Visionary Award

2020 Visionary Award Winner

Matthew L. Lundy, Esq, Matthew Lundy Law, P.L., Coral Springs, FL

The Florida Bar has 21 Sections and the Family Law Section is a sizable body, with approximately 3700 members; we may be the third or fourth largest Section of the Bar. Those of us who are involved with the Section’s committees do our best to provide opportunities to educate and mentor.

Over the years, we have been fortunate to donate significant funds to such groups as the Florida Bar Foundation, to help legal aid organizations throughout the state and we donated money to the One Orlando Fund after the attack on the Pulse nightclub. We also provide scholarships for various Section programs – we gave 21 scholarships of up to $1000 each, for this CLE. We do these things to help our not just certain individuals, but for our communities, and Florida’s families.

We raise revenue primarily through membership dues, CLE registration, and sponsorships.

It’s not easy asking people for money. But it’s a necessary part of what we do so we can continue to provide excellent programs to our members which has a ripple effect of helping so many in the 67 counties and 20 judicial circuits in Florida.

Matt Lundy is so deserving of the Visionary Award because he doesn’t settle for the same way of doing things year after year but boldly steps into unchartered waters with the goal of trying something new and is undeterred when first attempts don’t go as planned.

Matt always thinks about new ideas and how we can improve what we do, for the bigger picture of helping lawyers, judiciary, other professionals connected to family law, and the families.

The Section’s sponsorship revenue has increased dramatically since Matt has been an active member of that committee. His contributions to the Section have been invaluable and his service has absolutely been outstanding.

On a personal note, Matt has an upbeat personality; he’s so full of energy and always smiling. He is someone you can count on when you need help. Most important, Matt is a husband, a father, and a really good person.

For all those reasons, Matthew L. Lundy is the recipient of the 2020 Visionary Award.

2019 Visionary Award Winner

Melinda Gamot, The Gamot Law Firm, Palm Beach Gardens

Melinda Gamot of Palm Beach Gardens is the recipient of the 2019 Family Law Section of The Florida Bar’s Visionary Award for “outstanding service and invaluable contributions to the practice of family law throughout the State of Florida.” Section Chair Abigail Beebe presented the award in January during the 2019 Marital and Family Law Review Course.

Melinda is an AV-rated attorney who practices marital and family law exclusively, focusing on cases involving complex marital estates and unique issues concerning children and property. Her prior experience as a commercial litigator provide her the skills necessary to try complex litigation disputes successfully, and to resolve a myriad of other issues that arise in the practice of family law.

Born and raised in Palm Beach County, Florida, Melinda graduated with high honors from the University of Florida. She earned her J.D. with honors at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.  Melinda was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1978 and to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 2007. She also is a member of The Colorado Bar.

Melinda has been board certified by The Florida Bar in marital and family law since 1992. She is a fellow with the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (IAML) as well as the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), where she is a past president of the Florida Chapter. She also is active in The Florida Bar. She chaired and served on The Florida Bar Marital and Family Law Certification Committee for several years and has served in numerous leadership roles for the Family Law Section. Melinda was part of the original committee that compiled The Bounds of Advocacy, guidelines for professional and ethical conduct in the practice of Florida family law. She served as a co-chair of the Family Law Section’s ad hoc Bounds of Advocacy Committee, which in 2018 revised the original 2004 Florida publication to capture not only changes in marital and family law, but in ethics, professionalism, social media and technology. Melinda is a past co-chair of the section’s Marital & Family Law Review Course Committee, and she also spent several years on the Legislation Committee.

2018 Visionary Award Winner

DAVID MANZ of the Manz Law Firm in Marathon is the recipient of the 2018 Family Law Section of The Florida Bar’s Visionary Award for “outstanding service and invaluable contributions to the practice of family law throughout the State of Florida.”

Section Chair Nicole Goetz presented the award in January during the annual American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers – AAML – Florida Chapter/Family Law Section Marital and Family Law Review Course. She said: “Through the years, David has made incredible contributions to the practice by chairing the Marital and Family Law Board Certification Committee, leading the AAML Florida Chapter, and after working his way through leading numerous committees, chairing the Family Law Section. In addition to his leadership roles, David has worked diligently to address legislation affecting Florida’s families, has written numerous articles and has lectured extensively on family law. Not surprisingly, access to justice is David’s passion. He actively takes cases through Dade Legal Aid & Put Something Back and handles local cases on a pro bono basis. After Hurricane Irma, David selflessly gave his time to assist dispossessed residents in Monroe County—his home county and an area hardest hit by the hurricane. Presently serving as a member of the board of directors for The Florida Bar Foundation, and previously recognized as the 2017 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award winner for the 16th Circuit, David demonstrates what each of us should aspire to as practitioners.”

