HELLO!

Diana Davis Basta is a Board Certified Real Estate Attorney. She practices in the areas of Real Estate, Contracts, and Litigation. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management magna cum laude from Eckerd College and her Juris Doctor degree is from the Stetson University College of Law.

Diana loves the practice of law. She decided to attend law school after her first child was born and never looked back. She has always been active in real estate and her extensive knowledge in that area of law comes from, in part, her own personal experiences. Diana, along with her family, over the years, has acquired, structured, and managed a portfolio of residential and commercial real estate.

In additional to her Florida Bar License, Diana is Board Certified in Real Estate. Less than six percent of Florida attorneys hold the distinction of being Board Certified in their area of expertise. She holds a Real Estate License, and a Community Association Management License. Diana is currently the President of the Bay Area Real Estate Council and a member of the Board for the Florida Association of Real Estate Councils.

Diana is a proud member of Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, LLC (The Fund). She is a member of both the Clearwater and Pasco County Bar Associations and is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. She is admitted to practice in all of Florida’s Federal District Courts, including the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts. Additionally, Diana is very proud of the fact that she was sworn-in at the United States Supreme Court in May 2008.

MICHAEL E. MIRRINGTON is a Fund Senior Underwriting Counsel in the Tampa Bay Branch. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toledo College of Law. Prior to joining The Fund, Mr. Mirrington worked for a major Sarasota law firm concentrating in commercial litigation and title insurance claims. He is a member The Florida Bar and the Hillsborough County Bar Association. Mr. Mirrington served for five years as president of the Bay Area Real Estate Council and is now vice president/programs for that organization. He serves on The Florida Bar’s Real Estate Certification Committee and is past chair of that committee. Mr. Mirrington is an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell and a Florida board certified real estate lawyer.

Nichola G. Ahrens – Nicky to her friends – opened her practice as a sole practitioner upon her graduation from the University of Miami Law School and admittance to the Florida Bar in 1988. Her practice is a varied, general civil practice. Because of her strong real estate and mortgage background, she has concentrated in reviewing and preparing Real Estate Contracts, performing Title Searches all over the state and handling residential and commercial closings

Nicky also handles estate planning where she probates estates, prepares wills, living wills, powers of attorney, living trusts.

Nicky’s practice also includes Small Business Law matters, where she advises small business owners, handles Creditor bankruptcy and assists with collections and judgments.

LYNWOOD F. ARNOLD, JR. received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University (B.A. 1969) and his law degree from Florida State University (J.D. 1973). He is a member of the Executive Council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar, currently serving as Co-Chair of the Membership and Inclusion Committee. He is a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and the Tallahassee Bar Association. He is a past Chair of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association. He is a member, director and past president of the Bay Area Real Estate Council. He is a past director of the Tampa Bay Estate Planning Council. Mr. Arnold currently serves on the Professional Ethics Committee of The Florida Bar and on the Board of Directors of the Tallahassee Bar Association Legal Aid Foundation.

Mr. Arnold’s practice areas are real estate transactions and litigation; wills, trusts and estates; estate and trust litigation; and the mediation of real estate and estate disputes. Mr. Arnold has been certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Board Certified Real Estate Lawyer and Circuit Court Mediator. He has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell.

Michael E. Boutzoukas focuses his practice in the areas of commercial real estate and business transactions, leasing and financing. In 2009 he became one of approximately 450 attorneys in Florida to achieve Board Certification in Real Estate Law. Board Certification by the Florida Bar is the highest level of recognition of an attorney’s competency and expertise in one or more of 24 areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.

The Clearwater City Council appointed Michael to the Community Development Board. In that capacity, he conducts design review, evaluates historic applications, and reviews requests for land use plan changes and re-zonings. The Board serves as Local Planning Agency to review and advise City Council on the City’s Comprehensive Plan. He previously served on the Code Enforcement Board.

Michael provides clients with general consultation and guidance in legal matters to business clients, leveraging his own transactional experience with the firm’s specialists in taxation, employment law and securities to serve his clients’ needs. Mr. Boutzoukas’ peers call upon him to assist them with their client’s real estate and business transactional disputes to gain perspective on the best course of resolution. He speaks before realtors, attorneys and businesses groups on commercial real estate transactions, leasing issues, title matters, and ad valorem tax valuation challenges.

Marshall C. Deason, Jr., practices law in Tampa. He has more than 30 years of experience in representing people buying and selling homes in Florida. He is board certified in real estate law by The Florida Bar and has earned an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Deason has been an adjunct professor at both Stetson University College of Law and Cooley Law School of Western Michigan University (Florida campus). He has been a member of both Florida and multi-state law firms, has served as vice president and general counsel of a publicly held real estate development company, and has worked as an attorney/advisor to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. He is a past president of the Bay Area Real Estate Council. He is the co-author of several books and practice manuals published by The Florida Bar and other organizations. He is a frequent speaker at continuing education programs for lawyers on the topics of real estate, business organization, and legal ethics. Mr. Deason received his law degree, with honors, from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, and served there as executive editor of the law review.

Scott W. Fitzpatrick obtained his J.D. from Stetson College of Law in 2000, after earning a B.A. from the University of South Florida in Political Science. Scott engages in litigation topics which include, but are not limited to, contract disputes, securities fraud, Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act violations, restrictive covenant enforcement, foreclosure defense/prosecution, common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, shareholder derivation actions, civil theft, and consumer protection; and has conducted thousands of residential and commercial real estate transactions throughout Florida.

Richard (“Rick”) A. Miller practices real estate law in Lakeland, Florida. After graduating with honors from law school in 1981, Rick joined the firm of Miller & Sweat which is now known as Miller, Crosby & Miller, P.A. Rick became “board certified” in Real Estate Law in 1989 and he currently serves on the Real Estate Certification Committee, the Florida Bar Committee charged with the responsibility of certifying attorneys as “board certified” in real estate law. Rick is rated “AV” by his peers (the highest rating available to attorneys) and represents sellers, buyers and lenders throughout Florida in all types of real estate matters.

Rick is married to the former Betty McAlpin and the couple have 4 adult children. Rick is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lakeland where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee.

Felice Zeldin has been a Member Account Executive with The Fund since 1991, covering the Tampa Bay Counties as well as Polk and Highlands. Felice has held the position of Treasurer of the Bay Area Real Estate Council since the organization was founded in the early 1990’s.