Melonie  Bueno

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overview

Melonie Bueno practices in the areas of bad faith and claims administration defense, complex personal injury, automobile negligence, and coverage litigation, and has litigated throughout various state and federal courts in Florida.  Melonie is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is a frequent speaker on bad faith and claims handling topics.  

Prior to joining the firm, Melonie served as a judicial intern to Justice Harry Lee Anstead at the Florida Supreme Court. Melonie graduated cum laude from the University of Miami, where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration  in Business Law and Business Management & Organization. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from St. Thomas University School of Law, graduating cum laude and in the top 10% of her class. She was on the Executive Board of the St. Thomas Law Review, and a member of the Moot Court Board.  

When not practicing law, Melonie enjoys singing with the Master Chorale of South Florida, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that world-class performances of major works written for chorus and orchestra remain part of South Florida's cultural fabric.

Practice Areas
Credentials

Education

  • St. Thomas University College of Law, Miami, FL (J.D., 2007)
    cum laude
    Best in Class Awards: Torts I, Civil Procedure II, Advanced Legal Research & Writing, Appellate Advocacy, Criminal Procedure I, Florida Constitutional Law, Legal Thought; St. Thomas Law Review, Member Senior Articles Editor; St. Thomas Moot Court Board
  • University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (B.B.A., 2004)
    cum laude
    President’s Honor Roll, Dean’s Honor Roll; Provost’s Honor Roll

Admissions

  • State of Florida, 2007
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2009
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2012

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Kubicki Draper Pre-Suit Practice Group, Co-Chair
  • Florida Bar Association
  • Palm Beach County Bar Association
  • Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association
  • National Association for Professional Women

Certifications / Specialties

  • Certified Continuing Education Instructor, State of Florida 

Special Awards and Recognitions

  • Rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Received a "Distinguished Lawyer Designation", by The Expert Network (2016)
  • Selected as “Top Lawyers of South Florida”, by The Daily Business Review (2015, 2016)
  • Selected as "Top Rated Lawyer in Personal Injury Law", by The American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel Magazine (2013, 2015)

Languages

  • Spanish
  • Martindale-Hubbell 
Presentations

Speaking Engagements / Presentations

  • "Negotiating Low Limits Single & Multiple Claimants," Bristol West, 2023
  • "UM/UIM and Bad Faith," Allstate, 2017
  • "Excess Verdicts and Bad Faith," GEICO, 2016
  • "How to Tackle Multiple Claimant Scenarios and Other Claims Handling Issues," Bristol West, 2015
  • "Defending and Defeating Punitive Damages in Extra Contractual Litigation," CLM Insurance Bad Faith and Coverage Conference, 2014
  • "Confessions of Judgment," Allstate ECL Summit, 2014 
  • "Bad Faith Hot Topics 2014," Windhaven, 2014
  • "Hot Topics Regarding PIP and the 2013 Statute & Top Ten bad Faith Pitfalls to Avoid in Florida," Farmers, 2014
  • “Bad Faith – First Party Claims,” FCCI, 2014
  • "First Party Bad Faith," First Protective, 2012
  • "Bad Faith," Sir Galloway Cleaners, 2012
  • "Top Ten Bad Faith Pitfalls To Avoid in Florida," CJW & Associates, 2011
  • "Bad Faith - Fabric Restoration," Citizens, 2011
  • "Bad Faith/Excess Verdict," Kubicki Draper Claims Management Conference, 2010
Experience

Past Employment Positions

  • Honorable Justice Harry Lee Anstead, Florida Supreme Court (Judicial Intern)
  • Overview
  • Practice Areas
  • Credentials
  • Presentations
  • Experience

locations

Miami

Miami Office

9100 South Dadeland Blvd., Suite 1800
Miami, FL 33156

T: 305.374.1212 F: 305.374.7846

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Miami-Dade

Key West

Key West Office

402 Applerouth Lane, Suite 2C
Key West, FL 33040

T: 305.509.7300 F: 305.374.7846

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Monroe
Ft. Lauderdale

Ft. Lauderdale Office

110 East Broward Blvd., Suite 1400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

T: 954.768.0011 F: 954.768.0514

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Broward
West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach Office

1700 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 800
West Palm Beach, FL 33401

T: 561.640.0303 F: 561.640.0524

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Indian River | Martin | Okeechobee | Palm Beach | Saint Lucie

Tampa

Tampa Office

400 North Ashley Drive, Suite 1200
Tampa, FL 33602

T: 813.204.9776 F: 813.204.9660

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Hernando | Hillsborough | Manatee | Pasco | Pinellas | Polk | Sarasota
Orlando

Orlando Office

201 South Orange Avenue, Suite 475
Orlando, FL 32801

T: 407.245.3630 F: 407.245.7685

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Brevard | Highlands | Orange | Osceola | Seminole
Ocala

Ocala Office

1396 NE 20th Avenue, #500
Ocala, FL 34470

T: 352.622.4222 F: 352.622.9122

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Alachua | Citrus | Dixie | Gilchrist | Lake | Levy | Marion | Putnam | Sumter | Volusia
Jacksonville

Jacksonville Office

1 Independent Drive, Suite 1601
Jacksonville, FL 32202

T: 904.396.0062 F: 904.396.0380

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Baker | Bradford | Clay | Columbia | Duval | Flagler | Hamilton | Nassau | Saint Johns | Union
Pensacola

Pensacola Office

125 West Romana Street, Suite 550
Pensacola, FL 32502

T: 850.434.0003 F: 850.434.0223

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Escambia | Holmes | Okaloosa | Santa Rosa | Walton

Tallahassee

Tallahassee Office

1705 Metropolitan Boulevard, Suite 202
Tallahassee, FL 32308

T: 850.222.5188 F: 850.222.5108

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Bay | Calhoun | Franklin | Gadsden | Gulf | Jackson | Jefferson | Leon | Liberty | Wakulla | Washington | Madison | Lafayette | Taylor 

Ft. Myers

Ft. Myers Office

13350 Metro Parkway, Suite 201
Fort Myers, FL 33966

T: 239.334.8403 F: 239.939.0700

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Charlotte | Collier | DeSoto | Glades | Hardee | Hendry | Lee

Mobile

Mobile Office

11 North Water Street, Suite 10290
Mobile, AL 36602

T: 251.308.3351 F: 251.287.1624

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Baldwin | Washington | Clarke | Escambia | Covington | Geneva | Houston | Henry |  Dale | Coffee | Barbour | Pike |Crenshaw | Butler  | Monroe | Clarke | Choctaw | Wilcox | Bullock | Russell

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Our Firm

our hi(story)

In 1963, Gene Kubicki founded the firm based on dedication to excellence. The same high standards have been maintained for over five decades -- years which have seen the firm’s ranks swell to over 200 attorneys.

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Our team knows return clients are the life blood of any law firm and this is why we ensure client satisfaction by an exacting attention to service and quality.  Client service coupled with a spectacular work ethic, makes our team hard to beat.

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ourDIVERSITY

Kubicki Draper is committed to fostering an environment of equal opportunity for success and believes diversity is not only a moral imperative, but is also sound business practice.

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ourPractices

In response to the growing needs of its clients, the firm began expanding in the early 1980's and today is a diverse full-service law firm providing trial, appellate, coverage, commercial and real estate transaction services.

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ourresults

Kubicki Draper enjoys a national reputation for expertise in the handling of complex, high stakes litigation matters, as well as, appellate, general commercial and real estate practice.

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ourreach

With a dozen offices throughout the State of Florida and other key points in the southern parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississipi, our firm is familiar to every venue statewide and will never get home-teamed.

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