Shareholders

James W. Beasley, Jr.
James W. Beasley, Jr. has nearly 40 years of experience in litigation. He began his practice on Wall Street with Sullivan & Cromwell and, after serving two years in the intelligence branch of the U.S. Army, he joined Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C. He practiced in Miami from 1972 to 1989, then moved toPalm Beach to head the litigation practice of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, a Wall Street firm. He and Rob Hauser formed Beasley Hauser in 1997.

Beasley has tried cases and argued appeals in state and federal courts throughout Florida, and in federal courts in many other states. His cases have produced more than fifty reported decisions. Beasley’s litigation experience is enhanced by his substantial experience in business transactions. Early in his career, in addition to litigation, Beasley represented clients in public and private offerings of securities, compliance by public companies with SEC reporting requirements, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and other transactions. Beasley served as general counsel to one of the premier real estate development companies in Florida and numerous other public companies.

Beasley graduated from Harvard Law School with honors in 1968, and he received an undergraduate degree from Davidson College with honors in 1965. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Every year from 1983 through 2008, he has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America,” a publication that selects fewer than 3% of all U.S. lawyers for inclusion in the peer-evaluated guide. He is listed as one of the Best Lawyers in South Florida 2008, has been named on the 2006-2008 lists of Super Lawyers, and has been listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law. Florida Trend magazine also placed him on its 2007 and 2008 list of Legal Elite. He is on the 2007 list of Best Professional Service Providers in the U.S., and was listed by The American Lawyer as one of the Top
Commercial Litigation Lawyers in 2006. The firm is among in the South Florida Business Journal’s Top 250 law firms. Jim was the subject of a chapter in the recent book The Money Lawyers by Joseph C. Goulden author of The Superlawyers.

Beasley has published a number of articles on securities law and
other topics. He has also been involved in many community and charitable organizations in Miami and Palm Beach County.

Robert J. Hauser
Rob Hauser has been involved in all of Beasley Hauser’s appellate cases since the firm’s inception in 1997. Hauser, who is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, grew up in Miami and began work after law school as a law clerk in the Third District Court of Appeals.

For a positive outcome to an appeal, Hauser believes the advice of an appellate lawyer is essential before a trial begins. “Definitely talk to appellate counsel before trial, during trial, and about post trial motions and when to make them, so you don’t lose your right to appeal. It’s a minefield for trial lawyers,” he says of the appeals system.

Since 1997 when he joined the firm as a founding partner, Hauser has had sole or primary responsibility in over 40 appeals,
including final appeals, extraordinary writs, final appeals to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and appeals of the rulings of U.S. Bankruptcy Courts. Describing a recent probate case that hinged on the question of appellate jurisdiction, Hauser recounts that “appellate law can be very arcane, and there are dozens of ways a party’s appeal can be harmed if you are not experienced in that arena.”

“Whether or not to appeal—and when to do it-- is a judgment call,” says Hauser, “and appellate review is not always advisable. Anyone thinking of appealing should talk to an experienced appellate lawyer before making a move in that direction. Counseling on what to appeal is a skill one develops through experience.”

The firm will consider handling appeals on a contingency basis, typically when cases involve jury verdicts with monetary judgments, he says.

Hauser graduated with high honors in 1995 from the University of Florida College of Law, where he was senior editor of the Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He received an undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1991. A member of the Appellate Practice section of The Florida Bar, he is actively involved with the Appellate Practice Committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, and is a member of the Florida Justice Association.

He is a co-author of the Florida Bar Journal article “Is Expert Testimony Really Needed in Attorneys’ Fees Litigation?” (77 FLA. B. J. 38. 2003).

Raymond E. Kramer III
Ray Kramer currently focuses his practice on matters related to commercial real estate litigation. “We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” he says, “when it comes to litigation that will be triggered by the current real estate slump.” He expects to see an increase in issues stemming from development projects that have stalled.

Ray graduated in 1993 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor of the American Criminal Law Review. He received an undergraduate degree from the Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service in international economics in 1990. He entered the U.S. Army and began his legal career there, becoming as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).

The range of cases he handled as a JAG prosecutor ranged from drug positive tests through murder, he recalls. Although Beasley Hauser does not handle criminal cases, Ray says the broad trial experience that he gained continues to serve him, and the firm’s clients, well. Before he joined Beasley Hauser in 2001, Ray was with Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A., in West Palm Beach. He is a co- author of the Florida Bar Journal article “Is Expert Testimony Really Needed in Attorneys’ Fees Litigation?,” (77 FLA. B. J. 38. 2003).

