Three Stearns Weaver Miller Shareholders Selected as Florida Trend’s Legal Elite NOTABLE – Women Leaders in Law for 2024

MIAMI, FL — Stearns Weaver Miller announced that Shareholders Sharon Quinn Dixon, Maria Arhancet Fehretdinov and Vinette Godelia were selected as Florida Trend’s Legal Elite NOTABLE – Women Leaders in Law. The list recognizes Florida-based women attorneys who demonstrate leadership in professional and community organizations, mentor other attorneys and promote professional practices and values in the workplace, and have made a measurable impact in the types of cases handled, clients represented and/or pro bono work.

Sharon Quinn Dixon (Miami | Labor & Employment / Tax, Trusts & Estates) is a Florida Board Certified tax lawyer with over four decades of experience advising business clients about their employee benefit plans and executive compensation as well as individuals and organizations regarding their estate, probate and trust planning and administration. Sharon is also a Fellow for the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and serves on the Employee Benefits Committee for the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. She also previously served on the Board of Directors for the Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami, Inc and for South Florida Trail Riders. Sharon has been ranked Band 1 in Chambers USA since 2005 and Best Lawyers in America® has named her Miami Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Lawyer of the Year five times. In 2023, she received the 2022-2023 Distinguished Estate Planner award by the Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami.

Maria Arhancet Fehretdinov (Miami | Litigation & Dispute Resolution) is an experienced litigator that represents public and private companies and executives in complex litigation matters at the trial and appellate levels in both federal and state courts nationwide, including counseling foreign parties on U.S. matters. She focuses her practice on matters relating to actions involving federal, state and local government entities; securities and shareholder derivative claims; antitrust litigation and merger review; class actions; product liability litigation; False Claims Act suits; deceptive and unfair trade practices cases; and anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations. Maria currently serves as a Judicial Liaison for the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (MDFAWL) and as Communications Coordinator for the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. Starting in 2024, she has been ranked on the “Up & Coming” list on Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial (Florida) and as a “Future Star” for Benchmark Litigation.

Vinette Godelia (Tampa | Land Development, Zoning & Environmental) focuses her practice on the defense and negotiation of complex land development approvals under Florida’s growth management laws and local government regulations. She is a skilled negotiator and has successfully secured approvals for large-scale projects, including negotiating high-profile development agreements for clients that cumulatively exceed $20 billion. Vinette has particular experience advising clients in resource extraction and energy operations ranging from due diligence to establishment of projects across the state to novel issues relating to the redevelopment of legacy mining lands for agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial uses.

She serves on the Executive Board for Florida State University’s Center for Real Estate Education and Research and also serves as an Adjunct Professor for Florida State University College of Law teaching Advanced Real Estate. Vinette has been consistently recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2018 and Florida Super Lawyers since 2020.