In accepting the award, David said, “It has been my honor to serve the Family Law Section and the Florida Chapter of the AAML for some twenty-five years. During that service I have committed to the enhanced professionalism of family law in Florida, have made innumerable friends statewide, and have become a far better lawyer because of that service. During my career in the section and chapter, I have realized that access to justice is the cornerstone to our legal system, and that the lack of access to justice in Florida is endemic and pervasive. As Abraham Lincoln said, as lawyers we have a superior opportunity to do good. We need to do that. To paraphrase Cervantes, it is our responsibility not to discover whether the oppressed and the poor are reduced to these circumstances and suffer this distress for their vices, or for their virtues: Our sole responsibility is to see them as people in need, having eyes only for their sufferings, not for their misdeeds.”

2017 Visionary Award Winner

DOUGLAS GREENBAUM has been an attorney in private practice in Fort Lauderdale since 1992. He handles all areas of family law as well as probate and guardianship. Mr. Greenbaum is also outside counsel to the Department of Children and Families Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Program. He is a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator for family law, County, and Circuit Civil cases and has actively mediated since opening his own practice. Mr. Greenbaum is a parenting coordinator, an arbitrator, and a Guardian Ad Litem, volunteering his time in all three areas. He has also volunteered time by serving on The Florida Bar Grievance Committee and arbitrating fee disputes for The Florida Bar.

Mr. Greenbaum was Secretary of the Family Law Section when he received the award. He became a member of the Executive Council in 2006. He has chaired numerous committees including Continuing Legal Education, General Magistrate and Hearing Officers, Nomenclature and Membership while actively serving on other committees. He has won numerous awards and received several accolades for his service to the Family Law Section including the 2015 Raymond McNeal Professionalism Award.

2016 Visionary Award Winner

GENERAL MAGISTRATE SUSAN ROUX KEITH is a General Magistrate with the Fifth Judicial Circuit, in and for Marion County, Florida. She was previously a Child Support Hearing Officer and Staff Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Magistrate Keith obtained her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Florida State University, and her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Florida, College of Law.  For the past twenty-three years, she has served the citizens of the Fifth Judicial Circuit and the State of Florida. For over seventeen years, she has presided over cases as a General Magistrate and Hearing Officer. She is a very active member of The Florida Bar, Family Law Section’s General Magistrate and Hearing Officer, Nomenclature and Support Committee.  Magistrate Keith is a past Chair of the Section’s Rules and Forms Committee.  She has been a faculty member of the Florida Judicial College since 2012 and was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court Family Law Forms Advisory Workgroup since 2007, having also served as Chair of that Committee.   She is a member of her local Marion County Bench and Bar Committee and has been active in the Families and Children in the Courts Steering Committee: 2009-2014; the Florida Supreme Court Self Help Work Group; the Florida Supreme Court TIMS Project and the Fifth Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee.  In addition, Magistrate Keith is a past member of the D.R. Smith American Inn of Court; the Florida Association of  Women Lawyers Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, including the Florida Chapter.  She has lectured extensively throughout the State on behalf of The Florida Bar, Family Law Section, and various other local Bar Associations.

2015 Visionary Award Winner

GENERAL MAGISTRATE DIANE M. KIRIGIN is a General Magistrate with the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County, Florida. She is currently the Chief General Magistrate of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and serves at the South County Judicial Complex in Delray Beach, Florida, presiding primarily over Family Division cases. She also handles Baker (mental health) and Marchman Act (substance abuse) proceedings; as well as guardianship enforcement matters.  General Magistrate Kirigin has a B.A. in History from Florida Atlantic University; and  a J.D. from Nova University. General Magistrate Kirigin has been board certified in Marital and Family Law since June 1st, 1995. She was in private practice with the Law Offices of Bosso, Bosso &  Pardo, P.A. for over 10 years prior to becoming a General Magistrate in 1995. General Magistrate Kirigin became a member of the Faculty of the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies (General Magistrate track) in 1998. She is a very active member of The Florida Bar, Family Law Section and is a past Chair of the Section’s Ad Hoc Adoption Committee where she co-authored the Putative Father Registry; has been a member of The Florida Bar, Marital and Family Law Certification Committee {which is responsible for reviewing and testing all initial applicants seeking the designation of Board Certification in that practice area; and also for reviewing all recertification applications} since from 2002 – 2008, serving as Vice Chair from 2003 – 2006,  as Chair in 2007; is a member of the Executive Council of The Florida Bar, Family Law Section since 2003, and is currently a member of the Section’s Executive Committee, serving as Chair. She served as Chair of the Section’s Legislation Committee back-to-back during bar cycles 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 and helped draft the Putative Father Registry as well as revisions to Florida’s relocation statute. In 2008 the National Association of Social Workers, Palm Beach Unit honored General Magistrate Kirigin as “Public Citizen of the Year” for her work with those individuals involved in the court system through Marchman Act and Mental Health Court; in 2007 General Magistrate Kirigin was honored  by the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers with its Gavin Letts Award as “Jurist of the Year”; and is the 2006 recipient of the South Palm Beach County Bar Association’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.” General Magistrate Kirigin delivered a marital and family law legislative updates at the 2007, 2008 and 2010 Florida Circuit Judges Conference. She has lectured extensively throughout the State on behalf of The Florida Bar, Family Law Section, various other local Bar Associations and conducted numerous in-house trainings and seminars at the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit on marital and family, guardianship and mental health law.

