Dressage Rider Gardy Bloemers Finds The Perfect Fit In Wellington

With both of her horses competing in Small Tour, Gardy Bloemers, a competitive dressage rider and wealth management advisor for Merrill Lynch, recently wrapped up another successful season in Wellington and found the perfect balance between her professional career, riding and volunteer work.

Originally from The Netherlands, Bloemers started her career at a young age, riding ponies and trail riding on her family farm. Throughout college and her early professional career, which involved significant international travel, Bloemers had the opportunity to ride on a diverse range of horses until she settled in the United States and purchased a horse of her own.

That path led her to the sport of dressage, a passion that still holds her in its grasp years later, not only through her personal endeavors, but in her leadership roles in several dressage organizations. “Dressage becomes addictive because you can always improve,” Bloemers explained. “There is so much to achieve, and for people who tend to have Type A personalities, it’s the perfect kind of sport. It’s really fun, and I love the competitive aspects associated with showing.”

Experiencing Wellington’s one-of-a-kind winter equestrian environment for the first time in 2014, Bloemers became enthralled with the area and quickly saw what a great fit it would be for her professional and personal lifestyle. “I realized that Wellington is a perfect environment to enable me to excel in dressage and my business,” Bloemers said. “I found a groove, so I decided to increase my stay each year in Wellington to get the most out of the experience.”

During the winter season, Bloemers rises bright and early to drive to Blue Marlin Stables, located in the Little Ranches community, to ride her two horses, Crusedor and Chios KK, before her work schedule begins for the day. This winter, she successfully competed in the national show ring at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival under the watchful eye of her trainer, George Williams, president of the United States Dressage Federation.

“George, together with his team at Williams Dressage, provide a great support infrastructure with high-quality grooms and care, which enables me to balance my riding with my career,” Bloemers said. “After my lessons, I normally go to work either out of my home or out of our Palm Beach office. Of course, I do travel back and forth between Charlottesville, Va., and Wellington regularly during the season, and will flip my riding schedule to accommodate morning meetings and calls. We all need to be flexible to make this work, and I am grateful to everyone who supports me in the pursuit of this passion.”

As a wealth management advisor for Merrill Lynch, Bloemers is part of a growing team that provides wealth management resources to individuals and families in the southeast region of the United States. The close-knit team, consisting of Bloemers, her business partner, Glenn Bannan, a third financial advisor and their assistant, is always looking to grow their business and speak with those interested in their services, welcoming several new clients each year.

“Being in Wellington, especially in the equestrian world, puts you at the epicenter of dressage in the United States,” Bloemers said. “It gives you the ability to see and compete against riders at the highest level. I believe this competitive edge, honed in the dressage ring, has spilled over into my own professional life. With careful planning, I am able to fit this all into my life, including making the time to actively support causes important to me both in Wellington and Virginia.”

Her philanthropic efforts are seen in Wellington through her contributions to the dressage foundation’s events throughout the community and American Equestrians Got Talent, a talent search event held during the winter equestrian season that raises money for high-performance programs in the United States. This year she also co-hosted a get-together for the Virginia Horse Center Foundation’s advisory board and board, of which she is a member of the executive committee. In addition, she was a sponsor of this year’s USDF’s Trainer’s Conference at High Meadow Farm in Loxahatchee.

In March, US Equestrian announced a new national committee to aid in overseeing and supporting the development of the sport of dressage, and Bloemers is proud to be on the committee. It is responsible for the sport’s development, organization, rules, licensing changes and handling any issues that may arise. The new US Equestrian Dressage Sport Committee consists of five US Equestrian and five USDF appointments, many of whom are based in Wellington during the winter, along with athletes Chris Hickey, Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Pierre St. Jacques.

“Even though the season is over, my husband and I cannot wait to return in the fall,” Bloemers said. “Wellington is wonderfully addictive.”

Deeridge Farms Showcases Top Hunters At Inaugural Deeridge Derby Weekend

Following the success of the inaugural Wellington Masters CSI3*-W in 2016 and this year’s Palm Beach Masters CSI3*-W, Deeridge Farms and the organizers of the CP Palm Beach Masters, presented by Sovaro, created an entirely new event for 2017.

