Lawyers
Mr. Johnson specializes in the representation of professionals, corporations and insurers in a broad range of business and tort matters, including employment claims, environmental claims and other complex actions. Mr. Johnson also has experience litigating government municipal matters throughout the state of Florida, as well as representing journalists and media companies in intellectual property and defamation litigation. Mr. Johnson’s practice also includes the defense of attorneys, accountants and real estate professionals in professional liability matters and non-profit corporations as well as their directors and officers in a range of matters.
Before joining Lydecker, Mr. Johnson began his career as an associate in the Miami office of a business litigation boutique headquartered in New York, where he represented banking and corporate interests in multiple international business and commercial disputes. Mr. Johnson is also an experienced and accomplished appellate attorney, having multiple published Federal and Florida opinions, as well as oral arguments and appellate mediations across multiple appellate courts.
In addition to his professional commitments, Mr. Johnson recognizes his responsibility to serve the community. He is a member of the 100 Black Men of South Florida, one of the leading youth mentoring organizations in the country, as well as the Miami-Dade County Black Affairs Advisory Board. He is also a director of BAC Funding Corp. a non-profit state funded lender for disadvantaged business. He is also Secretary of the Coppin State University Development Foundation which raises money for scholarships to his alma mater, Coppin State University. He also Serves as Vice Chair of the Miami-Dade School District Audit and Budget Committee. He has also served as a member of the Executive Board of the Miami-Dade Chapter of NAACP and the Polemarch (President) of the Richmond-Perrine (FL) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Partner
Gabrielle Johnson is an Associate Attorney in the Orlando, FL office where her primary focus is Premises Liability. She is originally from Miami, FL and resided there her entire life prior to migrating to Orlando in 2020.
Gabrielle received her Bachelor’s of Arts from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton where she majored in Criminal Justice with a minor in Political Science.
Thereafter, Gabrielle attended Barry University, Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law where she obtained her Juris Doctorate. While in law school Gabrielle participated in the Juvenile Defense Clinic and the Collaborative Family Law Clinic. Gabrielle also had the opportunity to intern at a New York based corporation where she gained valuable experience in the area of Corporate Governance and Employee Benefits.
Prior to joining the Lydecker family, Gabrielle gained experience in Criminal Law as an Assistant State Attorney at the State Attorney’s Office in the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orlando, FL.
Associate
Emma Erickson-Kery is an associate in the firm’s Los Angeles Office. Ms. Erickson-Kery’s practice involves defending clients in various areas of litigation.
Ms. Erickson-Kery achieved her Bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her J.D., which she earned from Pepperdine University in 2023. While in law school, Ms. Erickson-Kery worked as a law clerk for the California Department of Justice in its Criminal Appeals, Writs, and Trials section. Ms. Erickson-Kery also served as a legal intern at the Los Angeles County Office of the County Counsel in its appeals division. Finally, Ms. Erickson-Kery was the managing editor of Pepperdine’s Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship, and The Law.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Erickson-Kery worked as an associate at a state-wide litigation firm based in Century City.
Associate
Alan is a senior associate at the Firm’s Los Angeles office and a trial attorney for the Firm’s Product Liability Department.
Alan has represented companies of all sizes in all phases of litigation before State and Federal Courts in connection with a variety of complex civil and commercial litigation matters with a focus on product liability and premises liability. Recently, Alan served as trial counsel for an international corporation on a forty-four-day long jury trial involving novel issues of law and some of the nation’s most prestigious experts in both medicine and industrial hygiene.
Throughout his career, Alan has defended a wide spectrum of clients including manufacturers of building materials, personal cosmetic products, automotive parts, tools, naval equipment, ceramics, vehicles, electrical cable, televisions, and cooking appliances as well as premises owners such as apartments, hotels, shopping malls, and grocery stores.
Mr. Khlevnoy is originally from Los Angeles and attended law school at the University of San Diego School of Law. During law school, Mr. Khlevnoy won first place at the American Association for Justice Mock Trial Competition and he was nominated by one of his professors to study at Georgetown University School of Law and work for a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
Alan’s favorite teams are the Lakers, Dodgers, Kings and Rams.
