Joanne Gelfand - West Palm Beach, FL

Awards and Honors

Super Lawyers® Selectees

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Joanne Gelfand included in a Super Lawyers® list

Education

• Legal Education

  • University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida, 1985
    J.D.
    Honors: cum laude
    Honors: With Honors
    Law Review: University of Miami Law Review, Editor, 1984 - 1985
  • New York Law School, New York, New York, 2000
    LL.M.
    Major: Labor & Employment Law

• Non Legal Education

  • University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 1982
    B.S.
    Honors: cum laude
    Honors: With Honors
    Major: Journalism/Advertising
    Minor: Spanish
  • Oxford University, 1983
    Summer Session - Comparative Law

Current Employment Position(s)

• Of Counsel

Past Positions

• Akerman LLP, Of Counsel, Bankruptcy & Insolvency Practice Group, 2001 - 2023

Languages

• Spanish

Classes and Seminars

• Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, Florida Bar, April 2014
  
• Cryptocurrency Symposium Panel, St. Thomas Journal of Complex Litigation, Spring 2023
  
• Pledging Digital Assets in a Crypto World, Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, June 2023
  
• Condominium & Planning Development Law, Speaker, “Bankruptcy for Association Practitioners, Florida Bar, April 2014
  
• Real Property Included in a Bankruptcy Estate, Ralph E. Boyer Inst. on Real Property and Condo Law, October 2010

Pro Bono Activities

• Legal Services of Miami as outside bankruptcy counsel. Obtained largest award in history of Legal Services, 2018 - 2019
• Southern Poverty Law Center. Name change for minor and transgenders., 2020 - 2023

Representative Clients

• Mortgagees

• Partnership Debtors

• Secured and Unsecured Creditors

Published Works

Articles

• Proposed Revisions to Resolve Safe Harbor Conflict as to Master Netting Agreements, American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Oct., 2022
  
• Cryptocurrency Exchange Bankruptcy Litigation, Reuters Practical Law Journal, May, 2024
  
• Tiptoeing Over Conflict in Bankruptcy, National Law Journal, January 7, 2002
  
• Supreme Court Ruling Increases Costs of Bankruptcies, Daily Business Review, March 29, 2007
  
• The How And Why Of Crypto Anonymity And The Court Challenges That May Undo It All In The Face Of Market Upheaval, St. Thomas Journal of Complex Litigation, Vol. 9, Spring 2023
  
• The Treatment of Employment Discrimination Claims in Bankruptcy, Priority Status, Stay Relief, Dischargeability and Exemptions, University of Miami Law Review 601, Vol 56, April 2002

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 1985
• New York, 1995
• District of Columbia, 1994
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York

Other Affiliations

• Florida Bar Article 12 Task Force, 2022 - Present
• Florida Bar Bankruptcy Committee
• Florida Bar Business Law Committee