Practice Areas: Mr. Watstein litigates in the following practice areas: Complex Commercial Labor and Employment Class Actions Technology & Intellectual Property

Representative Matters:

• Successfully defended several national financial services organizations, including multiple Fortune-50 banks, in numerous state and federal actions alleging breach of contract, fraud, violations of the Truth-In-Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and various other federal and state statutes. In each matter, either prevailed on a motion to dismiss or a motion for judgment on the pleadings or obtained an early favorable settlement for the client.
  
  
• Successfully defeated appeal challenging the application of an arbitration provision in a commercial real estate covenant.
  
  
• After successfully obtaining a judgment against materials supplier and filing fraudulent transfer suit against insolvent judgment debtor, obtained favorable settlement for client.
  
  
• Obtained complete dismissal of lawsuit alleging tortious interference against commercial property owner who filed various administrative petitions challenging a company's attempts to rezone adjacent property and build an energy plant.
  
  
• Successfully defended international-shipping client against claims of destruction of evidence.
  
  
• Counseled multiple clients in various litigation matters, including a chain of medical clinics in an action against a software company, a pharmaceutical company in a marketing-related dispute with another pharmaceutical company, and multiple employee leasing companies in trade secret and non-competition litigation against former employees.
  
  
• Currently prosecuting declaratory judgment action in federal court on behalf of multi-billion dollar privately held corporation against insurer for wrongful denial of coverage under multiple commercial liability insurance policies.
  
  
• Currently prosecuting conversion, breach-of-fiduciary-duty, breach-of-contract, and other claims against member so New York Limited Liability Company in New York state court.
  
  
• Currently defending property developer against breach-of-contract claims in Georgia state court.
  

Education and Background:

• University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, Florida,
  J.D., magna cum laude, 2009
  
  
• Honors & Activities:
  • Top 3% of Graduating Class
  • Order of the Coif
  • Florida Law Review, Board Member
  • Book Awards for Highest Grade in Employment Law & Legal Drafting
  • Teaching Assistant for Legal Writing & Appellate Advocacy
  • Honors in Legal Writing & Appellate Advocacy
    
    
• Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
  B.A., summa cum laude, 2006
  Major: Finance / Philosophy
  
  
• Honors & Activities:
  • E. Ray Solomon College of Business Scholar
  • John Phillip Pomeroy Presidential Scholar
  • Joseph Gangloff College of Business Scholar
  
  

Professional Activities:

• American Bar Association, Member
  
  
• Member of the State Bars of Georgia, Florida (admission pending)
  
  
• Admitted to United States District Court for the Northern and Middle District of Georgia
  
  
• Young Lawyers Division, Litigation Committee, Member
  
  
• University of Florida Alumni Association, Member
  
  
• Florida State University Alumni Association, Member

Publications:

• Out of Jail and Out of Luck: The Effect of Negligent Hiring Liability and the Criminal Record Revolution on an Ex-Offender's Employment Prospects, 61 U. FLA. L. REV. 581 (2009)