Nancy C. Wear (Of Counsel):

Nancy has recently begun assisting the Firm with litigation matters at both the trial and appellate level.  Licensed to practice in Florida since 1974, Nancy spent four years as a trial prosecutor in Miami, where she was sole counsel in approximately 20 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials, and where she also began her distinguished appellate practice.  Since 1977, Nancy has litigated hundreds of appeals in Florida courts and in federal courts in Miami, Atlanta, Boston, and New York; over 100 opinions have been published in the Southern, Federal, and American Maritime case reporters.  In addition, a number of her appeals have been reported in the Florida Law Weekly Supplement (collecting noteworthy cases litigated in Florida’s county and circuit courts).

Florida Bar Certified in Criminal Appeals since 1992, Nancy has handled criminal and civil appeals in all of Florida’s District Courts of Appeal, before the Supreme Court of Florida (including three capital cases), and before the federal First (Boston), Second (New York), and Eleventh (Atlanta / Miami) Courts of Appeal.  Nancy won reversal of a death penalty sentence before the United States Supreme Court, and in January of 2003, arguing against a team of attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nancy successfully persuaded a three-judge panel in New York’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse an $80-million restitution order in a multi-million-dollar securities fraud case (even though the client she was representing had pled guilty).  

For over ten years, Nancy has been assisting other South Florida law firms with complex commercial and other litigation matters, advancing persuasive positions on behalf of corporate and individual clients, and successfully pursuing their interests at all stages, including appeals and other post-trial proceedings. 

Licensure and Admissions:

Nancy is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, Florida’s State Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Florida Bar Board-certified in Criminal Appeals.

Professional Involvement and Community Involvement:

Florida Bar service: Grievance, Unlicensed Practice of Law (“UPL”), Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) committees. Charter Member, Appellate Practice Section. 

Board member, South Miami Kendall Bar Association; Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – Miami Chapter; Board of Trustees, Miami-Dade County Law Library; pro bono service: Guardian Ad Litem Program and Put Something Back of Miami-Dade County Legal Aid Society

Community service: 20 year-award, Miami Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, recording law books for blind and print-handicapped students and lawyers.

Published Appellate Decisions:

Some of the notable appellate cases in which Nancy was involved include the following:

U.S. v. Ageloff, 326 F. 3d 323 (2d Cir. 2003); Stevens v. Premier Cruises, Inc., 215 F. 2d 1237, 18 NDLRP 126, 10 A. D. Cases 1192 2000 A.M.C. 1976 (11^th Cir. 2000); U.S. v. Hernandez, 141 F.3d 1042 (11^th Cir. 1998); U.S. v. Rivera, 889 F.2d 1029 (11^th Cir. 1989); Morse, LLC v. United Wisconsin Life Ins. Co., 356 F. Supp. 2d 1296 (S.D. Fla. 2005); Jones v. State, 652 So.2d 346 (Fla. 1995); Beltran-Lopez v. State, 626 So.2d 163 (Fla. 1993); Pierre v. Estate of Pierre, 928 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Rossano v. BriteSmile, Inc., 919 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Acosta et al. v. District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade Community College, 905 So. 2d 226 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Worth v. Florida Dept. of Revenue, 2004 WL 2238523 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); Glasser v. Nazarro, 10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. (11^th Judicial Circuit 2003); Lewis v. State, 833 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2002); Y.C. v. Department of Children and Families, 775 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Rechtien Intern. Trucks Inc. v. Rivas, 718 So.2d 378 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); State Dept. of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Padilla, 629 So.2d 180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Fields v. Greenbaum, 520 So.2d 330 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)

Articles and Publications: 

Author, Florida Bar CLE Appellate Practice Manual, Chapter 12 (Record on Appeal in Criminal Cases) and Chapter 13 (Stays Pending Appeals in Criminal Cases) (in press); Author, Identifying the Alcoholic Client, ABA GP/Solo (Journal of General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section, October/November 2002; Author, Taking the Fifth: How to Pierce the Testimonial Shield, ABA Business Law Today, May/June 2000; Author, Planning Ahead: Some Tips for the Complaint Drafter Dealing with the Economic Loss Rule, 73 Fla. Bar. J. 57 (May, 1999).  Nancy is also a regularly sought after speaker on appeals, post-conviction matters, and oral argument, as well as an Instructor in legal writing and research. 

Education:

Juris Doctor, University of Miami School of Law, 1974 (Member of Bar and Gavel; Equity Playhouse; Student Bar Association; Phi Alpha Delta); A.B. Degree, University of Miami (Major: Spanish; Minor: Politics and Public Affairs), 1971