BIOGRAPHY:

William R. Scherer co-founded the firm in 1974 with his late partner Rex Conrad. Over the past almost four decades, Mr. Scherer has grown Conrad & Scherer into one of Florida’s leading law firms and has expanded the firm’s presence with offices in New York, New York, Brevard, North Carolina, and Quito, Ecuador.

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® since 1987, Mr. Scherer is a seasoned trial attorney. He has litigated over 100 trials in both jury and non-jury cases before state, appellate, and federal courts. Mr. Scherer’s cases and legal accomplishments have received coverage by major television networks such as CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and FNN and national and local newspapers such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, South Florida Business Journal, the Daily Business Review, the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald.

Mr. Scherer was lead counsel for victims of the infamous multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Scott Rothstein. Notably, Mr. Scherer led his complex litigation team and achieved an historic settlement returning to investors what is said to be the highest percentages of recovery for victims of a Ponzi scheme. News outlets described the settlement as a “huge victory” and a “landmark” lawsuit.

In 2005, Mr. Scherer served as plaintiff’s counsel in a high-profile commercial lawsuit involving the sale of a health insurance company and obtained, by jury verdict, one of the largest damage awards in Broward County history.

During the historical 2000 Presidential Election Litigation in Florida, Mr. Scherer led a team of attorneys representing President George W. Bush and personally represented the President in the Broward County recount.

In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Scherer has also served as counsel to various government entities. From 1988 to 2005, Mr. Scherer served as General Counsel to the North Broward Hospital District, one of the largest public health care providers in the nation, with four hospitals and nine specialized treatment centers. As General Counsel for the Hospital District, he supervised teams of legal experts in healthcare and malpractice law, and was responsible for all trials and legal actions taken by or against the Hospital District.

Mr. Scherer began his legal career as a law clerk to the Indiana Supreme Court and the Honorable Charles Fulton, Former Chief of the United States District Court for the South District of Florida.

Community Involvement/Affiliations

• American Board of Trial Advocates, Member/“Advocate,” 1989 to present
• Broward Workshop, Board Member, 2002 to 2012
• Broward County Ethics Commission, 2009 to 2010
• City of Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, Board Member, 1989 to 1996 and 2003 to 2010
• Franklin College Board of Trustees, 2000 to 2008
• Judicial Nominating Commission for the Seventeenth Circuit, Gubernatorial Appointee (Governor Martinez, Governor Bush and Governor Scott), 1987 to 1999, 2001 to 2003, 2003 to 2007 (Chair in 2006), 2011 to 2012
• Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Gubernatorial Appointee (Governor Bush), 1999 to 2003
• Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Interim General Counsel, Gubernatorial Appointee (Governor Bush), 2000
• Florida Lawyers for Bush, Statewide Co-Chair, 1998 to 2000
• Florida Lawyers for Bush, Broward and Palm Beach County Chair, 1998 to 2000
• Federal Bar, Grievance Panel for the Southern District of Florida, 1995 to 1997
• Florida Patient Compensation Fund, Board of Directors, 1992
• Federal Bar Association, Broward County Chapter, Past President, 1982 to 1983

