Edward G. Guedes

Partner

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Ed is the Chair of our Appellate Practice Group. He is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in the field of Appellate Practice. He also has extensive experience with the implementation and application of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act. He is also chief appellate and trial support counsel for a national supermarket chain concerning all of their premises liability cases in South Florida.

Ed’s broad appellate practice encompasses significant representations in fields as diverse as medical malpractice defense, premises liability defense, intellectual property, land use and zoning law, election law, constitutional law, and employment and labor defense, to name a few.  Among those representations are:

  • Overturned on appeal multi-million dollar jury verdict against plastic surgeon in medical malpractice claim asserting negligent design and execution of procedures;
  • Successfully defended multi-national corporate manufacturer of breath-alcohol testing instruments used by law enforcement throughout the State of Florida against declaratory judgment action challenging corporation’s ownership of intellectual property associated with the instruments;
  • Successfully defended at trial and through appeal to the United States Supreme Court a municipal charter provision setting forth an oath of office for elected officials. The oath was challenged on First Amendment grounds because it required the office holder to swear or affirm to support the constitutions and governments of the United States and the State of Florida;
  • Successfully litigated on behalf of State and local governmental entities concerning the interpretation of vested rights statute conferring development rights on owners of more than 12,000 residential lots in the Florida Keys and affecting all Areas of Critical State Concern throughout the State of Florida;
  • Successfully litigated and defended on appeal multi-million dollar class action for unpaid overtime waged under the Fair Labor Standards Act;
  • Upheld multi-million dollar ad valorem tax exemption for municipal marina competing with privately owned marinas;
  • Successfully defended against constitutional challenge authority of local governmental entity to regulate and restrict ownership of animals within community;
  • Successfully asserted a constitutional challenge to a municipal ordinance precluding private country club from fencing its property over the objections of surrounding neighbors, who asserted a historical right to a view onto and across the club property;
  • Successfully defended constitutional challenge to municipal charter provision allowing for appointment of official to fill vacancy on elected body;
  • Overturned on appeal denial of development approval for 300-unit trailer park in South Miami-Dade County;
  • Overturned on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals lower court’s injunction halting all limestone mining in the Lake Belt region of South Florida;
  • Successfully represented the Cuban American Bar Association as amicus curiae in en banc proceedings before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in connection with a panel opinion that had vacated the conviction of five Cuban spies operating in South Florida; and
  • Wide-ranging experience defending against civil rights claims asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the American with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.

Ed has held leadership positions in The Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee and the Dade County Bar Association’s Appellate Court Committee. He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades from his professional peers, having been recognized year over year in The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers Magazine, and Florida Legal Elite Top Lawyers.  Most recently, he was nominated as a finalist by the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Florida.

Publications

  • “En Banc Eleventh Circuit Vindicates Fairness of Cuban Spies’ Trial In Miami,” CABA Briefs, Cuban American Bar Association, Fall 2006
  •  “Is there Light at the End of the Quasi-Judicial Tunnel?” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. XXVII, No. 1, November 2003
  • “The Proverbial Get Out of Jail Free Card – The Ninth Circuit’s Treatment of Addiction Under Hernandez v. Hughes Missile Systems Co.,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. LXXVI, No. 11, December 2002
  • “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…At Work or in Court – The Conflict Between the Supreme Court’s Decisions in Oncale and Price Waterhouse,” The Labor Lawyer, American Bar Association, Vol. 18, No.3, Winter/Spring 2003, 18 the Labor Lawyer 337 (2003)
  •  “Open the Window and Let Some Fresh Air In: The Window of Correction After Davis v. City  of Hollywood,” Stetson Law Review, Vol. XXIX, Winter 2000, No. 3
  • “Smith v. Midland Brake, Inc. – Writing Affirmative Action into the Americans with Disabilities Act,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. LXXIII, No. 9, October 1999.
  • “Sex-Or is that Gender?  How the Federal Courts Have Failed to Develop a Unified Theory for Addressing Workplace Discrimination Claims Related to Sexually Related Status or Conduct,” 2004 Employment Law Update, Aspen Publishers, 2004
  • “Financial Exposure- Is There Relief When a Plaintiff is Authorized to Pry Into a Defendant’s Financial Records?” Smart Business Miami, January 2006 (co-author with Arthur J. England, Jr.)

Awards and Recognitions

  • Board Certified in Appellate Practice by The Florida Bar
  • The Best Lawyers in America® in the practice area of Appellate Law, 2008-2011
  • “Florida Legal Elite,” Florida Trend, 2007
  • Super Lawyers, 2006-present
  • “Best of the Bar,” South Florida Business Journal, 2003
  • Best Lawyers, 2012

Professional/Civic Activities

  • The Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee
  • Chairman, The Florida Bar ACRC Civil Rules Subcommittee, 2005-2006
  • Chairman, The Florida Bar ACRC Amicus Curiae Subcommittee, 2004-2005
  • Vice Chairman, The Florida Bar ACRC Amicus Curiae Subcommittee, 2002-2003
  • Chairman, Dade County Bar Association Appellate Court Committee, 2003-2004
  • Vice Chairman, Dade County Bar Association Appellate Court Committee, 2002-2003
  • Cuban American Bar Association
  • Co-Chair, Third District Court of Appeal 50th Anniversary Committee, 2004-2007
  • American Bar Association
  • Appellate Judges Conference - Council of Appellate Lawyers
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Federal Bar Association, South Florida Chapter
  • Board of Trustees, Supreme Court of Florida Historical Society
  • Board Member, Third District Court of Appeal Historical Society
  • 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society; Centennial Celebration Steering Committee

Presentations

  • Trial Preparation CLE Seminar, “Preservation on Appeal,” The Florida Bar Association Board of Governors Young Lawyers Division, Miami, Florida October 2009
  • “The Opinion is Out…Now What,” Florida Bar Young Lawyers Section seminar, Miami, Florida, 2006, 2007, 2008
  • “Balancing Judicial Independence and Accountability,” 2007 Florida Appellate Justice Conference
  • “The Limits of Quasi-Judicial Actions: Whatever Happened to Ministerial Acts,” Zoning and Land Use in Florida Seminar, Lorman Education Services, Miami, Florida, 2004
  • “Issues in Development Review Processing: A Case Study of Unincorporated Miami-Dade County,” Zoning and Land Use in Florida Seminar, Lorman Education Services, 2004

Miscellaneous

  • Interviewed, “Foro 17,” a Spanish-language talk show in South Florida, WLRN, public television station, on the topic of the Cuban Spy case, March 31, 2006

Languages

  • French
  • Italian
  • Spanish

Press Mentions