While the 2017 Palm Beach Masters featured exciting world-class show jumpers from around the world in one of seven qualifying events for the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Finals, the Deeridge Derby Weekend brought to center stage the outstanding hunter horses and riders that also call Wellington home each winter.

Deeridge Farms is a 300-acre oasis of serenity and beauty in the heart of Wellington owned by Jeremy and Margaret Jacobs, who have been its stewards since 1980. Following the two consecutive World Cup qualifying events, Deeridge Farms proved itself an ideal setting to host prestigious equestrian competitions.

The inaugural Deeridge Derby Weekend, presented by the National Horse Show Association of America, for the benefit of the USHJA Foundation, took place March 1-5 and celebrated the nation’s best hunter horses and riders.

The hunter horses and riders competed head-to-head for big prize money on a beautiful, custom-designed grass competition field against the backdrop of Deeridge Farms — the perfect setting to highlight the grace and beauty of the sport. No detail was overlooked, including the popular VIP experience in the Taylor Harris Club, with a sumptuous array of food and beverages in a double-decker ringside tent.

“We were so happy to have the opportunity to host an international hunter derby as well as a pony derby this year at the inaugural Deeridge Derby Weekend,” Katie Jacobs-Robinson said. “We hope everyone enjoyed the new event and had a great time competing.”

The Deeridge Derby Weekend kicked off with lower-level young jumper competition on Wednesday and Thursday. Hunter derby competition heated up on Friday, leading up to the weekend’s feature class: the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by the World Equestrian Center, which consisted of two rounds spanning Saturday and Sunday.

Meagan Murray-Tenuta and Editorial claimed first-place honors in round one of the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on Saturday. It was stiff competition throughout the duration of the class with 40 horse-and-rider combinations seeking the top spots in the round one standings. Murray-Tenuta, who hails from Zion, Ill., left the ring having earned the highest score between the two judging panels aboard Editorial, owned by Rebecca Price.

The lakeside hunter derby field welcomed back the top 24 horses on Sunday to show off their style and handiness in the second round of competition. While Murray-Tenuta and Editorial led the rankings after the first round, it was Wellington native Kristy Herrera who reigned supreme, crowned the winner of the highly anticipated class aboard Candid, owned by her longtime trainer and mentor, Jennifer Alfano.

While Herrera qualified for the handy phase on both of her entries, Candid and Miss Lucy, it was with Candid that she had the most success. The duo was sitting in second place going into Sunday afternoon’s round, just narrowly missing the first-place spot. “Sheldon,” as he is called back in the barn, has far less experience than Miss Lucy, but that didn’t stop Herrera from riding him to victory.

“Candid was amazing today. This was only his second derby, and he stepped up like a champion. He was so awesome,” Herrera said.

“I want to thank Katie [Jacobs-Robinson] and the Jacobs family, because having hunters go on this beautiful field and having a venue like this to showcase our horses is amazing,” Alfano added.

The Deeridge Farms setting left the riders and spectators with a positive feeling as the show came to a close on Sunday.

“I’m really thankful to have another venue here,” Herrera said. “I show at the Winter Equestrian Festival most of the time when I’m in Wellington, so it’s a nice break to come here. This is a beautiful course they’ve built, and we are lucky to be able to show here.”

Second-place winner Kelli Cruciotti agreed. “It was beautiful,” she said. “The venue — you can’t get anything better. A huge thank you to the Jacobs and Robinson families. I have to say, it is one of the best venues we’ve been at all year.”

Third-place winner Havens Schatt shared similar sentiments. “The venue is incredible, and we are so appreciative as hunter riders to be able to be showcased in a place like this,” she said. “We feel very important, just like these grand prix riders do.”

Jacobs-Robinson thanked all of the horse and rider pairs for making the first Deeridge Derby Weekend a success.

“Thank you so much for coming. It really meant a lot to me to look out and see so many old and new friends,” she said. “You guys really brought a great competition, and it made it really special. We would love to host another Deeridge Derby Weekend in 2018.”

For more information on the Deeridge Derby Weekend, visit www.deeridge.com.

Community Service Is Second Nature For PBSO Chief Deputy Michael Gauger

Chief Deputy Michael Gauger is second-in-command at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s  Office. With more than 45 years of service with the PBSO, Gauger is well-known  in the community, particularly the Wellington area, where he lives with his wife, Phyllis.