Significant Matters/Cases

• Lori Parrish, Broward County Property Appraiser v. Board of County Commissioners, Broward County, Florida, Case No.: 13-023090. Successfully obtained a writ of mandamus on behalf of Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish after the Broward County Board of Commissioners failed to comply with its statutorily mandated duty to fully fund the first quarter payment of the Property Appraiser’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget as approved by the Department of Revenue.
• Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys and para-professionals in the representation of a diverse group of plaintiffs seeking recovery of over $225 million in investor losses resulting from a multi-billion dollar structured settlement Ponzi scheme. This nationally publicized case focused on Toronto Dominion Bank’s (TD Bank) role in facilitating this criminal enterprise asserting novel claims that the Bank willfully aided and abetted the Ponzi fraud. After months of litigation, the matter was resolved through settlement resulting in the highest percentage recovery for victims entangled in a Ponzi scheme.
• In conjunction with the Rothstein Ponzi scheme civil litigation, Mr. Scherer served as Chairman of the Creditors’ Committee in Rothstein’s law firm’s bankruptcy proceeding from December 2009 through December 2012.
• In 2005, Mr. Scherer co-represented a doctor and health care entrepreneur who had purchased HIP of Florida—now Vista Health Plans of Florida—from HIP of New York. Scherer filed a suit on behalf of his client against HIP of New York alleging that HIP hid financial information from his client who had purchased the company for $40 million. Following a 14 week trial, and despite HIP of New York’s countersuit for breach of contract, a jury awarded one of the largest individual verdicts in Broward Circuit Court history. That award included an award of compensatory damages for fraud and the cancellation of a multi-million dollar note to the defendant. Jurors had found liability for punitive and compensatory damages, but before they could determine an award on punitive damages, the case was settled out of court.
• Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys representing President George W. Bush during the historical 2000 vote recount and personally represented the President in the high stakes Broward County recount. Conrad & Scherer’s responsibilities as counsel to President Bush included advising the President on his legal strategy in Broward County and also acting as a key contributor in Bush’s distinguished statewide Florida legal team. In fact, President Bush has praised Conrad & Scherer’s attorneys for their important legal contributions to his success in Florida. The firm’s contribution has also been implicitly recognized in the United States Supreme Court decision of Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), where the high court freed Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris’s certification of George W. Bush as the winner of Florida’s electoral votes in the 2000 presidential election.
• Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys in defending a client against a third-party government agency’s interference with Broward County’s public bid process, which put at risk an existing five year janitorial services contract for the Fort-Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport totaling approximately $69 million. The firm successfully asserted constitutional due process violations challenging the third-party agency’s involvement in the process and deviation from the County Code and Charter. The firm prepared to file a bid protest and to seek judicial relief for the constitutional violations if a successful political resolution was not reached.
• Mr. Scherer led his team of attorneys defending one of the largest mega-yacht marina and shipyards in the US from being over-regulated by a local fire marshal and was able to resolve the matter favorably through the political process and without litigation. The fire marshal had attempted to regulate the shipyard’s spray painting of mega-yachts/large vessels within temporary enclosures – an industry-wide practice already regulated under OSHA. Resolution required multi-government lobbying of the Florida CFO in his capacity as the State Fire Marshal, Broward County Commission, the Broward Board of Rules and Appeals (“BORA”), the City of Fort Lauderdale, and the local Fire Prevention Bureau. If the fire marshal was successful, the impacts to the Tri-County’s multi-billion dollar marine industry would have been devastating. In addition to the government relations aspect of this matter, the firm prepared to seek judicial relief for the constitutional violations if a successful political resolution was not reached.
• Successfully enforced a $41 million judgment against a prominent real estate developer by attacking an offshore Nevis trust. Pursued multiple court actions in domestic and international jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands. This was one of the first instances in the U.S. where a U.S. creditor was able to successfully attack a Nevis trust. The case resulted in a settlement of over $44 million for the client.
• Represented a municipality and prevailed at trial in a $100 million dollar lawsuit brought by a large developer against the municipality for breach of an alleged contract to develop 11 acres of Florida oceanfront property.

Awards/Recognitions

• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, since 1987
• Listed as one of the “FACES of Fort Lauderdale” by Gold Coast Magazine, April 2019
• Listed in South Florida Legal Guide, “Top Lawyers”, 2006-2017, 2019
• Listed in Super Lawyers® “Super Lawyer”, 2006 to 2018
• Recognized as a Best Lawyer in Commercial Litigation, 2018 and 2019
• Recognized as an “Ultimate CEO” by the South Florida Business Journal, 2013
• Listed in Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, “Florida Legal Elite”, 2004, 2010 and 2014
• Listed in VerdictSearch’s, “Top 100 Verdicts of 2005”, 2005
• Recognized as “Most Effective Lawyer” by the Daily Business Review, 2005 and 2012
• Profiled as a “Power Broker” by the Sun-Sentinel Newspaper, 2002
• Listed as one of “The 50 Most Powerful People in Broward County” by Gold Coast Magazine, May/June 2002
• Profiled as a “Political Power Broker” by Gold Coast Magazine, April 2002

