Lawyers
Jade Howard is Of Counsel in Lydecker’s Orlando office, where her practice encompasses all aspects of insurance defense, with a primary focus on construction law and premises liability.
Prior to joining Lydecker, Ms. Howard practiced at two well-regarded insurance defense firms, representing carriers in homeowners, premises liability, bodily injury, and first party property claims.
Ms. Howard began her legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit, where she handled over 2,000 cases and represented clients at every stage of the criminal process, including arrests, depositions, motion practice, and jury trials.
She earned her Juris Doctor in 2013, a Master of Public Administration in 2009, and a Bachelor of Science in 2008, all from Florida A&M University.
Jacqueline Humbert is an experienced trial attorney in Lydecker’s Miami office whose practice focuses on commercial litigation, creditor-debtor disputes, insurance litigation, construction defect matters, and other complex civil disputes. With more than 18 years of litigation experience, Ms. Humbert has represented individuals, businesses, insurers, property owners, financial institutions, and other clients in state and federal courts throughout Florida.
Ms. Humbert has extensive courtroom experience, having served as lead counsel in more than 75 jury trials. She began her career as an Assistant Public Defender in Broward County, where she spent more than a decade handling serious felony matters, including first-degree murder, major crimes, and death penalty cases. Her experience included complex motion practice, evidentiary hearings, appellate matters, and trial preparation, as well as supervising and mentoring junior attorneys.
Since transitioning to civil practice, Ms. Humbert has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of matters, including commercial and contract disputes, first-party property insurance and coverage litigation, construction defect and catastrophic property damage claims, and creditor-debtor matters. She also has significant experience in judgment enforcement and debt recovery, including domestication of judgments, fraudulent transfer actions, garnishments, levies, asset investigations, and other post-judgment remedies.
Ms. Humbert earned her Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida. She is admitted to The Florida Bar and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. Ms. Humbert is fluent in English and Spanish.
Melissa Hubble is Of Counsel in Lydecker, LLP’s Miami office. Ms. Hubble’s practice involves all aspects of state civil trial litigation with a primary focus in bodily injury, premises liability, general liability, and negligent security. Ms. Hubble also handles construction defect matters, tort liability, officers and directors, insurance coverage, and contractual litigation matters.
Ms. Hubble earned her J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law in May of 2021, graduating with honors. Prior to earning her degree at Ave Maria School of Law, Ms. Hubble attended the University of Florida Levin College of Law. During law school at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Ms. Hubble was a general editor for the Law of Public Policy Journal and a member of the John Marshall Bar Association.
Brandon L. Iskander is an Associate Attorney in Lydecker’s Los Angeles office. He specializes in civil litigation, with a focus on premises liability, product liability, and personal injury defense. Mr. Iskander represents corporate clients, insurance carriers, and property owners, delivering strategic defense strategies from inception through case resolution.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Iskander also practiced family law, where he developed a robust foundation in courtroom advocacy, intensive document discovery, and strategic dispute resolution that he now brings to his civil defense practice. He brings a sharp, analytical focus to every case and builds robust defense strategies tailored to each client’s unique goals.
Sheida Javadkhani is an Associate in Lydecker’s Los Angeles office and concentrates her practice in employment law defense and employment-related litigation. She represents employers in a wide range of workplace disputes, including claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour issues.
Ms. Javadkhani is involved in all phases of litigation, including motion practice, discovery, depositions, and trial preparation. She works closely with clients to develop practical, strategic solutions while efficiently managing cases from inception through resolution.
Prior to joining the firm, Sheida gained defense-side litigation experience in insurance defense matters at California law firms, as well as international legal advisory and litigation roles. She brings a strategic, detail-oriented approach to defending employers and guiding cases from early evaluation through resolution.
Sheida earned her LL.M. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and holds a Ph.D. in Private Law. Her academic background includes advanced coursework in employment-related contracts, business associations, evidence, and dispute resolution.
Marylin Jenkins is a partner in Lydecker’s San Francisco office and is a highly experienced first chair litigator, who has tried more than 50 matters to verdict or judgment without a loss. She has been recognized by her peers with an AV Rating with Martindale-Hubbell.
Ms. Jenkins concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation, including general business litigation, and environmental, commercial real estate, maritime, antitrust, bankruptcy, and insurance-related litigation, in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies, including the FAA, FERC, and the California PUC.
