Hinshaw & Culbertson Miami partner-in-charge Barbara Fernandez has been honored as one of 10 Women of Distinction for the 2025 Inaugural Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers (FAWL) Impact Awards.

Fernandez was selected for making strides in the advancement of women in the legal profession. She and nine other women have demonstrated how they are pioneers who have broken down barriers, created new opportunities for women in the legal profession, and championed issues to better the professional lives of women lawyers in Miami-Dade County.

Fernandez is the Partner-in-Charge of Hinshaw’s Miami office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She is also a member of Hinshaw’s Diversity Committee and serves as the Miami office’s Office Mentor Coordinator (OMC). Fernandez has developed a niche practice in consumer and class action litigation, where relatively few women practice law. She has extensive experience in defending individual and class action claims involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Hinshaw & Culbertson Ft. Lauderdale litigation partner Jenelle E. La Chuisa has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Legal Aid Service of Broward County. Broward Legal Aid Board members are talented leaders committed and motivated to support the organization’s mission and to promote and expand the success of the organization into the future. Board members play a vital role in expanding access to justice for the most vulnerable members of our community.

La Chuisa is a litigator and arbitrator representing individuals and companies in international and domestic business and insurance disputes arising out of property, casualty, professional liability, aviation, marine, and builders’ risk policies. She co-chairs Hinshaw’s Pro Bono and Community Involvement Committee in Ft. Lauderdale, where she facilitates volunteer opportunities for pro bono projects and community events.

In January of 2025, The Florida Bar selected La Chuisa as the recipient of the 2025 President’s Pro Bono Service Award in the 17th Judicial Circuit (Broward County). Each year, The Florida Bar and the Florida Supreme Court honor and recognize lawyers, groups and members of the judiciary who have freely given their time and expertise in ensuring access to justice for those who otherwise could not afford it.

The New York Law Journal reported on January 7, 2025 that in a rare move, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Coinbase’s request for authority to pursue an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on whether cryptocurrency transactions can be classified as investment contracts under federal securities laws.

Alan Rosenberg, a partner with Markowitz Ringel Trusty + Hartog in Miami whose specialty includes crypto litigation, commented in the story that of particular interest in the ruling and the underlying litigation is the Court’s emphasis on analyzing a crypto asset’s “ecosystem” to contrast these assets with commodities and applying that analysis to the Howey test. https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2025/01/07/issue-of-first-impression-new-york-judge-clears-coinbase-appeal-amid-crypto-regulatory-clash/