Publications/Teaching & Speaking Engagements

• C5’s 3rd Forum “Fraud, Asset Tracing and Recovery,” Miami Beach, Florida, Speaker, “Miami Vice—Unraveling the $1.2 Billion Rothstein Ponzi Scheme,” October 2012
• American Board of Trial Advocates and the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of ABOTA “Masters In Opening Statements and Closing Arguments”, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Speaker, May 2011
• BankAtlantic Attorney Seminar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Speaker, “Unraveling a Ponzi Scheme,” October 2010
• Boys and Girls Club of Broward County Men’s Luncheon, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Featured Speaker, “The Ponzi in its Aftermath,” April 2010
• William R. Scherer Jr., Directors and Officers Face Liability – Check Your D&O Insurance Now, Smart Business – Broward/Palm Beach, April 2005 at 14.
• William R. Scherer Jr., Vital Reforms – Why Everyone Needs to Pay Attention to Proposed Medicaid Reforms, Smart Business – Broward/Palm Beach, March 2005, at 24.
• William R. Scherer, Jr., Medicaid Reform – A Call to Action, South Florida Hospital News, March 2005.
• William R. Scherer Jr., Editorial, Recommended Reforms Must Pass in Session, South Fla. Sun Sentinel, June 16, 2003, at 21A.
• William R. Scherer Jr., Sovereign Immunity in Indiana- Requiem 6 Ind. L. Rev. 92 (1972).

BIOGRAPHY:

John Scherer is a partner in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office. Mr. Scherer’s government relations practice focuses on providing clients throughout South Florida with strategic counsel on procurement and government contract issues. Mr. Scherer focuses his litigation practice on construction and land use litigation.

As a Certified General Contractor with significant experience in construction, Mr. Scherer is able to serve the firm’s clients either as special counsel or as an expert witness on large complex commercial and residential construction cases.

In addition to his role at Conrad & Scherer, Mr. Scherer is the President and Owner of Gulf Building and Gulf Design Group. Mr. Scherer’s experience at Gulf affords his clients the benefit of his business acumen and his hands-on knowledge of construction, development and government contracts.

Community Involvement/Affiliations

• Broward County Enterprise Zone Board, Board Member, 2013 to present
• City of Fort Lauderdale, Economic Advisory, Board Member, 2013 to present
• Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Council, Board Member, 2013 to present
• Florida Building Commission, Board Member, Governor Crist Appointee, 2009 to present
• Construction Association of South Florida, 2006 to present
• Board of Directors for Associated Builders and Contractors, Southeast FL Division, Director, 2006 to 2012
• Associated Builders and Contractors, Florida Chapter, Member, 2006 to 2012
• Unsafe Structures Board for the City of Fort Lauderdale, Board Member, 2006 to 2012

Awards/Recognitions

• Named “Top 40 Under 40” by South Florida Business Journal, 2014
• Named “Top 40 Professionals Under 40 – Broward County Rising Stars” by Gold Coast Magazines, 2009

BIOGRAPHY:

Michael E. Dutko, Jr. is a partner in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office. Mr. Dutko’s practice focuses on government relations and public policy, procurement and government contracts, zoning, land use and development, land use and real property litigation and general commercial and civil litigation.

Mr. Dutko has extensive experience in the field of local government law, representing developers and builders in private practice as well as having served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Delray Beach. In addition to providing legal services on a wide range of local government matters, he also served as the City’s board counsel for the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board, Historic Preservation Board, Code Enforcement Board, Board of Adjustment, Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission, guiding each body through the consideration of complex legal and controversial matters.