2014 Visionary Award Winner

THOMAS J. SASSER is currently a partner at Sasser, Cestero & Sasser, PA in West Palm Beach, FL. He received his undergraduate degree from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA in 1992 and his law degree with honors from the University of Florida, College of Law in Gainesville, FL in 1995. Mr. Sasser was admitted to The Florida Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1995. He became Board Certified as a Marital and Family Law Specialist in 2002. Since then, he has received designations from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Mr. Sasser has been actively involved in The Florida Bar through his involvement in the Family Law Section as Chair (2006-2007), Executive Council member for a number of committees including Support Issues, Commentator, Continuing Legal Education, Chair of the Board Certified Review Course, Legislation and FAMSEG. He has also served on the Associates Institute Committee for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and the U.S. Chapter Executive Council for the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. On the local level, Mr. Sasser has served on the Family Law Practice Committee for the Palm Beach County Bar Association.

During the course of his career, Mr. Sasser has received many awards including the Florida Bar Family Law Section Chair’s Outstanding Service Award five times from 1999 – 2005, Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite four times from 2004-2007 and Florida Super Lawyers two times from 2006-2007.

Mr. Sasser has lectured extensively throughout the State on behalf of The Florida Bar Family Law Section, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the Palm Beach County Bar Association. He has also authored many articles for the Family Law Section Commentator and FAMSEG publications, as well as The Florida Bar Journal.

2013 Visionary Award Winner

SCOTT L. RUBIN practices marital and family law, family mediation and a small amount of commercial litigation with the AV rated law firm of Fogel Rubin & Fogel throughout South Florida and, occasionally, other parts of the state. Mr. Rubin has been a principal of that firm, which has represented community leaders in hundreds of complex matrimonial matters, for nearly twenty-five years.

Mr. Rubin has been certified by The Florida Bar as a Specialist in Marital and Family Law since 1992 and currently serves on the Board of Legal Specialization and Education. He is a past member and Chair of the Florida Bar’s Marital and Family Law Certification Committee and was its Examination Consultant for three years. He also has served The Florida Bar as a member of the Family Law Rules Committee, The Florida Bar’s Special Committee to Study Paralegal Regulation, the Family Law Section’s Executive Council (for over 15 years), its Legislation Committee and as Chair of the Family Law Section’s Rules and Forms Committee.

He currently serves on several committees for the Family Law Section. He is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section (2008 – 2009) and Past Chair of The Florida Bar’s Florida Registered Paralegal Program Committee. He has received recognition and numerous awards for his outstanding service to The Florida Bar and the Family Law Section.

Mr. Rubin has been published and lectured frequently in the area of marital and family law and has been interviewed by CNBC, The Miami Herald, the Daily Business Review and other members of the press. He presented and served as a Workshop Leader at the Family Law Section’s 2007 and 2011 Trial Advocacy Program. He is active in several local and national legal organizations. He has been selected as one of Florida’s “Super Lawyers” for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Mr. Rubin was a Founding Member of the First Family Law American Inn of Court and a Founder of Kid’Side, Inc., a not for profit organization established to maintain and expand services focused on helping children whose parents are engaged in litigation in the family, domestic violence and unified family court divisions of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court. He has also managed judicial campaigns.

