Miami Probate Litigation Lawyers Chepenik Trushin LLP Home
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for Life
for Life
Bradley H. Trushin
Senior Partner btrushin@ctllp.com
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Phone: (305) 981-8889
Fax: (305) 405-7979
12550 Biscayne Blvd.
Suite 805
North Miami, Florida 33181
Bradley H. Trushin is a co-founder of Chepenik Trushin LLP and leads the litigation department of the firm. Mr. Trushin is a Martindale-Hubbell AV preeminent rated attorney and has focused exclusively on litigation for over three decades. Mr. Trushin is admitted to practice in all Florida state courts, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the District of Puerto Rico, and the First, Third and Eleventh United States Circuit Courts of Appeals. He has headed the appellate, litigation, and E&O departments in several law firms; authors CLE materials and articles, lectures, moderates and participates in panel discussions; and serves as a testifying expert witness on attorney's fees, professional malpractice and insurance issues in Florida state court, federal court and before the American Arbitration Association. He also serves as an attorney's fees consultant for attorneys, insurance carriers and private corporations, reviewing fee applications and advising clients on the handling of fee issues, including litigation concerning fees. Mr. Trushin has served as general litigation counsel for a company in which he managed over twenty law firms in the United States, including analysis of billing practices.
Mr. Trushin has maintained a diverse litigation practice for over three decades including business and commercial litigation, professional liability, products liability, appellate practice, and insurance litigation, including property and casualty (first-party and third-party), errors and omissions (legal, medical, insurance agents, real estate brokers, etc.), and insurance coverage. He has tried over ten jury trials and over thirty non-jury trials, and he has handled over fifty appeals. He expanded his practice over fifteen years ago to include probate, guardianship and trust litigation, which is now his principal focus. Mr. Trushin litigates adversary claims in probate courts throughout the State of Florida, including will contests, will and trust construction, trust modification and trust reformation, trust termination, claims of undue influence, fiduciary claims on behalf of and against personal representatives and trustees, actions for accounting, lack of capacity, fraud, civil theft, abuse of the elderly, and guardianship controversies. Mr. Trushin represents personal representatives, trustees, guardians, beneficiaries and creditors in probate, trust and guardianship matters.
Mr. Trushin has handled complex litigation cases before state and federal courts and arbitrators. He has litigated a wide variety of complex commercial claims in such areas as fraud and conspiracy, civil theft, Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, securities registration and Florida Blue Sky Laws, commercial leases and corporate governance. For over two decades, Mr. Trushin has both obtained injunctive relief on behalf of employers, including emergency relief for breaches of non- compete and non-solicitation agreements, and he has successfully defended such claims on behalf of doctors, lawyers and business professionals. Furthermore, Mr. Trushin has litigated securities cases, including but not limited to, shareholder derivative actions, corporate control contests and partnership and shareholder disputes. He has represented both non-resident domestic corporations and foreign corporations in complex business litigation matters in state and federal courts. Mr. Trushin has extensive experience in all facets of insurance law, including insurance coverage disputes, and first party and third party claims in such lines as commercial general liability, property and casualty, homeowners, and E&O (legal, medical and accounting). He has handled numerous bad faith claims on behalf of carriers and has successfully defended claims in excess of $20 million.
In 2010, Brad founded Chepenik Trushin LLP with Bart Homans Chepenik.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. Trushin has extensive experience addressing attorney ethics issues working with the Florida Bar through his membership with Florida Bar Grievance Committee 11N, where he served as Committee Chair during two terms. His interest in attorney professionalism issues led to his involvement in the Dade County Bar Association Professionalism Committee, on whose behalf he has written articles and participated in forums addressing professionalism issues. He was appointed to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit's Professionalism and Civility Committee by the Chief Judge in 2015. Mr. Trushin was elected to the Board of Directors of the Dade County Bar Association in 2016, and also serves on the DCBA Probate & Guardianship Committee and Bulletin Committee. In 2016, Mr. Trushin was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism for a four year term. His appointment was made by the Florida Bar Board of Governors Executive Committee. In 2018, Mr. Trushin was recognized by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of The Florida Bar as the recipient of an "Excellence in Professionalism Award". Mr. Trushin has also been recognized by his legal peers and awarded Florida Super Lawyers for Estate and Trust Litigation for over 10 years.
In 2017, Brad was published in the Florida Bar Journal for his article "Fitting Professionalism into the Profession: Do You Know the Rules?". He also became a State of Florida Certified CE (Continuing Education) Units Instructor and Presenter within the Florida Department of Finance and Insurance Regulation.
