Attorneys

Wesley J. Farrell, Esq. - Email

Wesley J. Farrell is a founding partner in Farrell & Patel, Attorneys at Law, located in Miami, FL. He holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a J.D. /M.B.A. from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, FL. Mr. Farrell has been instrumental in the growth of Farrell & Patel from a Miami-based boutique firm to one that has achieved national recognition.

Mr. Farrell is the lead attorney representing the largest group of business owners in the hospitality industry in their claims against B.P. regarding the oil spill of April 20, 2010. Already having recovered millions in damages for his clients, Mr. Farrell is fully committed to representing victims of the biggest oil spill in history.

In addition, Mr. Farrell has initiated lawsuits on behalf of historic homes that may have been damaged as a result of construction negligence. He has also been instrumental in organizing the ground-breaking class action lawsuits against the Choice and Wyndham brands. The lawsuits pertain to additional costs incurred by franchisees as a result of what may be an unfair loyalty point fee structure.

Mr. Farrell philanthropic activities include serving as an Ambassador for the City Year Organization, mentoring inner-city youth. He is also a contributor to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami.
 

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Ricky K. Patel, Esq. - Email

Ricky K. Patel, a partner in Farrell & Patel, P.A., holds a B.A./B.S. from Florida State University where his primary academic focus was genocide prevention. He earned his J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law and currently serves on the Board of Trustees.

Mr. Patel is very active in several other areas of public service. He was appointed as the youngest member of President Obama’s National Finance Committee. He also served as an ambassador for President Clinton’s Global Initiative. 

His philanthropic activities include volunteering with Habitat For Humanity. He has logged over 1,500 hours in Pro-Bono work with The Immigration Clinic for refugees, asylum seekers, and violence against women (V.A.W.A). Mr. Patel is also active with the Miami Children's Hospital.

Mr. Patel has been an active member of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) for many years. Currently, he serves on the legislative committee for AAHOA. Mr. Patel has been instrumental in his ability to educate minority hotel owners in the Gulf region about their options for recouping losses following the 2010 BP oil spill through claims with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. This working relationship has led to further legal representation on behalf of AAHOA members, this time in the largest class action lawsuit in hospitality history, filed against Choice Hotels and Wyndham Hotel Group. 
 

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Juan C. Velasquez, Esq. - Email

Juan Velasquez, Associate Attorney at Farrell & Patel, earned his B.A. in Liberal Studies from Florida International University in Miami, FL, and his J.D. from the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, VA. While pursuing his J.D., Mr. Velasquez was honored to be recognized on the Dean’s List.

Mr. Velasquez concentrates his practice in loss-of-income claims matters, working with hoteliers and their employees in preparing and filing claims with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mr. Velasquez also has experience with corporate law, traffic infractions, and contract review. Mr. Velasquez is a member of the Florida Bar, the Dade County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
 

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Mark Weiner, Esq. - Email

Mark Weiner, of counsel to Farrell & Patel, P.A., holds a B.A. in Asian History from the University of Alabama. He then received his J.D. from the University of Alabama and P.R.C. from the East China Institute of Politics and Law in Shanghai. Mr. Weiner is a Board Certified Specialist in Immigration & Nationality Law, and is admitted to both the Florida Bar and the Czech Republic Bar. He is fluent in Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, and German.

Mr. Weiner's immigration practice includes legal business-related, family and religious immigration cases. He handles immigrant and non-immigrant visas and the related immigrant visa processes, including PERM. He also specializes in Consular Processing at U.S. consulates abroad, including attendance at interviews where permitted. He has attended over 6,000 adjustment of status interviews and over 3,000 citizenship interviews. Mr. Weiner's international practice includes representation of business clients in cross-border transactions, international corporate structuring, intellectual property issues, in-bound and out-bound investment and customs matters.

Mr. Weiner is founder & managing partner of Immigration Legal Centers of America, PA, in Tampa, Fl. He has also served on several committees for the Florida Bar, including the Continuing Education Committee, the Professional Ethics Committee, the Immigration Board Certification Committee, and the Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee. Additionally, Mr. Weiner has served as President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association CFC and as a Florida Bar Designated International Lawyer.

Mr. Weiner has published several articles and held numerous seminars on US immigration law throughout the world. He is also the author of "The Need for a Bilateral Investment Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America" and "Investing and Immigrating to the U.S.A.”
 

