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Condominium & Homeowners’ Association Law Team

Thomas_Allmond1

Tom Allmond is a Partner and Supervising Attorney in the firm’s Jacksonville Office. Mr. Allmond’s practice includes all aspects of civil litigation. Mr. Allmond litigated numerous cases, handling labor and employment cases, property damage, conducted and managed investigations, environmental law litigation, and participated in domestic emergency responses.

Mr. Allmond earned his J.D. from Mercer University School of Law, graduating with honors and a certificate in Legal Writing. While completing his studies, Mr. Allmond was a member of the Gibbons Moot Court Team, served as a Petty Officer in the Navy Reserves, and was awarded the Walker P. Johnson Jr. Memorial Award by the William Augustus Bootle Inn of Court.

Upon graduation, Mr. Allmond served on active duty as a Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG). During his time as a JAG, Mr. Allmond continues to serve in the Navy Reserves as a Commander (select). Mr. Allmond is admitted in Florida and North Carolina.

Jamie Baboolal

Jamie Baboolal is an Senior Associate with the firm’s Miami office. Her practice areas include products liability, premises liability, and general liability.

Jamie graduated summa cum laude from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. During law school, Jamie received Dean’s List Honors, multiple CALI Excellence for the Future Awards, and was an active member of the Nova Moot Court Society and Nova Law Review. She also held positions as teaching assistant for Constitutional Law and research assistant for Health Law.

While attending law school, Jamie worked as a law clerk at a boutique firm where she gained practical experience handling wills, estates, family law, and real estate transactions. Jamie also worked as a legal intern at a securities litigation firm where she gained valuable experience in securities class actions.

Senior Associate

Abril Smith Caeiro

Abril Smith Caeiro is an Associate in Lydecker’s Miami office. Her practice centers on a broad range of Commercial Litigation matters, including business disputes, employment law and discrimination claims, as well as defending businesses against negligence and breach of contract claims.

Abril earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science from Florida International University, graduating magna cum laude as a member of the Honors College. She went on to obtain her Juris Doctor from the Florida State University College of Law. During law school, Abril interned with a Fortune 200 company and served as a professor’s assistant for two consecutive years. She also dedicated over 300 hours to clinical and pro bono work, providing critical support to individuals navigating complex immigration proceedings.

Nicholas Conto

Mr. Conto is a Partner at the firm’s Boca Raton Office. Mr. Conto began his career in law representing corporations in legal matters concerning maritime law. Mr. Conto then joined a well-known litigation defense firm with offices throughout Florida. There he focused his practice on defending corporations in construction defect matters, premises liability matters and negligent security matters involving claims of wrongful death. He also represented insurance companies in high exposure first-party property disputes.

At Lydecker Mr. Conto is concentrating his practice on defending developers, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, environmental consultants, product manufacturers and insurance carriers in a variety of contexts arising from the construction and use of real property. Mr. Conto has successfully represented clients in all phases of litigation including trials, summary judgment proceedings and mediations.

Mrs. Diverio (1)

Mrs. Diverio is a shareholding partner at Lydecker’s Miami office and is the chair of the property practice group. She is a trial and appellate attorney for first and third party lawsuits. She handles bad faith claims, third party claims nationally, fire/theft/fraud investigations, windstorm coverage insurance defense, personal injury, general liability, subrogation claims, fraud investigations, and all types of property damage claims.

In addition to her broad insurance coverage practice, Ms. Diverio has significant experience in Directors & Officers (D&O) condominium litigation, where she represents boards, associations, and insurers in matters involving governance disputes, fiduciary duty claims, and coverage issues. Her work in this area provides clients with strategic counsel on both preventative risk management and litigation defense.

Mrs. Diverio litigates insurance disputes involving high exposure commercial and personal lines in both State and Federal court. Mrs. Diverio’s practice group handles claims from pre-suit investigations through trials and appeals.

Mrs. Diverio has handled a multitude of appellate and trial matters and has been first-handedly involved in changing and upholding Florida Statutes on significant current insurance defense issues.