Professionally, Gauger is next in the line of responsibility after Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and is responsible for budgets totaling almo Personally, the Gaugers are coming up on their 41st anniversary. They have two children, Michael, 31, and Amanda, 35.

st $750 million and more than 3,500 staff members.

Personally, the Gaugers are coming up on their 41st anniversary. They have two children, Michael, 31, and Amanda, 35.

Gauger was adopted at nine months old into a farming family at a dairy in Illinois. Much to their dismay, he was more interested in sports than working the farm. It wasn’t the idyllic childhood. His late adopted parents became alcoholics, and his adopted mother struggled with mental illness. However, he did learn compassion from his situation.

After spending time in the U.S. Army, Gauger left Illinois for Tennessee and later headed to South Florida with a friend. They both worked odd jobs before he met some people who worked at the PBSO. They became friends, and Gauger was hired part-time. He looked young and was assigned to the narcotics division. He was hired full-time on Jan. 29, 1971.

It was on the job at the PBSO where Gauger met the woman who would become his wife.

Phyllis and her best friend from high school were working at the sheriff’s office. Her friend had her eye on young Gauger and arranged a double date with him and his partner at the time.

“As corny as it sounds, we were there first sitting down. He walks in and sits down, and it was love at first sight,” Phyllis recalled. “We just knew.”

During his extensive career with the PBSO, Gauger has touched the lives of many residents in Palm Beach County. A perpetual people person, he advocated for the first neighborhood park in the county, which was built in suburban Lake Worth. He knew how much it would cost to build a park, but when asked about the park maintenance — which cost $12,500 a year at the time — he came back with a show-stopping response.

Gauger told the Palm Beach County Commission that he could save the county money. If it built the park, he could keep one kid out of jail for the year, saving the county $26,000. Now, there are 25 or so neighborhood parks.

“If kids don’t have something positive to do, they will find something negative to do,” he explained.

Gauger is also proud of the work he did starting the first community policing unit in the county in the late 1980s, and also working on developing and starting programs in public housing communities.

Gauger later earned his master’s degree in social work and is proud of the fact that the PBSO is considered a best-practice agency.

When he officially “retired” on Jan. 29, 2004, Gauger didn’t turn his back on the community he worked a lifetime to improve. He worked at the Palm Beach County Housing Authority to set up fraud programs, cleaning up areas with crime problems and volunteering at the State Attorney’s Office working to solve cold-case homicides.

Gauger supported Bradshaw in his bid to become the 13th sheriff of Palm Beach County. When Bradshaw took office in January 2005, he asked Gauger to come back. “And that was 12 years ago,” Gauger said. “Time goes by fast.”

Gauger returned because he and Bradshaw had a mutual respect for one another, and common goals.

“We were detectives together, chasing bad guys back in the 1970s and 1980s. We knew each other, we respected each other’s work, and he offered me a position. I said yes, because I loved what I did,” Gauger said.

People often credit Gauger with saving their lives, but he is quick to tell them that they made the necessary changes; he just offered suggestions. “I didn’t do the work; you did the work. I can’t change anybody’s behavior. They have to change their own behavior,” he said.

Gauger has enjoyed his career in law enforcement and didn’t hesitate to return when called upon. Now, he works with many of the operational agencies within the county. “I think the success of an agency is based upon the network of relationships that you build in an organization,” he said. “Not only networks with businesses and with governmental agencies, but the network that you build within the community.”

The Gaugers are very involved in the community. He has long been a member of the Rotary Club of Royal Palm Beach. He has received awards, including the first Peace Award from the Rotary Club of Wellington. He has served on several nonprofit boards, such as the Urban League of Palm Beach County, Families First of Palm Beach County and the Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network. He is also a board member at the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club in Wellington.

Phyllis, meanwhile, serves as first vice president of the Women of the Western Communities and has belonged to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs for the past 35 years. When she isn’t volunteering at her own organizations, she volunteers at PBSO events. They are active in their church, St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Wellington, as well as Forever Greyhounds, where she is a board member.

Forever Greyhounds has brought them an additional six “children” over the years.