Senior Associate
Young Kim is an Associate located in Lydecker’s Jersey City office. He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey. Mr. Kim’s practice area involves all aspects of Civil Litigation in the state courts of New York and New Jersey.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kim served as a Law Clerk in the New York State Supreme Court Civil Division, and he also practiced as a trial and appellate counsel handling civil matters involving real property disputes and mortgage foreclosure defenses.
Mr. Kim attended New York Law School, as a Global Law Fellow receiving a merit-based full scholarship. During the second year in Law School, Mr. Kim participated in the New York City Municipal Litigation Defense Clinic and worked for the Tort Division of the New York City Law Department. In his third year, Mr. Kim was accepted into the New York State Pro Bono Scholar program and worked at the Legal Services NYC.
Prior to law school, Mr. Kim worked as a legislative aide to a member of the New York State Assembly.
Associate
Shaun Robert Koby is a Shareholder with the Firm’s Florida offices. His practice focuses in the areas of complex commercial litigation, professional malpractice, insurance defense, and constitutional law.
Mr. Koby earned his undergraduate degree from the Florida State University in 2004. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Criminology. Mr. Koby graduated first in his class out of over 9000 students.
Besides academics, he was also actively involved in Student Government and created two community service organizations that enabled students to perform countless hours of service to the FSU campus and surrounding community. During the summer before graduation, Mr. Koby was an intern in the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs for Governor Jeb Bush.
Mr. Koby earned his Juris Doctor Degree, with honors, from the University of Florida in 2007. He was a Teaching Assistant for Legal Research and Writing, Appellate Advocacy, and Trial Practice. Mr. Koby also created a community service organization named Gators United Together for Service and was awarded a Community Service Certificate upon completion of law school.
Partner
David B. Kowalski is a partner in the Orlando office of Lydecker. He has extensive experience in the defense of civil disputes. Mr. Kowalski represents a wide range of clientele, including condominium associations, homeowners associations, governmental entities, trucking companies, products manufacturers, resorts, restaurants, and other establishments within the hospitality industry. This diverse background provides him with a unique perspective on the needs of each individual client. He has significant experience in cases of catastrophic personal injury, large settlement negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
While earning his Juris Doctorate, Mr. Kowalski worked as a law clerk with Jacksonville area law firms where he focused on complex commercial litigation. During the course of his clerkships, he gained experience litigating high value cases in state courts as well as the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. His interest in litigation lead him to Lydecker where he now practices a range of topics in civil defense.
Mr. Kowalski earned his Juris Doctorate in 2013 from the Florida State University College of Law where he graduated cum laude. There, he was an active member of the Dispute Resolution Society, Business Law Society, and Estate Planning & Elder Law Society. During the course of his legal education, Mr. Kowalski received numerous merit-based scholarships and was a five time recipient of the Dean’s List award. Prior to law school, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida State University.
Partner
Jessica is a partner at the Firm’s California and Florida office and the Head of the Firm’s Product Liability Department. In her professional career, Jessica has successfully represented both corporate clients and private individuals in all phases of litigation before Local, State and Federal Courts in connection with a wide variety of complex civil and commercial litigation matters, with a primary focus on product liability and premises liability. Her representation includes global manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and major retailers in numerous areas within the field, such as class action, mass and toxic tort litigation, recalled product claims, as well as defending claims involving consumer and commercially available substances and materials.
Jessica is originally from New York and attended college at the University of Connecticut, where she was a team captain of the Ski Team. Before beginning law school, she went on to commit two (2) years to Teach for America in Miami-Dade County. Teach for America is a highly-selective non-profit organization which recruits leaders with a record in achievement to expand educational opportunities and close the achievement gap in low-income communities. Afterward, she attended the University of Miami School of Law and joined Lydecker early in her career. Currently, in addition to her role as the head of the Product Liability Division for the firm, she is involved in mentorship of younger attorneys and leading the law clerk program.
Partner
Quinn LaHiff is Of Counsel in the firm’s Tampa office where his practice encompasses a broad range of civil defense matters.