Most importantly, Mrs. Diverio’s strength lies in client relations and professionalism. She maintains an open line of communication with her clients during all phases of litigation, settlement of a dispute, and works in conjunction with her adjusters to quickly and efficiently resolve claims.

Mr. Johnson

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.

Tobias Koch

Prior to joining Lydecker, Mr. Koch served as a Public Defender for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Orlando, Florida. During his time as a Public Defender Mr. Koch handled cases ranging from felonies to misdemeanors, from intake to trial preparation. He has extensive litigation experience, including representing businesses and associations in state court. Mr. Koch finds success in securing favorable outcomes for his clients, including a full defense verdict during a four-day jury trial in May of 2023 which saved his clients from a potential million-dollar liability exposure.

Senior Associate

Bryan Miller 1

Bryan Miller is a partner in Lydecker’s Los Angeles office and is an experienced senior level attorney and advisor with more than twenty-five years of success providing legal analysis and strategy to craft options and winning solutions for clients.

Bryan effectively represents parties in trial proceedings or artfully crafted approaches in arbitration, mediation, or alternative dissolution proceedings.

Bryan is able to through listening, engagement, and opening opportunities for resolution, is often able to guide diametrically opposed parties to come to acceptable resolution actions and results. Bryan balances attention to detail and management methodologies to expertly maintain a ‘big picture’ focus while minimizing client /company exposure to risk. He leverages powerful courtroom presence and consistently drives case strategies to achieve favorable outcomes for individual and corporate clients through the application of critical thinking and creative negotiation tactics.

He was a named equity partner in the civil rights firm of Litt, Estuar, Harrision, Miller and Kitson, LLP where he practiced high-impact, class-action litigation. He worked as counsel, co-counsel, trial counsel, and co-trial counsel.

Serving as Of Counsel at Norton & Melnik, APC, he litigated insurance defense cases in personal injury fraud, products liability, and intentional torts while practicing all forms of ADR. He settled multiple insurance defense cases for nuisance value, protecting his clients from exposure to significant damages.

While studying for his LL.M. in the Netherlands, he was a volunteer lawyer for the Israeli Embassy to The Hague, working for Ambassador Harvey Kney-Tal.

More recently he worked at the Wade Law Group as a Senior Trial Lawyer practicing real estate and labor and employment law.

He has practiced in all four district courts in California, argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and is admitted before the United States Supreme Court.

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Ms. Negrette is Of Counsel in the firm’s Boca Raton office where she focuses her practice in construction defect litigation and construction-related disputes. In this complex field, Ms. Negrette is dedicated to representing contractors, developers, subcontractors, and other construction professionals in a wide range of high-stakes, multi-million dollar litigation disputes stemming from the design and construction of residential and commercial projects. Ms. Negrette joined the firm in May 2023. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Negrette focused her practice in the areas of insurance coverage, first-party property defense, general liability, and complex commercial litigation.

While in law school, Ms. Negrette competed in four moot court competitions including the National Puerto Rican Bar Moot Court Competition where her team was awarded Best Brief at Nationals. Ms. Negrette graduated magna cum laude and received Book Awards in Contracts, Evidence, and Appellate Practice Workshop. During law school, Ms. Negrette also completed a judicial internship with the Honorable Tim Bailey of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

In 2025, Ms. Negrette was recognized as a Florida Super Lawyers Rising Star. Lawyers are selected for inclusion each year based on peer nominations, evaluations, and third-party research.

Robert J. Pariser

Robert Pariser supervises a talented team of attorneys who practice in the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania offices. The attorneys I collaborate with are comprised of former educators, prosecutors, law clerks to state and federal judges and insurance professionals.

Robert Pariser’s legal practice focuses on the defense of claims against professionals (E&O, A&B, LPL or MPL), directors and officers (D&O) and against employers (EPL). Mr. Pariser represents design professionals (A&E) and other real estate professionals, including managing agents, appraisers, title agents, condo and co-op boards and developers in various disputes. On behalf of construction owners and managers, he defends claims prosecuted by injured workers brought pursuant to the New York Labor Law.

Robert Pariser also represent clients on other types of discrimination claims, including alleged civil rights violations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Robert Pariser defends environmental cases, involving mold, asbestos and ground contamination.