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Aaron Resnick, Esq. - Email

Strategic Partner

Aaron Resnick, a graduate of Leadership Miami, is a leader in the Miami's legal and cultural arts scene. Mr. Resnick was awarded the "Shining Star" Award by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, Inc. This award each year honors the top Miami business professional supporting the arts and cultural community. Mr. Resnick was the founding chairperson of the Friends of the New World Symphony, and now serves permanently on its Executive Committee. He also sat on the Board of Directors for the Miami Design Preservation League for over 10 years. He has served on the executive committee for numerous young patron groups in South Florida including, but not limited to: Best Buddies of South Florida, Big Brothers Big Sister’s Impact Circle, Art Crowd of the Bass Museum, the Green Room Society for the Center for Performing Arts, the Tropees of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Jewish Legal Society of Miami, and the MOCA Shakers amongst others. He is a member of the South Beach Athletic Club and an active in local, state and national politics. He is a Regional Board Member of the Maccabi World Union and a member of the Ben Gurion Society of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

Currently, he is a member of the Silver Director’s Circle for the Bass Museum, the Maestro’s Circle for the Friends of the New World Symphony, and a Supporting Member of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (and a member of the Green Room Society).  Mr. Resnick recently founded, with several friends, the Little Lighthouse Foundation, www.littlelighthouse.org, which is a Miami based charity that seeks, identifies and provides support to children and their families with health, educational, and financial challenges.

Professionally, Mr. Resnick is an attorney, who honed his craft at one of Florida’s oldest and most prestigious firms, Gunster Yoakley, before starting his own boutique law firm in 2005 with offices now in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville, Jacksonville and New York City. Mr. Resnick received his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science with honors from Emory University and a Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida. Mr. Resnick is admitted to all of the state and federal courts in Florida and the United States Supreme Court. In 2009 and 2010, he was named one of the Top Lawyers in Florida by Florida Trend magazine and was also named one of the 40 best attorneys in South Florida under the age of 40 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In addition, in 2011, Super Lawyers Magazine named Mr. Resnick one of its Florida Rising Stars 2011.  The South Florida Business Journal recently named Mr. Resnick as a 40 Under 40 Award winner recognizing the region’s top professionals under 40 years old for their professional success and community involvement.
 

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Derek A. Schwartz, Esq.

Strategic Partner

Mr. Schwartz concentrates his practice in areas of estate planning, asset protection planning, business planning, real estate and probate, guardianship and trust administration. Mr. Schwartz earned his bachelor degree in accounting and business administration from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and his law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.  At the University of Florida, Mr. Schwartz served as a tax editor to the Florida Tax Review and was a contributing member of the Florida Law Review. Mr. Schwartz was formerly associated with the national law firms of Holland & Knight, and Greenberg Traurig. Mr. Schwartz handles all levels of estate planning (from simple Will preparation to estate tax discount planning strategies such as family limited partnerships, intentionally defective grantor trusts and charitable trust planning), all levels of asset protection planning (such as domestic and foreign entity and trust planning and discretionary self-settled spendthrift trust planning), all levels of fiduciary tax return preparation (such as estate, gift and GST tax returns), all levels of business planning (such as entity formations, corporate, partnership and limited liability company agreements, buy-sell agreements and stock and asset purchase agreements), all levels of marital planning (such as prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and marital property settlement agreements) and real estate law (such as commercial and residential real estate purchase and sale agreements, closings, and commercial and residential lease agreements). Mr. Schwartz also owns a title insurance company licensed as an agent to issue title insurance throughout the State of Florida.
 

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Jason E. Niehaus, Esq. - Email
Texas Office

Jason was raised in League City, Texas before leaving the Houston area to complete his collegiate and graduate school education. Jason completed his BBA at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and his Law Degree from the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, Florida. At UM Law he was a member of the Charles C Papy Jr Moot Court Board. After completing his law degree, Jason elected to return to his home state of Texas, where he is admitted to practice law. Prior to joining Farrell & Patel to lead the new Houston, Texas office, Jason was General Counsel for the Denton, Texas based Kroo Bay Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing aid to the Kroo Bay area in Sierra Leone. Jason also has experience in Criminal Defense, Contracts Drafting and Review, and Estate Planning. 
 

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Support Staff

Daniel Ardaya, Legal Assistant - Email

Chantelle Dearellano, Legal Assistant - Email

Malory Desrivieres, Receptionist/Legal Assistant - Email

Fernando L. Diaz, Legal Assistant - Email

Samuel Edmon, Legal Assistant - Email

Hans Gordillo, Legal Assistant - Email

Mario Gutierrez, Legal Assistant - Email

Melissa G. Kolinsky, Legal Assistant - Email

Albert Li, Legal Assistant - Email

John Calvin Lisich, Legal Assistant - Email

Joey M. McCall, Law Clerk -  Email

JD Moises, Law Clerk - Email

Monica Osorio, Legal Assistant - Email

Bhavika Patel, Legal Assistant - Email

Christina Rolle, Receptionist/Legal Assistant - Email

Daniel Smith, Law Clerk - Email

Ann Smith, Legal Assistant - Email

Lorena Valencia, Office Manager/Legal Assistant - Email