A Florida native, Quinn received his Bachelor of Science of Legal Studies from the University of Central Florida. He then went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Stetson Law, where he served as Deputy Chief of the Stetson Ambassador and Mentorship Program. Upon graduation, Quinn began his practice as a civil litigation attorney representing clients in both state and Federal Court in a broad range of cases. In addition to litigating, Quinn also spent a significant portion of his career working in private capital and investment advisory firms serving as in-house counsel and chief compliance officer.
In his free time, Quinn enjoys spending time with his family in the great outdoors immersed in the natural beauty that his home state has to offer.
Of Counsel
Jonathan J. Levy is an associate at the Boca Raton office. Mr. Levy’s practice includes Construction Defect Litigation focusing on defending developers, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, environmental consultants, and product manufacturers. The other portion of Mr. Levy’s practice involves Catastrophic Injury and Loss Defense, focusing on the defense of claims involving wrongful death, paralysis, amputations, traumatic brain injury, sexual assault, and other serious injuries. These claims can result from a multitude of alleged causes, including construction site accidents and collapses, road construction accidents, commercial trucking and car accidents, premises liability, negligent security, and products liability, to name a few.
Mr. Levy joined the firm in March 2022. Prior to joining the firm Mr. Levy was an associate attorney at a boutique law firm specializing in Foreclosure Defense, Complex Business and Commercial Litigation, Appellate Advocacy, and Corporate Transactional Law.
Mr. Levy obtained his law degree from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law in 2019. During law school Mr. Levy served on the executive board for the Jewish Law Society and was a student delegate at the 2018 AIPAC Policy Conference. Mr. Levy was also a law clerk at NSU’S Berger Entrepreneurship Clinic, providing legal work to underserved small businesses, and achieved Dean’s List for multiple semesters. Prior to law school Mr. Levy worked for high tech companies in Tel-Aviv, Israel, garnering substantial international business experience.
Associate
Cuiyun Li AKA Laura Li is an Associate in the firm’s Jersey City office. Prior to joining Lydecker, Laura has engaged in several firms litigating employment issues, commercial issues, real estate issues, and other civil issues. Laura has zealously represented clients to resolve employment issues under the Title VII of Civil Rights of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, the New York Labor Law, etc. Laura also represented clients in commercial litigation where contract disputes require meticulous interpretation. Real Estate Disputes regarding ownership and partition are orthodox and perplexing where Laura undertook painstaking.
Associate
Valentina Lopera is an Associate at the Firm’s Miami office. Valentina’s practice focuses on civil litigation and insurance defense. Valentina has experience defending claims for personal injury sounding in auto negligence, premises liability, and construction negligence, as well as defending first party property damage claims, civil rights claims, employment-based claims, and workers’ compensation claims.
After graduating cum laude from Florida International University with a degree in Political Science, Valentina obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law. While in law school, Valentina was a Junior Associate and Bilingual Translator for the school journal, ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law.
Valentina has a commitment to pro-bono work and received an honorary distinction for completing more than 200 hours of pro-bono services during law school career. Valentina interned with Mission United Veterans Pro Bono Legal Aid Services of Broward County, where she helped low-income veterans appeal their military discharge status and/or their benefits; as well as assisting veterans in various civil matters including evictions and child custody disputes. Valentina also interned at the Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Law Clinic, providing legal assistance services to caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, Valentina has experience having interned with the Miami-Dade Public Schools Board of Education.
After graduating cum laude from Florida International University with a degree in Political Science, Valentina obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law. While in law school, Valentina was a Junior Associate and Bilingual Translator for the school journal, ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law.
Valentina has a commitment to pro-bono work and received an honorary distinction for completing more than 200 hours of pro-bono services during law school career. Valentina interned with Mission United Veterans Pro Bono Legal Aid Services of Broward County, where she helped low-income veterans appeal their military discharge status and/or their benefits; as well as assisting veterans in various civil matters including evictions and child custody disputes. Valentina also interned at the Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Law Clinic, providing legal assistance services to caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, Valentina has experience having interned with the Miami-Dade Public Schools Board of Education. Valentina continues to do pro-bono work.
Associate