Their current greyhound, Yanni, is 11 years old. Her brother, Harry, passed away from cancer. The two dogs were originally adopted by a woman who spent part of her time in Florida. When she passed away, the pair was going to be split up. At the time, the Gaugers had just lost two greyhounds to cancer when Phyllis heard Yanni and Harry’s story.

“They were just too old to separate. I couldn’t sleep. We had to take them,” she said.

It’s fitting that the couple adopts greyhounds, given that Gauger, one of five siblings, was adopted. He met his biological mother when his own daughter, Amanda, was a toddler. That’s when he discovered that his biological grandfather was a sheriff in Illinois in 1918, and his uncle was the chief of police.

The Gaugers have lived in Wellington for 25 years after residing in Royal Palm Beach for 17 years. During those 42 years, they’ve seen many changes. When they first moved here in the 1970s, Gauger would hunt rattlesnakes in the area.

“As it grew a little bit, they were controlled by the water district. They contracted with the sheriff for some patrols out here, but it was nothing like it has become today,” he said. “It’s a thriving, thriving community now. The equestrian business has just blossomed this community and given it an international name.”

As the community has grown, Gauger made a promise to his growing family. One thing he has made sure to do was attend his children’s activities. His adopted family, his father in particular, did not support or attend his extracurricular activities. “Football game, track meet, or anything I did,” he said. “I decided that if I have children, it’s going to be different.”

And it was. Gauger worked his schedule around to coach and attend games, always being there for his children.

“I love my family,” he said. “I always wanted them to have the things that I couldn’t have.”

“You’ve done a good job with that,” Phyllis interjected.

He has focused on substance abuse in his professional career because of the things he saw as a child. His own hardships helped Gauger become more compassionate, as did others who provided support along the way.

“I had people who helped me,” he said. “There were a lot of people who were very good to me. I’ve never forgotten that, and that’s why I’ve always tried to help others, because not everyone’s as fortunate. I truly believe in a hand up, instead of a hand out.”

Business Matters, Personal Injury Law The Focus At Pike & Lustig

Michael Pike and Daniel Lustig of Pike & Lustig LLP are partners in a law firm focused on business litigation and personal injury litigation. They have a longtime friendship as well as business partnership, which they both say is more like a brotherly bond.

“We devote our firm to two areas of law, and we have our departments in our firm, staffed with attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants that assist with litigation involving personal injury and business [matters],” Pike said.

Those areas of law take in a wide array of issues.

“The unique dynamic of our firm is that we have the abilities and the staff and the attorneys to handle business disputes, shareholder disputes, breach of contract, real estate litigation, equine litigation, and also personal injury involving trucking accidents, auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, plane crashes and the like,” Pike said.

While that is the firm’s focus, Pike and Lustig are not confined to only those areas of the law.

“We have represented several physician practices in Palm Beach County over the course of 10 years,” Pike said. “We do everything from partnership agreements to shareholder agreements to operating agreements for any type of business, including commercial businesses, physician practices, public-related companies and closely held corporations.”

Pike is an experienced trial attorney, which he views as a key strength.

“Our departments are staffed with a lot of horsepower, which enables us to handle cases that are medium-size all the way to very large, intensive federal court cases and state court cases,” Pike explained.

The firm is able to manage cases at the state and federal levels.

“We do have a very strong client base in the western communities, but given the fact that we practice in both state and federal courts, and the fact that we actually try cases in front of judges and juries, we have a pretty strong base throughout the State of Florida,” Pike said.

Pike was born and raised in Miami. He received his law degree from the University of Florida. He had a personal motivation for devoting a portion of the practice to personal injury.

“When I was six or seven years old, I witnessed my father get shot in South Miami. He was shot in the leg. He lived. Subsequent to the shooting, there was a large case brought in Miami state court,” Pike recalled. “I had to testify as a young boy, and I sat through the trial and watched the entire proceeding, and it was there, I believe, that started the desire to want to have a career as an attorney.”

Lustig is originally from Costa Rica, moving to Florida when he was 15 years old. He received his law degree from the University of New Hampshire, and he also holds several other advanced degrees.

Pike and Lustig originally met while working at another practice. It was there that they became friends and decided to become law partners. Lustig said Pike started out as a great mentor for him when they began working together.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Lustig said. “I’m very proud for having learned under him because the great thing for clients is that when they get a work product coming from our firm, it’s always going to look similar because we think alike, and we write in a very similar way.”