Prior to joining Lydecker, Ms. Jenkins was a partner at two prominent international law firms. She was also general counsel to Ultramar Ltd in Montreal, deputy general counsel and director of litigation to Ultramar Diamond Shamrock in San Antonio, and senior vice president and general counsel to Gilbarco Veeder-Root in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her in-house experience has made her particularly sensitive to the needs of corporate clients, including counsel, C-level executives, and boards of directors.
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.
Ralph Joseph is an Associate in Lydecker’s Jersey City office. His practice focuses on Professional Liability and Labor and Employment Law.
Prior to joining Lydecker, Mr. Joseph worked as an attorney for a legal aid organization and a municipality.
Mr. Joseph earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Cornell Law School in May 2019.
During law school, Mr. Joseph interned with the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Postal Service Law Department, and Legal Services of Greater Miami. He was also a student intern at the Cornell Labor Law Clinic, where he handled various employment and labor disputes in the Ithaca community. Mr. Joseph was a member of the Black Law Students Association.
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.
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.
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.
Ms. LaFaurie is a Lydecker Partner overseeing teams throughout the Firm’s Florida and California offices, with extensive experience handling a wide variety of high exposure and complex general liability and personal injury matters. Ms. LaFaurie is the Head of the Firm’s Product Liability Department and the co-chair of the Mass Tort Department. She is one of the firm’s trial attorneys, who regularly handles matters through all phases of litigation, from evidentiary hearings, arbitrations, and through trial, before Local, State and Federal Courts in connection with a wide variety of complex civil and commercial litigation matters.
Ms. LaFaurie’s general liability, product liability, and mass tort litigation experience includes representing premises owners and operators, local and global manufacturers, as well as major national retailers in numerous areas within the wider tort-based field, such as catastrophic injury, premises liability claims, class action, mass and toxic tort litigation, recalled product claims, as well as defending claims involving consumer and commercially available substances and materials. Her experience includes high exposure injury, wrongful death, and commercial matters. Ms. LaFaurie proactively manages and advises her clients on legal and factual matters of first impression, including efforts to mitigate and limit the prospective of emerging and anticipated claims, future class action and large-scale legal exposures.
Ms. LaFaurie is actively involved in leadership and mentorship in several national organizations focused on defense of business owners of all kinds. She sits on several committees with a focus which reflects her practice in civil litigation, product liability and mass tort.
Jade Howard is Of Counsel in Lydecker’s Orlando office, where her practice encompasses all aspects of insurance defense, with a primary focus on construction law and premises liability.
Prior to joining Lydecker, Ms. Howard practiced at two well-regarded insurance defense firms, representing carriers in homeowners, premises liability, bodily injury, and first party property claims.
Ms. Howard began her legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit, where she handled over 2,000 cases and represented clients at every stage of the criminal process, including arrests, depositions, motion practice, and jury trials.
She earned her Juris Doctor in 2013, a Master of Public Administration in 2009, and a Bachelor of Science in 2008, all from Florida A&M University.
Jacqueline Humbert is an experienced trial attorney in Lydecker’s Miami office whose practice focuses on commercial litigation, creditor-debtor disputes, insurance litigation, construction defect matters, and other complex civil disputes. With more than 18 years of litigation experience, Ms. Humbert has represented individuals, businesses, insurers, property owners, financial institutions, and other clients in state and federal courts throughout Florida.
Ms. Humbert has extensive courtroom experience, having served as lead counsel in more than 75 jury trials. She began her career as an Assistant Public Defender in Broward County, where she spent more than a decade handling serious felony matters, including first-degree murder, major crimes, and death penalty cases. Her experience included complex motion practice, evidentiary hearings, appellate matters, and trial preparation, as well as supervising and mentoring junior attorneys.
Since transitioning to civil practice, Ms. Humbert has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of matters, including commercial and contract disputes, first-party property insurance and coverage litigation, construction defect and catastrophic property damage claims, and creditor-debtor matters. She also has significant experience in judgment enforcement and debt recovery, including domestication of judgments, fraudulent transfer actions, garnishments, levies, asset investigations, and other post-judgment remedies.
Ms. Humbert earned her Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida. She is admitted to The Florida Bar and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. Ms. Humbert is fluent in English and Spanish.
Melissa Hubble is Of Counsel in Lydecker, LLP’s Miami office. Ms. Hubble’s practice involves all aspects of state civil trial litigation with a primary focus in bodily injury, premises liability, general liability, and negligent security. Ms. Hubble also handles construction defect matters, tort liability, officers and directors, insurance coverage, and contractual litigation matters.