Mr. Trushin has given numerous educational seminars in the South Florida region for CPA's, CFP's, life/long term care/health insurance professionals, trust bankers, local business owners, senior care managers, peer attorneys and Judges on topics including guardianship litigation, capacity and incapacity standards, lack of testamentary capacity (undue influence), elder exploitation, sequestering and parroting, CURA and restoration of rights, trust bankers and their fiduciary roles, forensics and evaluation in probate litigation, intestacy and probate and attorneys fees disputes, He is a selected speaker for The Law Council - Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, BNI, The Florida Bar, FICPA, Suntrust bank, Tri-County Elder Resources Network, Who's Who In America TV, NAIFA, the Dade County Bar Association and the Florida Statewide Guardianship Association.
Education
J.D., University of Florida, Frederic G. Levin College of Law, Gainesville, FL, 1989
B.S., Psychology (with honors), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 1986
Cum laude, College of Arts and Sciences
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice Florida, 1989
United States Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
United States Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
United States Court of Appeals 1st Circuit
United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
United States District Court District of Minnesota
United States Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
United States Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
United States Court of Appeals 1st Circuit
United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
United States District Court District of Minnesota
Professional & Bar Association Memberships
The Florida Bar
Member (1989 to present)
Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section (“RPPTL”) (2009 to present) RPPTL Probate and Trust Committee Section (2015 to present)
RPPTL Probate Litigation Committee (2015 to present)
RPPTL Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults Subcommittee (2016 to present)
Florida Bar Grievance Committee, 11N
Term #1: Member (2005-2007); Chairman (2008)
Term #2: Member (2011-2013); Chairman (2014)
Dade County Bar Association
Board of Directors (2016-2018 term)
Probate and Guardianship Committee (2010 to present)
Professionalism Committee (2014 to present)
Bulletin Committee (2014 to present)
Gator Alumni Association
Life Member
Experience
Chepenik Trushin, LLP, North Miami, FL
Partner, 2010-Present
Primary practice areas: probate litigation, complex commercial litigation, insurance defense litigation, professional liability litigation.
Chair of Litigation Dept. and Appellate Dept.
Koch & Trushin, PA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Partner, 2004–2010
Primary practice areas: insurance defense litigation, complex commercial litigation, probate litigation, professional liability litigation, appellate litigation.
Chair of E&O Dept. and Appellate Dept.
Herzfeld & Rubin, Miami, FL
Partner, 2002-2004
Primary practice areas: professional liability litigation, products liability litigation, commercial litigation, insurance defense litigation.
Wolpe & Leibowitz, LLP, Miami, FL
Associate, 1989-1996
Partner, 1996–2002
Primary practice areas: appellate litigation, professional liability litigation, insurance defense litigation, products liability litigation.
Chair of Appellate Dept. and Attorney E&O Dept.
Honors & Awards
2021 Super Lawyers, Florida / Miami, The Annual List of Top Attorneys, Top 100 Miami, Bradley H. Trushin, Chepenik Trushin LLP, Miami, August 2021
2019 Florida Super Lawyers for Estate and Trust Litigation.
State of Florida Certified CE (Continuing Education) Units Instructor and Presenter. Florida Department of Finance and Insurance Regulation. November 2017 - Present
Bradley H. Trushin, Florida Trend's 2018 Florida Legal Elite, selected by his legal peers as the best in the state of Florida in Wills, Trusts and Estates.
2018 Florida Super Lawyers for Estate Litigation and Trust Litigation law.
Super Lawyers 2018
2017 Excellence in Professionalism Award, presented by The 11th Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee, Miami Dade County. Invaluable pursuits of professionalism and civility among fellow lawyers.
The Supreme Court of Florida appointed Brad Trushin as Co-Chair of a sub-committee to review current professionalism standards and consider if an adequate consolidated summary could be prepared and published, June 22, 2017
Appointed to Florida Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and Civility by the Florida Bar Board of Governors (2016-2020 term)
Appointed to 11th Judicial Circuit Professionalism and Civility Panel
Top Attorneys in Florida, Wall Street Journal
AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Super Lawyers, Estate and Trust Litigation, Florida Trend Magazine Avvo Rating: Super/Probate
Articles, Publications, and Lectures
Index and Summary of the Supreme Court of Florida's Code of Professionalism and the Local Rules of The Eleventh Judicial Circuit Standards of Professionalism and Civility. Author, publisher and curator of an online searchable index and compendium of the Florida Supreme Court's Code of Professionalism and the 11th Judicial Circuit's Standards of Professionalism and Civility, designed to allow attorneys and judges to easily identify mandatory professionalism standards, and cut and paste relevant rules into documents. www.ctllp.com/professionalism.