In particular, Mr. Dutko worked closely with the City’s Planning and Zoning Department regarding the review and processing of applications for development in the City, which is widely regarded as one of South Florida’s premier locations. In addition to land development and zoning work, Mr. Dutko was a primary attorney responsible for the preparation of government contracts, review and drafting of solicitations for competitive procurements, ethics and Sunshine Law consultation, and labor and collective bargaining negotiations. Mr. Dutko was the City’s chief litigator in lawsuits arising during his tenure, including but not limited to writs of certiorari, negligence actions and ballot challenges.

Prior to the City of Delray Beach, Mr. Dutko served as an Assistant State Attorney with the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office. There, he gained significant and valuable jury trial experience in cases ranging from driving under the influence to first degree murder. While at the State Attorney’s Office, Mr. Dutko was selected to join the office’s Public Corruption Unit, leading a team of investigators and prosecuting complex crimes committed by public employees, police officers, and elected officials. In addition to numerous other high profile and highly publicized cases, Mr. Dutko led Palm Beach County’s first successful prosecution to trial verdict of violations of Florida’s Sunshine Law, involving a city commission’s attempt to secretly authorize unlawful payments to a city manager.

BIOGRAPHY:

Eric Hager is a partner in the Firm’s Quito, Ecuador office. His practice includes transnational litigation, appeals, commercial fraud & forensic recovery, securities & financial regulatory litigation, consumer finance litigation, general civil litigation, appeals, land use litigation, securities & financial regulatory litigation and trust litigation.

Mr. Hager’s experience in complex litigation is varied. He has played key roles in diverse matters in a number of state and federal courts throughout the country and has managed multinational teams on difficult e-discovery and other discovery projects. Mr. Hager has also led or participated in appeals in multiple state and federal courts. He has worked closely with experts on foreign law from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. Mr. Hager has drafted successful requests for discovery in relation to foreign legal proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, which is a statute allowing litigants to obtain discovery related to foreign legal proceedings using the assistance of U.S. courts. In addition, he provides the firm’s Latin American clients with assistance in cross-border litigation and transactions.

Mr. Hager has experience briefing a wide range of complicated legal issues. Representative issues include choice of law, including between foreign and U.S. law; international comity, forum non conveniens, and other defenses common to transnational litigation; statutory construction of state, federal, and foreign statutes; removal from federal court and remand to state court; the intersection of state property law and federal tax law; standing and capacity to sue; issue and claim preclusion; tolling of the statute of limitations and other timeliness issues; and procedural issues associated with a variety of pre-trial motions, including motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, discovery motions, and motions in limine.

Prior to focusing on commercial litigation and appeals, Mr. Hager spent over six years primarily representing the firm’s clients seeking to hold multinational corporations accountable for human rights abuses. In that role, he took and defended depositions abroad and in the U.S., obtained a reversal on a key issue from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, briefed numerous other appeals, argued pre-trial motions before state and federal courts, and led discovery-related and other field work in remote regions of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Before joining the Firm in 2009, he practiced as a commercial litigator, primarily working on consumer financial services matters in the Washington, D.C. office of a large national firm.

Mr. Hager is fluent in Spanish, resides in Quito, Ecuador, and has traveled extensively throughout the South American Andean region on business.

Awards/Recognitions

• Columbia University School of Law, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
• Columbia University Journal of Environmental Law, Articles Editor
• Fulbright Scholar, Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program, September 2002 to May 2003

BIOGRAPHY:

Jordana L. Jarjura serves as Of Counsel in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office. Ms. Jarjura has significant land use and local government law experience to assist with government projects. Ms. Jarjura handles exclusively land use and government relations matters for the Firm.

Ms. Jarjura is the former Vice Mayor of the City of Delray Beach, where she managed a $132 million general fund budget and a $250 million capital improvement plan.  She also previously served on the Palm Beach County MPO, the South Central Regional Wastewater and Disposal Treatment Board, the Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board, and the City of Fort Lauderdale Beach CRA Advisory Board.

