Broward Attorneys' Real Estate Council

Donald R. Walters practices primarily in the areas of transactional real estate and community association law, representing condominium associations, homeowners associations and timeshare associations. Prior to starting his own firm, he was a partner with Johnson & Walters P.A. (formerly known as Hume & Johnson P.A.) from 1997 until 2013, and has been a member of The Fund since 2013.

Don graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in political science, and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida in 1988. He is a past President of the North Broward Bar Association, a past member of the Board of Directors of the Broward County Bar Association, and previously served as Chairperson for Legal Aid of Broward County/Coast to Coast Legal Services. Don is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest level of professional excellence.

Paul is a shareholder of the firm and a member of its Fort Lauderdale banking and finance, real estate, and commercial litigation teams. Paul focuses his practice on handling large commercial real estate matters (representing buyers, sellers, and lenders), residential real estate matters (as title agent and/or seller’s or buyer’s counsel), title curative matters, landlord-tenant matters (both on the transactional and litigation fronts), and he also keeps a steady caseload of general business and commercial litigation matters.

Paul has substantial experience in general commercial litigation, consumer finance/banking, real estate and title and business contract litigation. In that regard, Paul has represented and is currently representing some of the largest residential lenders and servicers in the country, in various areas related to residential mortgage loan origination, servicing, and default. Paul is also representing a number of large and regional lenders in connection with business and real estate loan refinances, purchase money loans, construction loans, and loan renewals and workouts.

Before returning to private practice in June 2011, Paul opened and managed the Fort Lauderdale regional title litigation office for Fidelity National Title Group (FNTG), the parent company to Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., Chicago Title Insurance Co., Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co. and Lawyers Title Insurance Co., where he and his team of title litigators focused on representing lenders and property owners in all aspects of residential and commercial title defects, liens and other encumbrances, and curative actions, while also representing the various FNTG companies in breach of contract, bad-faith, declaratory judgment and escrow deposit disputes and actions.

Prior to joining FNTG, Paul was Vice President and Associate General Counsel for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.’s home loans litigation department and First Vice President and Senior Counsel for Washington Mutual Bank’s (WaMu) litigation department in Plantation, Florida. While at Chase and WaMu, Paul gained extensive experience in all matters relating to consumer banking and residential loan origination and servicing, including foreclosure, REO, evictions, bankruptcy, collections practices, credit reporting, and government investigations and compliance. Additionally, prior to Chase's acquisition of WaMu's assets, Paul represented the bank in many other areas, including credit card, real estate, branch banking and retail banking-related disputes.

Prior to entering the in-house world in January 2007, Paul was a Senior Associate with Holland & Knight, LLP's Fort Lauderdale office, where he concentrated his practice in commercial, real estate and general business litigation matters, as well as landlord-tenant law. In that regard, Paul represented a sizeable public REIT in all aspects of tenant disputes across the State of Florida, including payment and non-payment defaults, parking space disputes, and evictions and tenant claims of default.

John represents businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals with their real estate, business and probate issues. His practice is concentrated in the following areas: commercial and residential real estate transactions; title insurance; corporate transactions and governance; and preparation of wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents. Prior to starting his own firm in 2013, John worked with Ellis, Spencer & Butler (1995-2000) and Butler & Primeau LLP (2000-2013). He represents several local developers with active developments in Broward and Palm Beach and has extensive experience with commercial and residential foreclosures.

John has been board certified in real estate law by the Florida Bar since 2001 and has been awarded the AV® Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell (recognizing excellence in ability and ethical practice). He is also a Past-President of the South Broward Bar Association and a former Director and Real Property Section Chair of the Broward County Bar Association.

Thomas T. Coon, Jr. has been a principal in Capstone Title Partners since the company’s start in 2002. Thomas has practiced real estate law in Fort Lauderdale for more than 15 years. Thomas has extensive experience in both residential and commercial real estate transactions and has closed over 2,500 transactions since 1994. Thomas also practices in the fields of Landlord-Tenant and Wills & Trusts.

Thomas was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale and is actively involved in several local charities and various non-profit organizations. He is currently President of the Brian Piccolo Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.; Treasurer of the Heart Gallery of Broward County, Inc.; Board Member of the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of PACE Center for Girls, Inc.; and Member of the United Way of Broward County Tocqueville Society.