Jeffrey Rynor, Esq. to be Installed as 100th President of DCBA, Miami Dade County Bar Bulletin June 2016
Professionalism 2.0: The Dawn of a New Era of Civility, Dade County Bar Association Bulletin, December 2015
Estate and Trust Litigation: Key Issues for Estate Planners. Strategies for Trusts and Estates in Florida: Leading Lawyers on Analyzing Recent Developments and Navigating the Estate Planning Process in Florida. Thomson Reuters, 2015: 7-44
ChatGPT: What you Really Need to Know, Business Networking International Workshop, March 2, 2023, Presenter
$6M in Attorney Fees: Inside Foley & Lardner's Billing: A Blueprint for Asking a Federal Court for Attorney Fees, Daily Business Review, February 21, 2023, Interviewed and Cited as Attorney's Fees Expert
Proving Attorney Fees in Litigation, 2022 National Association of Legal Fees Analysis Continuing Legal Education Seminar, May 26, 2022, Faculty Curator and Panelist
Developments in Tax and Trust Law, 2022 Spellman-Hoeveler American Inns of Court Bench and Bar Conference, February 18, 2022, Panel Curator and Moderator
The Application of C.U.R.A. (Choice, Understanding, Appreciation, Reasoning) in the Determination of Decision-Making Capacity in Legal Proceedings to Determine Incapacity, Guardianship and Restoration of Rights. Business Networking International Education Seminar, July 21, 2021, Keynote Speaker
Echoes of the Golden Rule: Professionalism in the Practice of Law, Business Network International Education Seminar, August 7, 2019, Keynote Speaker
Incapacity Planning as an Alternative to Guardianship, Special Issues for Litigation in Complex Incapacity and Guardianship Proceedings, and the Restoration of Rights: A Case Study, 2019 Florida State Guardianship Association 32nd Annual Conference, CLE/CEU Accredited, July 18-20, 2019, Featured Presenter
Developments in Tax and Trust Law, 2019 Spellman-Hoeveler American Inns of Court Bench and Bar Conference, March 1, 2019, Panel Curator and Moderator
Special Issues for Fiduciaries and Family Members Who Witness the Signs of Elder Exploitation, Undue Influence, and Lack of Testamentary Capacity, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Miami Conference, Professional Continuing Education Accredited Two Hour Course, October 4, 2018, Keynote Speaker
Rolling the Dice With Your Life: The Perils of Not Having an Estate Plan. Business Network International Education Seminar, October 3, 2018, Keynote Speaker
Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Guardianship: What the Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors Need to Know, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Miami Conference, Professional Continuing Education Accredited Two Hour Course, April 19, 2018, Keynote Speaker
Probate and Guardianship Law for Accounting Professionals, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants CPE Seminar, April 2018, Presenter
Undue Influence, Elder Exploitation and Elder Abuse - How to Identify It and What to Do About It, Who's Who In America, Al-Hikmat Interfaith Ministry, March 7, 2018, Interviewee
Recent Developments in Trust Law, Dade County Bar Association 6th Annual Florida's Grand Bench & Bar Conference, 2017, Panelist
Probate and Guardianship: What Does it All Mean?, Rotary Club of Hallandale Luncheon, December 27, 2017, Keynote Speaker
The Impact of Guardianship Laws, Elder Abuse and Undue Influence in the Senior Care Industry, Senior Care Resource Group Network Seminar, November 21, 2017, Featured Speaker
Understanding Attorney's Fees Disputes for Accountants and Auditors, Alpha Kappa Psi Florida Professional Business Fraternity Alumni Continuing Professional Education Seminar (accredited), November 10, 2017, Presenter
Details Matter, So Don't Blink An Eye: Probate, Guardianship And The Impact of Incapacity and Undue Influence Claims in Trust Banking and Private Wealth Management, Suntrust Roundtable and Luncheon, Suntrust Private Wealth Coral Gables, August 22, 2017, Keynote Speaker
The Role of Accounting Forensics in Probate Litigation, Alpha Kappa Psi Florida Professional Business Fraternity Alumni Continuing Professional Education Seminar, Florida Gold Coast Chapter (accredited), June 23, 2017
Professionalism, Ethics and Lawyer Conduct Issues: Sources of Stress Impacting Professional Conduct, The Florida Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and Civility, Florida Bar Annual Meeting, June 22, 2017, Presenter
Climb the Pillars to Success by Fitting Professionalism into the Profession. Producer and lecturer at a six hour continuing legal education accredited attorney ethics and professionalism seminar and luncheon featuring a keynote address by Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis, a judicial panel featuring Justice Lewis and the Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit, a panel featuring The Florida Bar President, President-Elect and a Past-President, and panels featuring distinguished judges and bar leaders, September 9, 2016
Panelist, Dade County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Judicial Roundtable on Lawyer Professionalism, 2014
Civic and Charitable Involvement
Temple Israel of Greater Miami (host of religious/social events)
Reading for Life (childhood literacy program)
Friends of 440 Scholarship Fund (sponsor)
National Center for Gay and Lesbian Rights Marriage Equality (sponsor) Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association (sponsor)
AIDS Walk Miami (Participant)
Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce (member)
Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce (member)
Volunteer Florida Election Monitor (2004, 2008, 2012)
