Offices
Alhambra Towers
121 Alhambra Plaza
10th Floor
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Tel: 305.262.4433
Fax: 305.442.2232

45 Broadway 8th Floor
New York, NY 10006
Tel: 212.599.3322
Fax: 212.557.0295

Practice Group
	Litigation
	Employment Law
Areas of Emphasis
	Complex Litigation
	Labor & Employment Law
	Land Use

D. Andrew Byrne
abyrne@becker-poliakoff.com

Professional Experience
Andrew Byrne is a litigator with 25+ years of experience. He is Board Certified in Business Litigation and Labor and Emplyment Law. Since 1997, Mr. Byrne has concentrated his practice as a first chair trial lawyer in labor and employment law, with significant experience in complex commercial litigation, land use, contract, construction, administrative, and appellate matters. Prior to joining Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Mr. Byrne was a partner at Phillips Nizer, LLP and a principal at Cooper & Byrne, PLLC, a law firm he co-founded in Tallahassee, Florida.

Mr. Byrne’s trial experience includes high-profile representations of several well-known clientele. Representative matters include:

• Thomas v. Early County, Georgia (M.D. Ga. 2010).  The successful defense of a civil rights case brought by the widow of a pre-trial detainee for wrongful death.  The case was dismissed against the Plaintiff  and a decision denying Rule 11 sanctions was reversed by the 11th Circuit ordering the Plaintiff to pay sanctions to the Defendants.
• Franklin v. Board of Trustees of Florida State University, (Fla. 2nd Cir. 2006). The defense of a disability discrimination claim, resulting in a defense verdict at trial.
• Talada v. Royal American Management, Inc., (M.D. Fla. 1995). The defense of a race discrimination case tried before a federal jury resulting in a defense verdict.
• Minot v. Florida State Board of Administration, (N.D. Fla. 2003). This successful defense of a gender discrimination and retaliation case brought against the Governor and Cabinet overseeing the fourth largest pension fund in the United States. This case was brought on the eve of the Gubernatorial election and had significant political implications. The case was tried before a federal grand jury and resulted in a defense verdict.
• Durden v. Bay Point Club, Inc., (Fla. 14th Cir. 2001). The successful defense and verdict in favor of the developer of a land Use case brought by a group of homeowners against the owner of various amenities in a planned unit development of regional impact, and with significant media attention and community protest.
• Berger v. Estate of Berger (N.Y. Supreme. Court.) successfully prosecuted a multi-million dollar claim for violation of marital dissolution agreement.
• Reform Party of Florida v. Black, (Fla. 2004). A ballot access case on behalf of the Reform Party of Florida and Ralph Nader to gain access to the Presidential ballot in Florida for the general election. The case successfully defended Mr. Nader’s and the Reform Party’s right to appear on the ballot before the trial and Supreme Court of Florida resulting in a 7-2 decision in favor of ballot access.
• Maloy v. Board of County Commissioners of Leon County, Florida, (Fla. 2nd Cir. 2003); Dobson v. Leon County, (Fla. 2003). The defense of a county government against a suit by a former commissioner seeking to recover over one million dollars in legal fees after successfully defending himself from an ethics charge and a criminal charge.
• Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. v. State of Florida, Agency for Health Care Admin., (Fla. Div. Admin. Hearings 2006). A bid protest involving the award of a ½ billion dollar computer system to manage the state’s Medicaid program.
• Community Health Charities v. Dept. of Management Services, (Fla. Div. Admin. Hear. 2008). A challenge to the administration of a state sponsored charitable giving campaign for state employees, and seeking the right of a charity to seek review of the distribution of funds.

Mediation and Investigation Experience
Mr. Byrne also regularly serves as a mediator focusing exclusively on Labor & Employment matters.  Since 1999, he has successfully mediated to settlement a multitude of cases including Fair Labor Standards Act class actions, the full range of Title VII and Civil Rights claims, whistleblower claims and the myriad of claims that arise in the work place. In addition, Mr. Byrne serves as an investigator of pending Labor & Employment law claims on behalf of other law firms and employers.

Education
Vanderbilt University, J.D, 1985
University of Memphis, BBA, 1982, magna cum laude
National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 1987