Annabella graduated from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Lima, Perú) and obtained her Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University. She is Board Certified in Real Estate Law by The Florida Bar. She is actively involved in various Florida Bar related committees where she stays informed on recent legal trends, including new legislation and cases affecting real estate and probate matters.

Annabella's experience includes representation of real estate owners, investors and lenders in the acquisition, sale, finance of real property and in foreclosure cases as well. She has extensive experience in title insurance matters and title claims involving complex title defects, lien priority conflicts, and code enforcement lien related matters. She also represents clients in business entities formation, probate administration and estate planning. She is an authorized title insurance agent for the FUND/Old Republic National Title Insurance Company and WFG National Title Insurance Company.

Some of Annabella’s professional accolades include being published in the Florida Bar Journal: Code Liens are not “Superpriority Liens: Is this the End of the Debate? (Sep 2013), and being selected as Fellow of the Inaugural Class of Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Leadership Academy of The Florida Bar (2013-2014).

Annabella is a member of the Executive Council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law (RPPTL) Section of the Florida Bar as well as an active member in other RPPTL committees. She currently serves in the Board of Directors of Broward County Legal Aid Services and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida. In 2019, Annabella was the recipient of the Attorney of the Year Award presented by Broward legal aid organizations in recognition of her commitment and dedication helping those in need through pro bono work.

Education:
University of Miami 1973 Bachelor’s Degree
Shepard Broad Law School of Nova Southeastern University, J.D. 1990

Experience:
The Law Offices of A. Paoli, P.A.
Formerly managing partner of The Law Offices of August C. Paoli, P.A. which was dissolved in 2005.

Admissions, Memberships and Affiliations:
The Florida Bar in 1990
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida 1991
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit 1992
U.S. Supreme Court 1997

Florida Bar Probate Rules Committee 2005 - 2011
Florida Bar Rules of Judicial Administration Committee 2013 - 2016
Florida Bar Grievance Committee 2012 - 2015

Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator and Qualified Arbitrator 2010 - present
Florida Supreme Court Certified County Civil Mediator 2020 - present

Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity
Broward County Bar Association, Director 2011 - 2015, 2016 - 2020
South Broward Bar Association, Director & Past President 2010 - 2011
Association of South Florida Mediators and Arbitrators , President 2019 - present
Underwater Bar Association, Director

Salomé J. Zikakis is a Board Certified Real Estate Attorney and a shareholder with Parady & Zikakis, P.A., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She specializes in commercial real estate transactions, representing institutional and private lenders, owners and borrowers in various lending, acquisition and leasing matters. Ms. Zikakis also efficiently and effectively represents the firm’s clients involved in residential acquisitions, lending and sales. She was born and raised in Delaware, graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in accounting, and earned her Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Florida in 1985.

Ms. Zikakis is the chair of the Residential Real Estate and Industry Liaison Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section (“RPPTL”) of the Florida Bar, a past Chair of the Mortgages and Other Encumbrances Committee of RPPTL, a member of the Executive Council of RPPTL, as well as an active member of several other RPPTL committees. She is a Florida licensed real estate broker and “AV” rated as independently determined by Martindale-Hubbell.

Massimo graduated from Roma Tre University and then gained his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University; he is a member of the Florida and the Italian Bars. Massimo’s practice is divided between his office in Fort Lauderdale and the one in Rome and focuses mainly on real estate transactions, being him an agent for Old Republic National Title Insurance Company/ATFS, probate matters, Italian law, as well as the out-of-court settlement of disputes. Massimo has shown creativity and effectiveness in finding innovative solutions for out-of-court debt recovery that can thus avoid the intervention of the court. When circumstances require it, Massimo adds the representation of his clients in court to the advanced negotiation techniques. Prior to opening the U.S. branch of the Reboa Law Firm, Massimo worked for years at other law firms, where he gained experience in real estate, commercial, and corporate transactions, probate proceedings, litigation, as well as immigration law issues. Massimo Reboa is fluent in English and Italian and has an informal knowledge of Spanish.

