Gunster, one of Florida’s oldest and largest full-service business law firms, is pleased to announce that attorneys Alexis M. Buese, Traci H. Rollins and Gregor J. Schwinghammer Jr. have been appointed as co-chairs for the firm’s Class Action Defense team.
A branch of Gunster’s flagship Business Litigation practice, the class actions team is dedicated to helping clients defend their reputations by focusing on defeating class certification and obtaining victory on the merits. The firm has defended hundreds of high-exposure, bet-the-company class actions across a range of substantive areas, including toxic tort, financial services, insurance, consumer fraud, banking and finance, health care, antitrust, securities, product liability, telecommunications, tax and construction.
“Class Actions experienced an uptick in 2021 and that trend is continuing in 2022. Alexis, Traci and Greg collectively bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, and they are a strong leadership group for this burgeoning team,” said John W. Little III, who serves as Gunster’s Business Litigation practice group leader.
Buese practices in all aspects of commercial litigation, including class action, contract disputes and real estate litigation. She has broadly defended the consumer products and services industries against the expanding array of class actions that challenge their products, methodologies and procedures. Her clients include numerous consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, including apparel, furniture, food, vitamin and dietary supplement companies, and e-commerce companies. She also works with clients to assess their product and service offerings, and mitigate litigation risk in connection therewith including by creating enforceable e-commerce agreements, including the drafting and implementation of effective terms and conditions.
Rollins focuses her practice on representing public and private businesses, insurance companies, financial institutions and other nontraditional lenders in consumer regulatory, insurance, and securities litigation class actions. She offers decades of experience in Florida and other courts across the country. She has successfully resolved many threatened class claims before litigation is commenced or in early case dispositive motions.
Schwinghammer's practice involves complex business litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and toxic tort and environmental litigation. He represents clients throughout Florida and, when needed, around the country. He has tried cases at all levels — from local administrative hearings, to county court commercial evictions, to arbitration, to jury trials in circuit and federal courts. Prior to joining Gunster in 1996, he was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army, serving in Germany and Kuwait.
With class actions on the rise, Gunster’s versatile team represents clients in a variety of key industries with particular knowledge of agriculture, financial services, food, beverage and dietary supplements, household products and services, retail and fashion, and transportation.
The expansion of the firm’s Class Action Defense team further underscores the exponential growth Gunster has seen over the past year, hiring over 40 attorneys statewide and strengthening its business law platform. Gunster is also deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and has launched a number of programs including the Women’s Leadership Forum and Leading Florida Forward initiatives, which are aimed at educating and empowering its attorneys and professional staff, and the greater community.
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About Gunster
Gunster, Florida’s law firm for business, provides full-service legal counsel to leading organizations and individuals from its 11 offices statewide. Established in 1925, the firm has expanded, diversified and evolved, but always with a singular focus: Florida and its clients’ stake in it. A magnet for business-savvy attorneys who embrace collaboration for the greatest advantage of clients, Gunster’s growth has not been at the expense of personalized service but because of it. The firm serves clients from its offices in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach, Stuart, Tallahassee, Tampa, Vero Beach, and its headquarters in West Palm Beach. With over 220 attorneys and 200 committed support staff, Gunster is ranked among the National Law Journal’s list of the 500 largest law firms and has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Diverse Law Firms by Law360. More information about its practice areas, offices and insider’s view newsletters is available at www.gunster.com.
Contact:
Jenni Garrison
Director of Business Development & Communications
561-804-4350, jgarrison@gunster.com
