Attorneys

WILLIAM L. PETROS

WILLIAM L. PETROS was born in Washington, D.C. on October 15, 1958. He is a graduate of the University of Florida (B.A., cum laude 1980), Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma; and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. cum laude 1983). Mr. Petros has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1983, the District of Columbia Bar since 1985 and is admitted in the United States District Courts for both the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. He is a member of the Dade County Bar Association, American Bar Association, The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, and a founding member of The Florida Hellenic Bar Association. Mr. Petros has devoted his entire career to litigation and appellate work in state and federal courts. He began his training at the Dade County Attorney's Office gaining extensive trial and appellate experience at one of the most highly respected local governmental attorney's offices in the country. Thereafter, he began his private practice career in the esteemed law firm of Anderson, Moss becoming a name partner in 1996. In 1998, he left Anderson, Moss, Sherouse & Petros, P.A. to form William L. Petros, P.A. with the goal of continuing to provide personalized, high-quality representation to select clients involved in complex litigation matters. In 2004, Mr. Petros was recognized for his work when Florida Trend Magazine, in its first issue addressing The Florida Bar, rated him among the top two percent of lawyers in this state. The law firm of Petros & Elegant is devoted to maintaining the quality of representation that our clients have come to expect.

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Justin B. Elegant

Mr. Elegant devotes his practice to complex civil litigation, including wrongful death, medical malpractice, commercial and insurance litigation in state and federal courts.

During law school, Mr. Elegant worked as a legal intern for the Honorable Shelby Highsmith, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. After graduation from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996, he worked for the Miami law firm Anderson, Moss, Sherouse & Petros, P.A. where he practiced civil trial and appellate litigation. When the Moss firm was acquired in 1998 by the international law firm, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Mr. Elegant worked for a year in Shook, Hardy's Tort Litigation Section, where he continued to represent both plaintiffs and defendants in civil trial and appellate litigation. Mr. Elegant joined the law firm of William L. Petros, P.A. in 1999 and became a name partner in 2005.

Mr. Elegant is committed to performing charitable work on behalf of the youth of the community. He is an active member of the Dade County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section (DCBA YLS) and regularly lectures about civil trial practice and participates in mock trials at local high schools. Through his work with the DCBA YLS, Mr. Elegant is a founding member of the Advisory Board for the Miami Senior High School Legal and Public Affairs Magnet Program. In 2001, Mr. Elegant founded and has thereafter directed the DCBA YLS eMentoring program. This award winning telementoring program is the first of its type in the United States and has been duplicated in various parts of the country. Mr. Elegant is also a Steering Committee member for the Committee of 100 to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami, which provides financial support and community awareness on behalf of this great organization. In 2002, Mr. Elegant received the Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the DCBA YLS and was a South Florida Business Journal Up & Comers Award Finalist in 2003.

Mr. Elegant is admitted to practice in Florida state courts, the United States District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a member of the Florida Bar, American Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers.

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Serena A. Witter

SERENA A. WITTER is originally from Orange County, California and graduated from Stanford University, with Departmental Honors, in 2002 with a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Society, with concentrations in chemistry and mathematics.   After graduating from Stanford, Mrs. Witter worked as a Litigation Legal Assistant at Cravath, Swaine, & Moore, LLP in New York City.   Mrs. Witter then worked as a Paralegal in the litigation department of Hunton & Williams, LLP in Miami.  Mrs. Witter thereafter attended and graduated from University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, in 2007.

During law school, Mrs. Witter worked as a legal intern for the Honorable Thomas Wilson in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and also as a Certified Legal Intern for the Public Defender for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida in the Juvenile Division. Mrs. Witter was an active member and served as Secretary of the School of Law’s Chapter of the Black Law Students Association.   Mrs. Witter also served as an Intern for the Children & Youth Law Clinic which is part of the School of Law’s Center for Ethics and Public Service.  For her strong performance in the School of Law’s Litigation Skills Program, Mrs. Witter was the recipient of the Spring 2006 Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton Litigation Skills Scholarship.  For her paper on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Mrs. Witter was the recipient of the 2006 Rodney Thaxton Scholarship from the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Foundation.

Mrs. Witter is devoted to the improvement of literacy skills and the pursuit of academic excellence of South Florida’s youth.  In addition to her work at the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender’s office and the Children & Youth Law Clinic, Mrs. Witter also volunteered as a Legal Fellow in the Lawyers for Literacy program, founded by the Honorable Ursula Ungaro, a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, and plans to stay involved in the program in some capacity.  Mrs. Witter has joined Mr. Elegant’s eMentoring program and also mentors the young people of her church, Maranatha SDA Church, in Miami Gardens.

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