Laura Morgan is the owner of the Law Offices of Laura F. Morgan P.A., a solo practice. She obtained her BA in Political Science, Summa cum Laude, from Biscayne College(now St. Thomas University) in 1982 and her JD from the University of Miami in 1985.

She has practiced with several firms in South Florida and St. Augustine and was a partner in All South Title & Escrow Company for 10 years before starting her firm. Her practice is focused on residential real property transactions, wills and trusts, and probate matters.

She is active with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She has been a Fund Member for 30 years.

JACQUELINE A. REVIS, who is fluent in both English and Spanish, practices in the areas of real estate, estate planning, probate and trust administration. Ms. Revis received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center and her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Florida Atlantic University, cum laude, where she double-majored in Management and Marketing. She is A.V. rated with Martindale-Hubbell, the highest honor on the grading scale for lawyers nationwide. Ms. Revis is a member of multiple organizations, including Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, Broward County Bar Association, Broward Attorney’s Real Estate Council (BAREC), and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. Ms. Revis enjoys volunteering, and she has served on various charitable committees, such as the American Lung Association and the Young Lawyers Section of the Broward County Bar; she currently serves as a Director and as the Treasurer of BAREC. When not practicing law, Ms. Revis can often be found lecturing at various organizations or teaching as an Adjunct Professor at her alma mater, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center. In her free time, Ms. Revis and her husband love to play golf and tennis.

Andrew is a member of the Florida, Georgia, New York and New Jersey Bars where he has practiced primarily in the areas of transactional real estate and litigation. Andrew is the managing attorney of Gibraltar Title responsible for managing a high volume transactional real estate practice.

Andrew’s experience includes representation of lenders, investors, real estate agents and buyers and sellers of both commercial and residential properties. He presently focuses a majority of his time in resolving complex title issues and disputes as well as providing counsel to real estate professionals. Andrew has been a member of the Fund/Old Republic Title Insurance Company since 2009.

Andrew graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music from The Hartt School of Music (Hartford Connecticut) and his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall Law School.

Khila L. Khani is a native Floridian. She earned a B.A. in History at California State University, Northridge and her Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center. Ms. Khani is licensed to practice law in Florida and before the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. In addition to practicing law, she is active in several different community projects and serves on the Board of several non-profit organizations. Ms. Khani focuses her practice on real estate law and is a title insurance agent who writes title for Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, First American Title Insurance Company and Westcor Land Title Insurance Company. Khila and her husband have been partners in Khani & Auerbach and have been in the same location for 20 years. While she enjoys the practice of real estate law, she is passionate about photography and music and is the founder/owner of iTakeGr8Pics (a digital photographic art company) and Rock Cousteau (a music discover service on YouTube and Spotify). Ms. Khani is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and takes extreme pride in being a resource to both her colleagues and clients.

Professional Accomplishments/Service/Professional Organizations:

• Received an AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, Peer Rated for the Highest Level of Professional Excellence
• Licensed before the United States District Court of Florida
• Florida Bar Association and Broward County Bar Association:
  • Business Section
  Real Estate Section
• Board Member of the Broward Attorney’s Real Estate Council
• Serves on the Board of the Diamond Angels of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital
• Lectures regularly before the Realtors Board in Broward County as part of the legal portion of the New Realtor Orientation
• Member of the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (20+ years)
• Member of the Hallandale Chamber of Commerce (3+ years)

Nicole focuses her practice on commercial and residential real estate transactions. She represents her clients in all phases of real estate sales and acquisition transactions, including:

1. Negotiation and preparation of offers for purchase and sale;
2. Organization of entities to take title to property;
3. Examination of title and preparation of owner and lender title insurance policies;
4. Preparation of title objection notices and curing title defects;
5. Guiding buyers through the financing process and coordinating with lenders to close loan transactions;
6. Review and explanation of condominium documents;
7. Negotiation and preparation of leases;
8. Resolution of issues that may arise during the pendency of the transaction; and
9. Preparation of loan documents for seller-financing.

Nicole also handles complex commercial transactions and has specific experience in the coordination of effectuating a tax-deferred exchange pursuant to Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. Nicole facilitates 1031 exchange transactions by interfacing with a qualified intermediary and ensuring that the stringent 1031 deadlines are met.

Nicole’s practice also includes representing clients in residential and commercial landlord/tenant disputes.