As a member of the board of directors of the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, Ray helps to oversee funding for the community’s cultural organizations including grants awarded to the Norton Gallery, the Palm Beach Opera, Kravis Center, Drama works, the Morikami Museum, and the like. He is a member of the steering committee of Young Friends of Palm Beach Opera, a director of the Georgetown Club of Palm Beach, a member of the Florida Bar, and the Rhode Island Bar Association, and the Florida Justice Association.

Patricia A. Leonard
Patti Leonard graduated from the University of Miami School of Law with high honors in 1995. She was senior articles editor of the Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. Before joining Beasley Hauser in 2002, she practiced business litigation for approximately seven years with Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. She was a judicial intern for the Honorable Kenneth L. Ryskamp in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, in 1993.

Patti was named a 2007 and 2008 Super Lawyer by Law and Politics Magazine, was listed among Florida’s Trend magazine’s Legal Elite in 2006 and 2008, and was honored as a top “Up and Comer” attorney in South Florida by the South Florida Legal Guide in 2006, 2007, and 2008. She is also AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Her published works include “Is Expert Testimony Really Needed in Attorneys’ Fees Litigation? Island Hoppers’ Call for Change and Other Ways to Reduce the Burdens of Fees Hearings,” (77 Fla. B. J. 38, 2003); “Reasonable and Realistic Assessments: Nominal Offers of Judgment in Florida after Eagleman v. Eagleman,” (71 Fla. B.J. 79, May 1997); and “The Clean Air Act’s Mandate of Employer Trip- Reduction Programs: Is This a Workable Solution to the Country’s Air Pollution Problems?,” (49 U. Miami L. R 827,1995).

Leonard has worked on multiple significant cases at Beasley Hauser. These include Fach v. Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Co. of Florida, 2007 WL 397201 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007); McKerns v. WCI Communities, Inc., 2006 WL 1010505 (Fla. Cir. Ct. April 6, 2006); Hanna v. WCI Communities, Inc., 348 F. Supp. 2d 1332 (S. D. Fla. 2004); Hanna v. WCI Communities, Inc., 348 F. Supp. 2d 1322 (S.D. Fla. 2004); and Tenet Healthcare Corp. v. Maharaj, 787 So.2d 241 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).

Patti grew up in Virginia Beach, where her job as a radio station disc-jockey helped her develop her effective oral advocacy skills. Patti later refined her communication and business skills working in the personnel industry. A hands-on advocate for professionalism among lawyers, Leonard participates in how-to courses through the Bar Association on topics such as making effective presentations to the court, resolving conflicts with opposing counsel, getting along with partners, and working effectively with clients.

To educate the public about the important role of the judiciary in our society, in 2006 Patti co-founded, and continues to co-chair, the Independence of the Judiciary Committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. In connection with this committee, Patti hosted a local television program called “Special Edition” in which issues relating to the independence of the judiciary were discussed with local judges.

She is active with the University of Virginia Club of the Palm Beaches, having served as its president. Since 2005, she has served on the Economic Council of Palm Beach County. Patti is also a member of Executive Women of the Palm Beaches, the Palm Beach County Justice Association, and the steering committee for the Young Friends Committee of the Palm Beach Opera.

Joseph G. Galardi
Joe Galardi, who is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, has handled a variety of complex commercial matters for both plaintiffs and defendants in both state and federal court. He joined the firm in 2005, bringing with him substantial experience in the areas of commercial litigation and securities litigation. He previously worked at both Jones Foster Johnston & Stubbs P.A., and Steel Hector & Davis LLP (now Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP), in West Palm Beach. The Pennsylvania native’s approach to litigation cases is: “preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.”

Joe’s experience includes representing clients in a broad range of business disputes, including breach of contract, trade secret claims, business torts, and partnership break-ups.

The cases his firm regularly handles often involve complicated commercial transactions. “We understand what a business client needs and expects in litigation. From experience, we know and understand what happens, and what likely happened, in all kinds of business deals.”

His most recent cases have national and international reach. One case deals with the breach of a joint venture agreement and theft of trade secrets, filed against one of the world’s largest producer of construction materials. The suit, for which Beasley Hauser is seeking millions of dollars, relates to a business venture inHaiti. Joe recently defended a large New York firm against a legal malpractice claim in connection with a private offering of securities by a start-up HMO inTexas.

Joe earned a J.D. with honors from George Washington University Law School in 1999. He was an editor of the ABA Public Contract Law Journal and a member of the Moot Court Board. His undergraduate degree is from Pennsylvania State University. He worked as judicial intern for the Honorable Kenneth L. Ryskamp in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, in 1997.