Executive Committee officers and Executive Council members were unanimously approved and sworn in by members of the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar at its annual Membership Awards and Installation Presentation held virtually on Wednesday, June 17.
Joining the Executive Committee are Douglas A. Greenbaum (Chair), Heather L. Apicella (Chair-Elect), Philip S. Wartenberg (Treasurer), Sarah E. Kay (Secretary), and Amy Hamlin (Immediate Past Chair).
In 1992, Douglas A. Greenbaum opened his Fort Lauderdale law firm, Douglas A. Greenbaum, PA, where he specializes in family law, guardianship, estate planning, and probate. Greenbaum possesses more than 30 years of experience in family law, guardianship law, and alternative dispute resolution. Graduating from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, he received his J.D. in 1987 from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. Since 2017, he has been recognized by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers as a Super Lawyer, an honorary designation awarded to five percent, or fewer, of the state’s leading attorneys. He also serves as a Florida Guardian ad Litem, is a member of The Florida Bar’s Councils of Sections, and holds a number of leadership roles within the Family Law Section.
A partner at the Boca Raton-based law firm, Gladstone & Weissman, Heather L. Apicella is board-certified in marital and family law. The Denver-born, board-certified attorney earned her Bachelor’s degree at Florida State University in Tallahassee in 2002. Four years later, she graduated with her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law Nova where she had served on the Executive Board of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Her myriad accolades include 2019 Best Lawyer by the Best Lawyers in America and repetitiously honored as a Rising Star by Florida Super Lawyers, a recognition given to 2.5 percent of the state’s lawyers under the age of 40. A member of The Florida Bar, the South Palm Beach County Bar Association, and the Palm Beach County Bar Association, she sits on several councils and committees, including the Family Law Section’s Continuing Legal Education Committee for which she is currently Vice Chair.
Philip S. Wartenberg is board-certified in marital and family law and currently serves as a general magistrate of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa. He was previously the owner and sole shareholder of Wartenberg Law Group, P.A., in Tampa from 2001 to 2016. In March 2016, he merged his practice with Allen Dell, P.A., in Tampa, where he was a partner in the firm’s family law department until his magistrate appointment in March 2020. He graduated from the University of Florida, Warrington College of Business in 1991 with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and earned his J.D. in 1994 from Stetson University College of Law. In 2008, he was bestowed with the Family Law Inn of Tampa’s Ted S. Millison Professionalism Award and has been designated as a Florida Super Lawyer. He is a member of The Florida Bar, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and the Stann W. Givens Family Law Inn Court of Tampa. Additionally, he is a past chair of the Florida Bar Family Law Section’s Legislation and Certification Review Course Committee.
Formerly an associate at Sessums Black Caballero Ficarrotta, Sarah E. Kay opened her eponymous practice, Kay Family Law PLLC, in December 2019 to focus on family law and divorce and separation, as well as child support and custody and special education law. The mother of three children, two with special needs, she is board-certified in marital and family law by The Florida Bar, a certified family law mediator by The Florida Supreme Court, and serves as a Florida Guardian ad Litem. From Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Middle School Education and received both her M.B.A. and J.D. from Stetson University and Stetson University College of Law in 2010. Professional organizations she currently belongs to include the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates, Florida Association for Women Lawyers, The Florida Bar, Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, and Hillsborough County Bar Association. Amongst her awards credits, she is a repeat recipient of the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar’s Above & Beyond Award, has been named a Rising Star by Florida Super Lawyers since 2013, and is listed among Florida’s best family law attorneys by American Institute of Family Law Attorneys. She also holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating available for legal ability and legal ethics.
Family Section of The Florida Bar is located at 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, FL. For more information, call (850) 561-5624 or visit familylawfla.org.
Join the conversation!