Robert Pariser represents public and private educators in breach of contract, employment, bullying, failing to promote and in due process matters.

Robert Pariser has had election, stock redemption, auction, foreclosure/ sheriff sale, false arrest, prosecutorial misconduct disputes. Robert Pariser has been on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list from 2011-present.

Mr. Patten

Mr. Patten is a Partner at Lydecker’s New York and New Jersey offices.  He serves in the commercial litigation department where he works on third party insurance defense, including General Liability Defense, Bodily Injury Defense, New York Labor Law Defense, Construction Defect Litigation, Architects & Engineers litigation, Products Liability, and a variety of other civil litigation issues. Mr. Patten has litigated countless cases involving wrongful death and catastrophic accidents/injuries at construction sites, including claims brought under New York Labor Laws section 200, 240, and 241.

In addition, Mr. Patten is an expert in automobile negligence defense. He has been working in the auto negligence industry for the majority of his career and manages complex cases involving multi-vehicle accidents and catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. Mr. Patten provides legal guidance on issues involving vicarious liability, indemnity, as well as non-permissive use. He has experience in both trial and arbitration settings, reaching final judgments, verdicts, and beneficial settlements for his auto negligence clients.

Prior to joining Lydecker, Mr. Patten was a prosecutor for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office where he obtained extensive trial experience prosecuting criminal misdemeanor and felony level charges. Mr. Patten also prosecuted for the State of Florida Department of Children and Families, where he litigated dependency issues and termination of parental rights cases.

Mr. Patten received his Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in the top 3% of his class. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in History, Cum Laude, from St. John’s University in Minnesota.

While in law school, Mr. Patten served as Editor-in-Chief for the St. Thomas Law Review, as well as Student Bar Association President. Mr. Patten also tutored students in property law and worked as an intern for the Honorable Judge John O’Sullivan in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Partner

James Spratt-img

James Spratt is a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office and practices in all courts in California. His primary areas of practice include complex commercial litigation, tort practice in products liability, real property and construction defect.

Mr. Spratt earned his Juris Doctor Certificate from University of La Verne and his Bachelor’s degree in History from University of California, Santa Barbara. While in law school, Mr. Spratt has held numerous legal internships, including Office of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In Mr. Spratt’s practice, he has held various partner positions with national law firms and has worked for national insurance companies, as staff counsel. He has worked defending national insurance companies in professional negligence, commercial trucking negligence, premises liability and habitability claims.

Mr. Spratt has handled the defense of Property Owners, Landlords, Property Managers, and Homeowners Associations in claims arising out of California Habitability Claims pursuant to compliance with statutory duties under California Civil Code Section 1941.1 and California Health and Safety Code Section 17920.3. While the defense of these claims is often challenging in the pro-tenant environment of California law, Partner, James Spratt has displayed skill and expertise in navigating the display of substantial compliance with statutory duties in order to minimize exposure to risks. This is often achieved by a careful analysis of the jurisdictional building code and health & safety code records, in order to achieve favorable results in mediation of these claims. Additionally, Mr. Spratt has engaged some of the best experts in the fields of Property Management and Environmental Science to defend these claims, including Toxicologists, Microbiologists and Medical Doctors specializing in California Mycotoxin, Mold and Environmental Diseases.

Mr. Spratt is active in conservation efforts of Santa Monica Mountains Restoration Trust and enjoys snow skiing and swimming in his spare time. He also enjoys spending time with his family and his German Shepard dog. Mr. Spratt is also a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Saasha Williams

Saasha Williams is an Associate Attorney at Lydecker with extensive experience in handling all aspects of civil litigation.

Saasha is a Central Florida native and member of the Florida Bar Association. Saasha graduated from Stetson University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. At Stetson, Saasha was involved in mentorship, community outreach, and fundraising for disabled Veterans.

Thereafter, Saasha earned her Juris Doctorate from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law in Orlando, Florida. After earning her J.D., Saasha devoted her career to serving the State of Florida as an Assistant State Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit and a Senior Attorney for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Prior to joining the Lydecker, Saasha gained significant litigation experience in a variety of areas of law making her a well rounded asset to the Lydecker family.