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Nicole F. Soto

Partner

Nicole F. Soto is an extremely knowledgeable and results-driven attorney with  17 years litigation experience, including personal injury, product liability litigation, construction defect, and real estate litigation.  She has extensive experience defending self-insureds, insurers and their policyholders in claims involving personal injury, catastrophic loss, construction defect litigation, community association claims, and employment claims from case inception through trial.

Nicole's premises liability representation includes restaurants, supermarkets, parking lots, drinking establishments, DOT-controlled facilities, stadiums, shopping malls, retail stores, large warehouses and home improvement stores. Her commercial trucking and transportation representation includes motor carriers including semi tractor-trailers and tankers, buses, ambulances, waste haulers, and moving and storage van lines.  

Nicole's construction defect practice centers on the prosecution and defense of developers, contractors, design professionals, and subcontractors in claims involving construction defects and design errors.  Her real estate experience includes prosecution and defense of title insurers, sellers and purchasers of real estate, mortgage lenders, and construction lienors in title disputes, priority lien challenges, and other real property proceedings.  

Nicole’s community association representation includes defense of condo and homeowners associations (HOAs), HOA board members and property management companies in claims involving covenants and amendments, common elements,  alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, and claims for damages to a unit based upon the alleged failure of the association to maintain the common elements or condominium property.

Nicole's employment practice includes discrimination claims based on age, race, national origin, pregnancy, disability, and ADA compliance.  Her employment representation also include defense of Family Medical Leave Act claims and wrongful termination claims.

Nicole earned a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Florida International University.  While in law school, she served as Production Editor for the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal.  Nicole is dual-licensed in Florida and Illinois.  She is admitted to practice in all Florida state courts as well as the Middle District and the Southern District of Florida. She is also a member of Conroy Simberg's Diversity & Inclusion Committee. 

Practice Areas:  

Admitted to Practice:

  • Illinois, 2005
  • Florida, 2006

Education:

  • Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Juris Doctorate, 2005
  • Florida International University, Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, cum laude, 2001 

Professional Affiliations:

  • The Florida Bar
  • Illinois State Bar
  • Tampa Bay Hispanic Bar Association
  • Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers
  • Hillsborough County Bar Association 

Honors & Awards:

  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2024, Listed in Florida for Litigation - Insurance Law
  • Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Award (2012-2019) 

Representative Experience: 

  • Obtained defense verdict in rear-end motor vehicle collision with admitted liability by aggressively attacking and disproving causation. 
  • Obtained favorable declaratory judgment in case involving property line boundary dispute and related claim for implied easement by adjacent landowner.   
  • Member of trial team that successfully defended a national manufacturer in its $20 million dollar products liability litigation.
  • Member of trial team that successfully defended a national restaurant chain in its million-dollar personal injury litigation.
  • Fulfilled role as outside counsel for national title insurer in more than 30 commercial and residential claims over 5 years. Representative cases include title agent defalcations, fraudulent transactions, forgeries and mortgage rescue schemes, as well as lien priority, ownership, easement, and boundary line disputes.
  • Successfully obtained summary judgment on the issue of punitive damages in a wrongful death action with potential exposure in excess of $7 million dollars.
  • Received favorable summary judgment on the issue of franchisor liability for the negligent acts of its franchisee with potential exposure in excess of $4 million dollars.
  • Successfully obtained summary judgment in favor of a national correctional facility in federal court in a lawsuit involving a wrongful death claim.  Favorably defended the appeal of the summary judgment.
  • Negotiated a six-figure settlement in favor of a subcontractor in a construction defect action with potential exposure in excess of $2 million dollars, thereby effectively settling within policy limits. 

Speaking Engagements:

  • "The Current Wave of Social Inflation: New Arrows for Your Quiver," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2022 
  • “The New Not Normal – Navigating The Covid-19 Legal Landscape,” Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2021 
  • "The Rollercoaster Ride of Social Inflation," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar,  May, 2020 
  • "5 Hour Law And Ethics Update Course For Adjusters CE5-620," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar,  May 2019 
  • "Tango With Technology, Co-Presenter," Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2019 
  • "The Anatomy of Municipal Tort Claims A Four-Part Series," (Part Three), Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, , 2018 
  • "I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me New Methods of Uncovering Fraudulent Claims," Conroy Simberg, Co-Presenter, October 2018 
  • "Medicare Smackdown," Conroy Simberg Annual Seminar, Co-Presenter, May 2018 
  • "Negligent Security Litigation In Florida," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, March 2018 

Community Involvement:

  • Attorney Ad Litem – pro bono representation of children in delinquency proceedings (2008 – Present)

Languages: 

  • Spanish