Debra Weiss Goodstone

Partner
Miami

t: 305 539 8400
f: 305 539 1307

dgoodstone@bsfllp.com

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Area of Practice

Litigation

Education

Florida State University College of Law, J.D., 1976

Florida International University, B.A. , Political Science and Philosophy, 1974

Admissions

Florida and New York

United States Supreme Court

United States Court of Appeals: Fifth and Eleventh Circuits

United States District Courts: Southern District of Florida

Debra Goodstone's diverse practice currently focuses on complex commercial litigation although she has represented numerous clients in the entertainment industry, undertaking litigation, administrative law, and real estate and corporate transactions.

Ms. Goodstone has represented Clear Channel Entertainment, SFX Entertainment, PACE Theatrical Group, Cisneros Television Group, Telemundo, Venevision International, HBO Olé, the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority, the Hyatt Corporation, and the City of Miami Beach, serving as Chief Deputy City Attorney for a brief period in 1995.

Ms. Goodstone was a shareholder in the firm of Zack Kosnitzky P.A., and served as its managing partner for five years.

Ms. Goodstone graduated from Florida State University College of Law in 1976, after attending a semester at Oxford University, Oxford, England. After graduation, she served as Assistant Project Director for the American Bar Association's Special Committee on Resolution of Minor Disputes, authoring several articles on court and prison alternatives.

Active in The Florida Bar, Ms. Goodstone served as Chair of its Corrections Committee (1982-1984), Chair of its Voluntary Bar Liaison Committee (1986-1987) and Chair of its Voluntary Bar Leaders' Conference (1986) in addition to service on a number of other state and local bar association committees.

Ms. Goodstone was President of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (1982-1983), President (1987-1988), Vice President (1986-1987) and Secretary/Treasurer (1985-1986) of the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Women's Bar Associations (1982-1985). She also served as a member of the City of Miami Charter Review Commission (1983-1984) and as a member of the transition team of the Mayor of the City of Miami Beach (1991).

A participant in Business Volunteers for the Arts and Leadership Miami, Ms. Goodstone also served on the Special Commission on Professionalism (1987-1989) and the Florida Bar Committee formed to implement the Commission's recommendations from 1989 through 1996. Ms. Goodstone was a Commissioner on the City of Miami Commission on the Status of Women from 1994 through 1996. Ms. Goodstone has also been a member of the Board of Governors of the Bankers Club since 1988, serving as its Chairperson, for two terms (1996-1998).

Selected Professional Awards and Associations

American Bar Association
Dade County Bar Association
Florida Association for Women Lawyers

Selected Publications and Presentations

Guest Editor, The Florida Bar Journal Special Issue Women in Law, Vol. LVIII, No. 10, November 1984

Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Women Lawyers Journal, Vol. 69, No. 14, Summer, 1983

Alternatives to Incarceration, The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. LVII, No. 4, April 1983

Untitled Law Day Poem, Miami Review and Daily Record, No. 224, April 29, 1983

The Race to the Courthouse Begins, New Directions in Legal Services, September, 1977 (Coauthored)

Report on the National Conference on Minor Disputes Resolution - Appendix C, American Bar Association, May, 1977 (Coauthored)

Resolving Minor Disputes - Alternatives are Needed, Bar Leader, Volume 4, No. 3, November - December, 1978

Government Service

Chief Deputy Assistant City Attorney, City of Miami Beach (1995)
Member, Transition Team of the Mayor of the City of Miami Beach (1991)
Member, City of Miami Charter Review Commission (1983-1984)