Ms. Hubble earned her J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law in May of 2021, graduating with honors. Prior to earning her degree at Ave Maria School of Law, Ms. Hubble attended the University of Florida Levin College of Law. During law school at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Ms. Hubble was a general editor for the Law of Public Policy Journal and a member of the John Marshall Bar Association.
Brandon L. Iskander is an Associate Attorney in Lydecker’s Los Angeles office. He specializes in civil litigation, with a focus on premises liability, product liability, and personal injury defense. Mr. Iskander represents corporate clients, insurance carriers, and property owners, delivering strategic defense strategies from inception through case resolution.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Iskander also practiced family law, where he developed a robust foundation in courtroom advocacy, intensive document discovery, and strategic dispute resolution that he now brings to his civil defense practice. He brings a sharp, analytical focus to every case and builds robust defense strategies tailored to each client’s unique goals.
Sheida Javadkhani is an Associate in Lydecker’s Los Angeles office and concentrates her practice in employment law defense and employment-related litigation. She represents employers in a wide range of workplace disputes, including claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour issues.
Ms. Javadkhani is involved in all phases of litigation, including motion practice, discovery, depositions, and trial preparation. She works closely with clients to develop practical, strategic solutions while efficiently managing cases from inception through resolution.
Prior to joining the firm, Sheida gained defense-side litigation experience in insurance defense matters at California law firms, as well as international legal advisory and litigation roles. She brings a strategic, detail-oriented approach to defending employers and guiding cases from early evaluation through resolution.
Sheida earned her LL.M. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and holds a Ph.D. in Private Law. Her academic background includes advanced coursework in employment-related contracts, business associations, evidence, and dispute resolution.
Marylin Jenkins is a partner in Lydecker’s San Francisco office and is a highly experienced first chair litigator, who has tried more than 50 matters to verdict or judgment without a loss. She has been recognized by her peers with an AV Rating with Martindale-Hubbell.
Ms. Jenkins concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation, including general business litigation, and environmental, commercial real estate, maritime, antitrust, bankruptcy, and insurance-related litigation, in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies, including the FAA, FERC, and the California PUC.
Prior to joining Lydecker, Ms. Jenkins was a partner at two prominent international law firms. She was also general counsel to Ultramar Ltd in Montreal, deputy general counsel and director of litigation to Ultramar Diamond Shamrock in San Antonio, and senior vice president and general counsel to Gilbarco Veeder-Root in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her in-house experience has made her particularly sensitive to the needs of corporate clients, including counsel, C-level executives, and boards of directors.
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.
Ralph Joseph is an Associate in Lydecker’s Jersey City office. His practice focuses on Professional Liability and Labor and Employment Law.
Prior to joining Lydecker, Mr. Joseph worked as an attorney for a legal aid organization and a municipality.
Mr. Joseph earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Cornell Law School in May 2019.
During law school, Mr. Joseph interned with the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Postal Service Law Department, and Legal Services of Greater Miami. He was also a student intern at the Cornell Labor Law Clinic, where he handled various employment and labor disputes in the Ithaca community. Mr. Joseph was a member of the Black Law Students Association.
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.
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.
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.
Ms. LaFaurie is a Lydecker Partner overseeing teams throughout the Firm’s Florida and California offices, with extensive experience handling a wide variety of high exposure and complex general liability and personal injury matters. Ms. LaFaurie is the Head of the Firm’s Product Liability Department and the co-chair of the Mass Tort Department. She is one of the firm’s trial attorneys, who regularly handles matters through all phases of litigation, from evidentiary hearings, arbitrations, and through trial, before Local, State and Federal Courts in connection with a wide variety of complex civil and commercial litigation matters.
Ms. LaFaurie’s general liability, product liability, and mass tort litigation experience includes representing premises owners and operators, local and global manufacturers, as well as major national retailers in numerous areas within the wider tort-based field, such as catastrophic injury, premises liability claims, class action, mass and toxic tort litigation, recalled product claims, as well as defending claims involving consumer and commercially available substances and materials. Her experience includes high exposure injury, wrongful death, and commercial matters. Ms. LaFaurie proactively manages and advises her clients on legal and factual matters of first impression, including efforts to mitigate and limit the prospective of emerging and anticipated claims, future class action and large-scale legal exposures.
Ms. LaFaurie is actively involved in leadership and mentorship in several national organizations focused on defense of business owners of all kinds. She sits on several committees with a focus which reflects her practice in civil litigation, product liability and mass tort.
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