It was under the mentorship of Pike that Lustig became a well-practiced lawyer.

“I trained under Mike for several years. I would say I am still training under Mike because he has taught me everything I know as a lawyer,” Lustig said. “He’s taught me to be a lawyer who thinks outside the box and not just a lawyer who just will follow what the plain reading of the law is. In that regard, we established a very, very good friendship.”

Lustig is very happy with the practice and what he does for a living. “It’s always good to love what you do because that’s the reason you always want to be practicing law,” he said. “When you love what you’re doing, you want to do it more.”

Lustig also had a personal motivation to want to focus on personal injury law.

“My brother-in-law died in a tragic car accident, and I thought it was necessary for me to be involved in an area of the law that was quite personal to people when they are going through a difficult time, because my family had its share of tragedy in that regard,” Lustig said.

Both Pike and Lustig are Wellington residents. Pike lives in the community with his wife, Pamela, and daughters Aliyah and Ari. Lustig also lives here, with his wife, Dara, and sons Jacob and Benjamin.

“At every opportunity that we have on a local Wellington basis, we support other businesses in Wellington by and through our sponsorship of events and our memberships in the Wellington Chamber of Commerce,” Pike said.

To contact Pike and Lustig LLP, call (561) 291-8298 or visit www.turnpikelaw.com.

Real Estate Law Is A Key Focus For Attorney Matthew Lupardo

Born and raised in New York, attorney Matthew Lupardo worked on Wall Street as a financial analyst for several years after earning his undergraduate degree from New York University. But Lupardo wanted to have a more personal experience when he worked with clients and decided to earn his law degree.

Heading south, Lupardo moved near family in Wellington and began his law practice, where he has been since 1999. He devotes much of his practice to real estate law for his clients in the Wellington area.

“The firm has progressed into a general practice law firm, but we concentrate on real estate,” Lupardo said. “We’ve done very complicated real estate transactions and moved our way through the real estate process.”

Lupardo can help people in a number of areas at his practice, but he finds that he has been of great help to people in the community through his devotion to real estate law.

“I was particularly helpful to people during the real estate crash because I defended a lot of foreclosures,” he said. “On the flip side, I also helped a lot of people get fabulous deals through short sales… and clearing cloud of title.”

Through his understanding of homeownership rules and regulations, Lupardo has helped people clear titles on homes from any debts they may have accrued during the recent recession and other difficult financial times.

“During foreclosures, you’d have a house with two or even three mortgages, homeowners’ association liens, village code violation liens,” Lupardo said. “There would be all these liens on this house, and in order to sell it, I’d have to clear that.”

Lupardo was also able to help people get into positive situations with homes in the community.

“People during a foreclosure crisis, who bought properties, they’ve appreciated quite substantially since then, especially in Wellington,” Lupardo said. “People who bought short sales in Wellington; there was a big swing in prices up. So, we were able to clear titles.”

Being a member of the Wellington community, Lupardo has long been involved with the equestrian community, and also has the ability to process horse purchases and sales, he said.

“We also help people out with contracts when people build or renovate houses and/or barns,” he added. “We review the contracts and help them out with the contractors.”

In addition, Lupardo is able to draw bridle easements for his clients who need better access around town for themselves and their horses.

“Let’s say there is a property blocking a direct access to the show or to the road or whatever you need. You may have to go around with your horse,” Lupardo said.

So, Lupardo is able to make access around town easier with the ability to draw these riding paths legally.

Lupardo is licensed to practice law in New York and Florida. He received his degree from St. John’s University School of Law. Family ties are what brought him to Wellington.

“My brother and my sister moved here around 1989, and I was coming down from 1989 to 1998 on vacation, and the place was so lovely that I was always coming on vacation,” he recalled. “When I was in New York, I was thinking about being in Florida, so I said, ‘Why don’t I just move to Florida?’”

Lupardo has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Westside West Palm Beach for many years, and he looks forward to attending meetings at the new Wellington chapter that became active recently. He is a parishioner at Our Lady Queen of the Apostles Catholic Church in Royal Palm Beach. He is also a member of both the Wanderers Club and the Wellington National Golf Club.