Ms. Jarjura served on Palm Beach County State Attorney Aronberg’s Sober Homes Task Force since its inception.  For three consecutive Legislative sessions, the Task Force made recommended statutory modifications that provided additional regulations and stiffer criminal penalties on community recovery properties.  Additionally, during her City Commission tenure, Ms. Jarjura supported sweeping changes to Delray Beach’s land development regulations that allowed the City to define community recovery properties and to determine whether these community recovery properties were in fact operating legally and providing a minimum standard of care to its residents.  Other cities in South Florida, including the City of Fort Lauderdale, used Delray’s code changes as a template for their own.

Before moving into land use and government affairs, Ms. Jarjura began her legal career handling land use and zoning appeals with a prominent Florida law firm.  She has found that the combination of knowledgeable lobbying with a mindful eye on litigation is very effective in meeting her clients’ needs.

Significant Matters/Cases

• Site plan approval from the City of Delray Beach of a 143-room hotel. In connection with the site plan approval, she assisted with the approval of four waivers to allow for underground parking and an enhanced pedestrian experience as well as architectural approval for a LEED-certified Tropical Modern structure with living walls and a 45% vegetation covered green roof.
• Site plan approval from the Fort Lauderdale City Commission of a 175-room hotel. In connection with the site plan approval, she successfully defended against historic designation of two existing structures on the property.  She also successfully defended against a petition for writ of certiorari challenging the development order for the site plan and another challenging the denial of the historic designation.
• Site plan approval and residential unit allocation from the Fort Lauderdale City Commission for an 18-story, 210-unit luxury apartment building. In addition to the City entitlement approvals, she successfully negotiated several agreements related to the property’s 99-year ground lease with Broward County and a plat note amendment to accomplish the desired development.
• Site plan approval, residential unit allocation and a parking reduction from the Fort Lauderdale City Commission for an 850-unit, six-acre mixed-use marina and residential development. In conjunction with these approvals, she obtained City approval for relocation of a Protected African Rain Tree to a dedicated public park.
• Assisted with successfully obtaining a writ of mandamus on behalf of Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish after the Broward County Board of Commissioners failed to comply with its statutorily mandated duty to fully fund the Property Appraiser’s budget as approved by the Department of Revenue. In addition to the judicial relief, resolution required multi-government and public affairs advocacy with the Property Appraiser, the Broward County Commission and the Governor’s Cabinet.
• Assisted in the successful defense of the largest marina and shipyard in the United States. The shipyard was being improperly regulated by a local fire marshal for an industry-wide practice related to spray painting of yachts.  She resolved the matter favorably for her client through the political process and without litigation.  Resolution required multi-government lobbying of the State CFO in his capacity as the State Fire Marshal, the Broward County Commission, the Broward Board of Rules and Appeals, the City of Fort Lauderdale and the local Fire Prevention Bureau.
• Assisted with the successful passage of State legislation amending the Florida Statutes to change the legal boundary of Broward County and Palm Beach County. The boundary change resulted in accessibility to public services for the 2000+ acres as well as automatic doubling of the permissible density.
• Assisted with the preservation of the national register designated Stranahan House before the City of Fort Lauderdale, the Fourth District Court of Appeals and the Federal Legislature.

Awards/Recognitions

• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, since 2010.
• Recognized by Florida Super Lawyers® “Rising Star”, 2009 and 2010
• Recognized by Daily Business Review “Rising Star: Top 40 Under the Age of 40”, 2014
• Recognized by Lifestyle Media Group “Leaders in Law” – Finalist for Environmental Law, 2014
• Recognized by Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business Issue “Women Leaders in Law”, 2015
• Recognized by the South Florida Legal Guide “Top Land Use Attorney”, 2015 and 2016
• Recognized by the South Florida Business Journal “Top 40 Under 40”, 2018
• Selected as one of 50 statewide members of Leadership Florida Class 35 and now serves on the Leadership Florida’s Regional Council Board, 2017.