Executive Committee officers and Executive Council members were unanimously approved and sworn in by members of the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar at its annual Membership Awards and Installation Presentation held virtually on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.
The 2021-2022 Executive Committee members are Heather L. Apicella, Chair; General Magistrate Philip S. Wartenberg, Chair-Elect; Sarah E. Kay, Treasurer; Christopher W. Rumbold, Secretary; and Douglas A. Greenbaum, Immediate Past Chair.
Heather L. Apicella is a Partner with the law firm of Gladstone &Weissman, P.A. (Boca Raton & Fort Lauderdale), and is Board-Certified in Marital and Family Law. She earned her Bachelors’ degree at Florida State University in 2002, graduating Cum Laude, and received her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law Nova, graduating Cum Laude, where she was a member of Nova Law Review. Apicella was recently named “2021 Best Lawyer” by Best Lawyers in America, a recognition she has achieved each of the past four years. She was also named a 2021 Top Lawyer by South Florida Legal Guide; and recognized as a “Top Up and Comer” 2016-2018; and a Florida “Rising Star” 2016-2018. Apicella was selected by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel as the Nation’s “Top One Percent.”
Apicella was most recently the Chair-Elect of the Family Law Section and has served as Chair of the Long-Range Planning Committee; Finance Committee; Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Committee; Support Issues Committee; and Legislative Committee. She also served a 4-year term on the Marital & Family Law Review Course Committee, which she Chaired in 2019-2020.Prior to her election to the Executive Committee, she served as a member of the Executive Council, which is a position she held since 2009.
Philip S. Wartenberg is Board-Certified in marital and family law and currently serves as a General Magistrate of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Tampa.) He was previously the owner and sole shareholder of Wartenberg Law Group, P.A., in Tampa from 2001 to 2016. In March 2016, he merged his practice with Allen Dell, P.A., in Tampa, where he was a partner in the firm’s family law department until his magistrate appointment in March 2020. He graduated from the University of Florida, Warrington College of Business in 1991 with a Bachelors’ degree in Finance and earned his J.D. in 1994 from Stetson University College of Law. In 2008, he was bestowed with the Family Law Inn of Tampa’s Ted S. Millison Professionalism Award. He is a member of The Florida Bar, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and the Stann W. Givens Family Law Inn Court of Tampa. Additionally, he is a past chair of the Florida Bar Family Law Section’s Legislation and Certification Review Course committees.
Sarah E. Kay, through her firm Kay Family Law PLLC (Tampa), serves solo and small firms throughout Florida through contract research, writing, and consulting services in addition to directly assisting Florida’s families in the Tampa Bay area through guardian ad litem services, as a mediator, and through collaborative divorce. She is a life-long learner holding a Masters’ in Education from Worcester State University in Massachusetts, a Master in Business Administration from Stetson University, and a Certificate in Special Education Advocacy from William & Mary Law School in addition to her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude from Stetson University College of Law. She is the 2021 Co-Recipient of the Family Law Section’s prestigious Alberto Romero Making a Difference Award and the recipient of the 2021 Florida Bar President’s Award for Pro Bono Legal Service for the 13th Judicial Circuit. Sarah is an accomplished speaker and published author on family law matters and has a particular passion for family law cases involving children with special needs and disabilities.
Christopher W. Rumbold is the Principal of the Law Office of Christopher W. Rumbold, PLLC (Fort Lauderdale),and was admitted to practice law in the State of Florida in 2002, after graduating from the University of Florida. He is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator and a Guardian Ad Litem, and he restricts his litigation practice to complex, high income/high net-worth matrimonial and family law matters in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Rumbold was an inaugural member of the Florida Bar’s Leadership Academy, past Chair of the Legislation Committee, past member of Executive Council (2013-2021) and the recipient of numerous Section awards for outstanding service. He has testified in Tallahassee on behalf of the Family Law Section concerning pending legislation, he co-authored the briefs amicus curiae in two of Florida’s marital equality cases, and he regularly publishes and presents on Family Law issues. Rumbold is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubble, listed in SuperLawyers (2011-2012) and listed in Best Lawyers in America (2018-2021) and resides with his Husband and their three dogs live in Fort Lauderdale.
In 1992, Douglas A. Greenbaum opened his law firm, Douglas A. Greenbaum, PA (Fort Lauderdale), where he specializes in family law, guardianship, estate planning, and probate. He is Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator in both Family and Circuit Civil. Greenbaum also serves as a Florida Guardian Ad Litem and parenting coordinator. He possesses more than 30 years of experience in family law, guardianship law, and alternative dispute resolution. Graduating from the University of Florida with a Bachelors’ degree in Finance, he received his J.D. in 1987 from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. Since 2017, Greenbaum has been recognized by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers as a Super Lawyer, an honorary designation awarded to five percent, or fewer, of the state’s leading attorneys. He also is vice chair of the Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education committee and has served as a member of The Florida Bar’s Councils of Sections. He lectured at the Broward County Raising the Bar in the past. He also held a number of leadership roles within the Family Law Section.
Family Section of The Florida Bar is located at 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, FL. For more information, call (850) 561-5624 or visit familylawfla.org.
