Since the firm was founded more than 35 years ago, we have made it our mission to promote diversity in the legal profession.
A sampling of our involvement:
Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation
John Kozyak founded the Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation in 2002 which matches minority law school students in Florida with mentors who are experienced lawyers and judges. The KMMF also provides paid summer fellowships to academically-driven law students with financial needs. Cori Lopez-Castro and Detra Shaw-Wilder are on the foundation’s board of directors.
University of Miami School of Law
Harley Tropin has taught litigation skills at the University of Miami School of Law for over 25 years.
Cuban American Bar Association
Maria Garcia is currently serving as President of the Cuban American Bar Association. Cori Lopez-Castro and Javier Lopez are past presidents.
Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida (BBA)
David Samole has served on the board of directors for the non-profit voluntary Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida (BBA) continuously since 2006, serving as president in 2017-2018 and currently serving as immediate past-president. John Kozyak and David Rosendorf are also past presidents.
Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust
David Samole is an active supporter of Chapman Partnership, which is the private sector partner of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, operating two Homeless Assistance Centers in downtown Miami and Homestead.
South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
Tal Lifshitz serves on the board of directors for the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, serves as chair of the CLE Committee and co-chair of the Diversity Committee, serves on the FBA National Council, and as a member of the FBA National Younger Lawyers in Court Task Force.
Stephanie Moncada Gomez serves as Vice Chair of the Federal Bar Association International Law Section.
Jewish National Fund & American Jewish Committee
Maia Aron serves as the President of the Miami Chapter of the Jewish National Fund. Maia also serves as the chair of Access Miami, the young leadership arm of American Jewish Committee (AJC), and as a member of AJC Miami’s Executive Committee.
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation & Big Brothers Big Sisters
Javier Lopez is very active in the South Florida Cuban community and charitable organizations, such as the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Referring to one of the firm’s founders, John Kozyak, U.S. District Chief Judge Federico Moreno described him as “The person who has done more for diversity in the legal community than anyone else.”