Lupardo has been living and working in the community now for close to 20 years, and he sees himself and his practice as standing the test of time.

“People know we’re reliable. We do very good work, and we’re going to be here down the line. So, if you have a question, you can come back in a year or two,” Lupardo said.

Lupardo finds enjoyment in his office, neatly located near the lake in Royal Palm Beach off Royal Palm Beach Blvd. “Look at that, there’s a powerboat. How many people get to have an office with a powerboat doing doughnuts right in front of the window? There’s nothing better than this,” Lupardo said.

Having a great office view and enjoying his location are just some of the small things that keep him here and loving the community he serves.

“I’m very grateful to my clients, who allow me to make a living here and be able to enjoy everyone else’s fellowship,” Lupardo said.

Matthew F. Lupardo P.A. is located at 685 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., Suite 104, in Royal Palm Beach. For more info., call (561) 204-2988 or visit www.lupardolaw.com.

Marcelo Montesinos Focuses On ‘Fighting For The Underdog’

Attorney Marcelo Montesinos was raised in Palm Beach County. Growing up and going to school in the urban parts of West Palm Beach, he discovered a sense of responsibility to represent people who needed help.

Originally a public defender, Montesinos transitioned to build his own personal injury law practice.

The Law Office of Marcelo Montesinos is devoted to personal injury, wrongful death and car accidents, which involves trucking and motorcycles as well.

“It’s making sure that when [clients] are injured, they receive the highest, best-possible compensation for those injuries,” Montesinos said, explaining that insurance companies will often fight even the most justified of claims.

His office handles other areas of personal injury law, but trucking and automobile accidents always stay at the forefront of his focus.

“If people have slip and falls, we’ll help them because we know how to do it. If there is a medical malpractice, we can take it, but our focus is auto and trucking cases, motorcycle cases, cases that deal with [a person being] a victim of someone else’s negligence,” Montesinos said.

Montesinos received his law degree from the Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey. His connection to family and the area brought him back to Palm Beach County.

“I returned, even though I probably could have stayed in the Northeast, but just because of family ties — my mother, my father and my sister — I returned. And, I worked in downtown West Palm Beach as a public defender,” Montesinos said.

Montesinos spent time while growing up in Wellington, but, at the time, the village didn’t have its own public high school, so he attended Twin Lakes and Palm Beach Lakes high schools in West Palm Beach.

“I live here now. I’ll probably continue living here. My friends are council members now. It’s unbelievable to see people you know, either as friends or colleagues, who now have a seat at the table, if you will,” Montesinos said.

Going to school with people closer to urban communities in Palm Beach County, Montesinos noted that many youngsters don’t have the same luxuries and guidance from parents and community leaders the way they do in places such as Wellington.

“When I became a lawyer, unfortunately, some of these people sometimes got in trouble,” Montesinos said. “Someone said, you can either be a prosecutor or a public defender, and I chose to be a public defender. I think that was the right choice.”

He did that for close to three years. In 2001, Montesinos decided to establish his own practice, which he eventually would focus on personal injury law.

“Instead of fighting against the government, you’re fighting against huge insurance companies,” Montesinos explained. “It’s my job to prove to them that you’re hurt, through the help of doctors, other professionals, chiropractors, your family and your friends.”

Montesinos said he has felt very successful in his field and area of law. He found it was a great transition from criminal defense to personal injury — often sticking up for the little guy in both cases.

“It was important for me when I moved on from criminal [defense] to personal injury to take that same kind of focus and say, ‘I will continue fighting for the underdog,’” Montesinos said. “The underdog is the individual, fighting against a huge insurance company.”

With his success, Montesinos is able to give back to his community. His law practice donates more than $5,000 worth of backpacks and school supplies at the start of every school year.

“For two or three weeks, we put radio ads on five or six stations, and honest to God, we get so many kids who come, and we’re cleared out. And that’s one of the benefits, if you love what you’re doing and you become successful,” Montesinos said. “Success is sometimes measured by accolades, by money; but whatever it is, nothing is greater than giving back to your community.”

Montesinos is the sole attorney at his law firm, although he does have lawyers who assist him part-time.