2012 Visionary Award Winner

BARBARA M. BEILLY is a General Magistrate in the family division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County, Florida.  Prior to her accepting this position, she had a private family law practice and mediation practice. She graduated from NSU Law School in 1980. Barbara is a past President of the Florida Association of General Magistrates and Child Support Hearing Officers. She is also a past President of the Association of South Florida Mediators and Arbitrators, a past President of the Broward County Women Lawyers Association, past chair of the Family Law Section of the Broward County Bar Association, past chair and present co-chair of the General Magistrate Committee of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, and past chair of the Support Issues Committee of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar. Barbara  is a frequent lecturer and author in the area of Florida Family Law and Mediation.

2011 Visionary Award Winner

DEBORAH O. DAY received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Florida Institute of Technology and is a Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and

Certified Family Mediator. Dr. Day is in private practice with Psychological Affiliates, Inc., of Winter Park, Florida. Her practice specialties include forensic psychology including divorce/parenting plan evaluations, collaborative law practice, Factitious Disorders (Munchausen By Proxy), child abuse, and criminal matters. She has testified regarding numerous psychological issues and presents professional workshops and seminars throughout the country.

Dr. Day is the co-editor of the book, Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome: Misunderstood Child Abuse. Her most recent publications, Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome and Child Custody Evaluations are Essential appear in the Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice. She completed a three-year appointment to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Florida Supreme Court and seven-year appointment with the Mediation Ethics Advisory Commission. She is active in the Florida Bar’s Family Law Section, previously Vice-Chair of the Domestic Violence Committee and Co-chair of the Litigation Support Committee. Currently, she is Special Advisor to the Section Chair on Children’s Issues, Domestic Violence, and Legislation. Dr. Day is a member of the American Psychological Association, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the Florida Psychological Association, and an affiliate member of The Florida Bar. Dr. Day is the past President of the Florida Psychological Association, Central Florida Chapter and current Ethics Chair. She is a founding board member of the Central Florida Collaborative Law Group. She completed two terms as a founding board member of the Florida Association of Family and Conciliation Court (FLAFCC).

In 2010, Dr. Day received the Family Law Section “Making a Difference” award, recognizing her commitment to volunteerism during her career. Dr. Day has extensive television and news experience. She has provided commentary for Court TV, American Health Network, CNN, and all the major network news broadcasts.

2010 Visionary Award Winner

JUDGE AMY KARAN was the Administrative Judge of the dedicated Domestic Violence Court in Miami, Florida from 1997 until March 2009.  The Court hears civil injunctions for protection and criminal misdemeanors involving domestic violence. Judge Karan taught legal and judicial education at the National Judicial College, the County and Circuit Court Conferences of Florida, the Advanced Judicial College of Florida and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Judge Karan was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at St. Thomas University where she taught Evidence, Family Law and Florida Practice, and was Co-Coach of the Mock Trial Team.

Judge Karan chaired the Miami Dade County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council from 1997 until March 2009, The Florida Bar Family Law Section Domestic Violence Sub-Committee from 1998 until March 2009, The Florida Bar Code and Rules of Evidence Committee from 2007 until 2009, Family Law Section Executive Committee from 2004 to 2008, and the Advisory Panel of the Miami-Dade County Fatality Review Team from inception until 2009.

Between 1997 and 2008 Judge Karan was recognized with the And Justice for All Award; the In the Company of Women Award; the Governor’s Peace at Home Award: the Stopping Domestic Violence and the Unsung Heroes of Domestic Violence Award and the Chairs Award of Merit, Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, Family Law Section Chairs Award, Chair’s Visionary Award.  In October 2010 she will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Judicial College.  Judge Karan has been featured on television both in the United Sates and in Europe.

Judge Karan is the author/co-author of several articles on Family Violence and Evidence including: “Domestic Violence Courts: What Are They and How Should We Manage Them?”, Karan, Keilitz and Denaro, Juvenile and Family Court Journal, Spring 1999; Florida’s Four Orders of Protection: Distinguishing the Difference, Judge Amy Karan and Lauren Lazarus, Fla. Bar J., December 2003 and reprinted December 2008, Office of State Court Administrator Newsletter;  “A Lawyer’s Guide to Assessing Dangerousness for Domestic Violence,” Judge Amy Karan and Lauren Lazarus, Fla. Bar J.,  March 2004.  Judge Amy Karan is considered one of the preeminent authorities on the issue of Firearms and Domestic Violence and has co-authored “Domestic Violence and Firearms: A Deadly Combination The Juxtaposition of Federal and Florida Laws”, Judge Amy Karan and Helen Stampalia, Fla. Bar J., October 2005.

Judge Amy Karan resigned from the bench on January 31, 2010 due to illness and has since passed away.