thomas is a valued and important member of our trial team whose unique and considerable skills are brought to bear along with other substantial resources of Yanchuck, Berman, Wadley, Zervos & Thomas in order to aggressively and intelligently represent our clients.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with D. Keith Thomas, call him at 727-822-6313 or contact him online.
Professional memberships
The Florida Bar
Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association
Florida Justice Association
American Association for Justice
Clearwater Bar Association
St. Petersburg Bar Association
Barney Masterson Inns of Court (past member)
AVVO Rating: SUPERB
KThomas@yanchuckberman.com
Joel Berman was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. He graduated from Seminole High School in 1998 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2011. After high school, he took his academic and tennis talents to the University of Miami where he graduated cum laude in 2002, majoring in Business Management with a minor in Sports Management.
After college, Mr. Berman worked as the assistant men’s tennis coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 2002 through 2004. After he completed his tennis career, he continued his education at Stetson University College of Law, earning his Juris Doctorate in 2008. From 2009-2012, Mr. Berman practiced as an Assistant State Attorney in the Sixth Judicial Circuit where he prosecuted and litigated over 25 jury trials. As a prosecutor, he handled a wide range of both misdemeanor and felony cases. Before joining our firm, Mr. Berman worked for a large regional insurance defense firm where he practiced General Civil Litigation, Personal Injury, and Premises Liability Defense work.
Today, he continues to continues to help the citizens of our community in both criminal and personal injury law. He is a member of the Pinellas County Trial Lawyers Association, St. Petersburg Bar Association and guest lectures at local high schools teaching the children all aspects of the law. Additionally, he continues to devote hundreds of pro bono hours to help raise money for the Beth Dillinger Foundation and the chronically hungry children here in Pinellas County as well as serving as an Assistant Baseball Coach at Seminole High School.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with Joel Berman, call him at 727-822-6313 or contact him online.
Professional memberships
The Florida Bar
Pinellas County Trial Lawyers Association
St. Petersburg Bar Association
JBerman@yanchuckberman.com
Ms. Vu graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science from The Ohio State University. Prior to law school, she worked as a biologist performing reproductive toxicology research. She obtained her Juris Doctorate from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. She received a Pro Bono Honors Award for her extensive time and efforts in helping the low-income community with various legal issues, including immigration law. Ms. Vu is fluent in Vietnamese and has worked previously as a court interpreter.
Prior to establishing Vu Legal, P.A., she practiced real estate law and title curative work for a mid-size firm in Tampa. Since then, she expanded her area of practice to general civil litigation, family law, personal injury law and business law. Ms. Vu represents business owners in incorporating their businesses, preventing potential liability and mitigating damages by using effective tools, such as risk consultations and pre-trial negotiations. When not in Court, a large part of her time is spent on drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial lease agreements and contracts for goods or services. In addition, she actively represents injured claimants on auto accidents and slip & fall cases to preserve their rights to compensation for bodily injuries and property damages.
One of her strongest beliefs in the best way to deliver exceptional legal services to her clients is by listening to and understanding her clients’ ultimate needs and goals.
Professional associations and memberships
American Bar Association
Young Lawyer Division
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Tampa Bay
Board of Director for the Lealman Asian Family Neighborhood Center
Mai@vulegal.co