“The decision-making process becomes a little more diluted when there are more people,” he said. “However, over time, I’m probably going to have to bring on board, full-time, a couple of associates.”

Montesinos continues to practice law and serve people in the communities he was raised in.

“For me, I’ve always felt like the underdog, and I’m fighting for the underdog,” Montesinos said.

To contact the Law Office of Marcelo Montesinos, call (561) 721-1600 or visit www.montesinoslaw.com.

Communication Is Key For Attorneys At Greenstein & Lubliner

Blanca Greenstein and Richard Lubliner of Greenstein & Lubliner LLP have been practicing law partners since 2014. Originally, Greenstein founded the firm, but she soon realized that she was in need of a litigation partner. Greenstein and Lubliner knew early on that they would make a great pair to serve clients in Palm Beach County and beyond.  Today, the law firm that Greenstein and Lubliner operate together is committed to communication with its clients.

“One of the largest complaints that clients have for lawyers is that they’re not responsive enough, that they don’t hear from their lawyer,” Lubliner said. “We impress upon our associates and our support staff that connectivity and following up with clients is critical.”

Both Greenstein and Lubliner are, of course, licensed to practice in Florida. In addition, Lubliner is licensed to practice in New York. Among their associates, the firm is also licensed to serve clients in California, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

“We also have a national network of local counsel, so some of our clients hire us to serve as a regional counsel or a national counsel and manage overseas cases in different parts of the country,” Greenstein said.

Greenstein’s experience working for a large loan service provider has added to their ability to serve current and future clients at the firm, Lubliner added.

“We’ve taken what she learned and expanded upon it, so we oversee or act like outside-inside counsel for various companies,” Lubliner said. “We provide strategic advice just to make sure that their objectives are being obtained, so we’re also like an oversight counsel as well.”

Locally, in Wellington, Greenstein and Lubliner are devoted to serving the equestrian community and managing real estate.

“In Wellington, the focus is naturally equine-based from a transactional and litigation perspective, but also a lot of real estate work emanates from our Wellington office, because Wellington has experienced extraordinary growth in its real estate development in the past few years due to the investment of outside sources and the equestrian community,” Lubliner said.

The law firm has multiple locations in Palm Beach County, and there is a New York location as well.

“We give very customized attention to our clients. Whether they are an individual or a corporate client, they are all treated with the highest level of customer service, accessibility, high level of communication, respect and kindness. Those are our core values,” said Greenstein, who has lived in the same Wellington home with her family for the past 14 years.

Originally, it was her parents who asked her to consider practicing her craft in Florida after she received her juris doctorate at Capital University Law School in Ohio. “After I got my law degree, I took the Florida bar, and I got an apartment right down from my parent’s apartment in South Palm Beach,” Greenstein recalled.

Originally from New York, Lubliner lives in Boca Raton with his wife, who is a teacher in the area. He received his degree from the Emory University School of Law. “I have a wealth of experience working on billion-dollar workouts, reorganizations and restructurings. In about 2006, I realized that I wanted a change. While I loved practicing in New York, I decided that I wanted to relocate,” Lubliner said.

Greenstein and Lubliner became partners at their present-day firm in 2014, changing the name of Greenstein’s original practice, the Law Offices of Greenstein & Associates, to Greenstein & Lubliner LLP.

Greenstein enjoys being involved in the community and serves on the board of directors for the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. “The chamber has given me a lot of very good business experience because we’ve organized speakers that have taught me about branding, public relations, marketing, writing a press release and giving me confidence as a business leader. A lot of that came from the education of the chamber,” Greenstein said.

Lubliner is a member of Leadership Palm Beach County. “We go throughout Palm Beach County to tour various areas and industries… to see where the public and private sector can work together to come up with creative solutions to complex problems,” he explained.

Greenstein and Lubliner believe there is a great benefit to being able to serve different individuals and businesses through Palm Beach County.

“I think our ability to be throughout Palm Beach County enhances our ability to represent our clients in a multitude of their different businesses,” Lubliner said. “We have clients, obviously, who have maybe a business in Wellington or they live in Wellington, and they own horses, yet they have a business that they own in Boca Raton or in West Palm Beach. So, they don’t have to feel like they need to retain an attorney in each city. It allows us to give them full coverage.”

Greenstein & Lubliner LLP has several offices, including one in Wellington. For more information, call (561) 222-2222 or visit www.greenstein-law.com.

Attorney Anthony Barbuto Expanding His Wellington Law Practice

Anthony Barbuto is licensed to practice law in three different states, but he settled in Wellington and has been practicing his craft here since 2008. “The law is not what brought me to Florida. Family is what brought me to Florida,” he said. “I liked it, and I stayed. I took the bar, and I stayed.”

While Barbuto Law & Associates P.A. has been around for some time, he more recently formed Barbuto & Johansson P.A., a practice devoted to personal injury law, with fellow attorney Carly Johansson.

“The thousands of clients that I have, they’ll call me up and say, ‘Hey, Anthony, I had an accident,’ or, ‘I know someone who had an accident; can you help me?’ and I wasn’t really focusing on that area,” Barbuto said. “But now I’m going to keep helping my clients in this particular area.”

Barbuto Law & Associates still remains the general practice, managing civil litigations, estate planning, wills and trusts, probate, family and equestrian cases. Clients will still go to Barbuto’s current location at 12773 W. Forest Hill Blvd. in Wellington for those types of queries, but now can meet specifically for personal injury cases there under Barbuto & Johansson.

“Carly has worked with me for several years. She has some background as well in personal injury, and it’s a project that we decided to be partners on,” Barbuto said. “She has a strong litigation background… and I worked for an insurance defense firm, so we decided we have very good synergy together.”

Barbuto has been a Wellington resident since 2008, when he succeeded longtime community lawyer Ann Porath at her firm’s practice upon her retirement.

“I came to Wellington from Fort Lauderdale, working for an insurance defense law firm,” Barbuto said. “Ann was the first lawyer to practice in Wellington on a full-time basis back in the 1980s. She was preparing to retire, so I came and took over her practice.”

Born and raised in Wayne, N.J., Barbuto is licensed to practice law in Florida, California and New Jersey. He took each state’s bar exams, one after the other.

He is proud to be a resident in Florida, and even more so a member of the Wellington community. “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in Florida,” he said.

Barbuto does have a home away from home. He and his wife, Rovena, and son, Leonardo, spend at least six weeks each year in Florence, Italy, where Barbuto met Rovena, who is a native of Italy.

“I still work, but I do very much enjoy traveling to Italy,” Barbuto said. “We have family there, and we’re trying to raise my son, when he starts talking, to be fluent in the Italian language.”

Many of Barbuto’s clients live in the equestrian communities of Wellington.

“We’re very busy with equestrian law. We do equestrian-related issues, ranging from agricultural classification applications [to] lease agreements for stalls or barns,” he said. “We do equestrian litigation when there are disputes relating to maybe misrepresentation of the sale of a horse [and] disputes relating to the ownership of a horse. We do horse issues in probate. There are horse issues in divorces.”

Barbuto has also helped clients from Wellington who own homes in Italy.

“I have a lot of Italian clients. I have clients in Italy who are involved in the equestrian business and have business interests or real estate interests here in the U.S., so I do still work there, not only work from Italy for my clients here, but I still generate business and meet with clients in Italy,” he said.

Barbuto is a member of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. He does community service work throughout the year through the village’s adopt-a-street program. He is also a member of the Florida Bar’s Animal Law Section.

“If someone is interested in tax law, there are certain sections of the Florida Bar where a lot of the tax attorneys get together,” Barbuto explained. “So, the section that I’m involved in is animal law and the real property and probate law.”

Barbuto is also a licensed roofing contractor. The license is useful when he deals with construction cases at his practice.   

“It’s something I obtained around 2001. My father is in the commercial roofing business,” Barbuto said. “I renew it each year, but I don’t actually have a [roofing] company.”

No matter where Barbuto is in the world, he is devoted to his practice and the people he serves.

“I really love Wellington for many reasons,” he said. “I’m a resident of Wellington. I’m a homeowner in Wellington. I live in Binks Forest with my wife and son. I love the community and the people. I’m very grateful for that, so I don’t plan on leaving.”

To contact Barbuto Law & Associates, call (561) 798-2907 or visit www.barbutolaw.com. To contact Barbuto & Johansson, call (561) 444-7980 or visit www.injurylawfirm 4all.com.