H. Guy Smith

Graduating with a law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1966, H. Guy Smith has practiced in the workers' compensation and personal injury areas of the law since 1968, representing only the injured party. Mr. Smith has handled in excess of 20,000 workers' compensation cases during his career. Many of the cases that he has tried are landmark or significant cases that have helped shape the body of law applicable to workers' compensation cases. Some of the appellate cases he has been involved in that have been significant and/or landmark cases are Florida Tile v. Dozier, 561 So.2d 654 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Bath v. Sheecon, Inc., 560 So.2d 1289 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); New Wales Chemicals, Inc. v. Parks, 518 So.2d 360 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Carruth v. Allied Products Co., 452 So.2d 634 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); City of Tampa v. Fein, 498 So.2d 442(Fla. 1st DCA 1983); and Florida Distillers v. Rudd, 751 So.2d 754 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), to cite a few. In Fein, the Court, commenting on the services of H. Guy Smith, states: " It is manifestly clear that without the benefit of the high quality legal services rendered in Fein's behalf by his attorney, the City of Tampa would have succeeded in depriving Fein of benefits he was entitled to receive by law." In 1989, Mr. Smith became Board Certified in Workers' Compensation, only months after this certification became available. In addition to authoring the chapter on "Attorney's Fees" in The Florida Bar publication, Florida Workers' Compensation Practice, published in August 1996, he has served as a speaker and panel member at numerous continuing legal education seminars sponsored by The Florida Bar and Florida Workers' Advocates in the field of workers' compensation. He has also received the highest recognition and rating an attorney can receive by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, an AV rating. As well as devoting considerable time to his practice, Mr. Smith has served on the Executive Board of Florida Workers' Advocates, a state-wide organization promoting the interests of injured workers for the past ten years and served as president for the 2003-2004 term. In addition, he has served as president of the downtown Kiwanis Club of Lakeland and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, Inc. Mr. Smith is married to Linda, has three children and seven grandchildren.

"Virtually all of the workers we represent are good, hard working people who want to provide for themselves and their families and would rather not have to deal with employers, insurance companies, doctors, lawyers, etc. in an adversarial manner. However, they are forced to secure representation because they do not know their rights and the benefits to which they are entitled. They are not qualified to deal with the insensitive and unhelpful attitude they often see when they are injured. Also, the employers and insurance companies have very able lawyers representing them. Workers too deserve a lawyer advising, monitoring and directing their case. They also deserve a lawyer willing to fight for them in Court if the circumstances require that kind of action."
- H. Guy Smith

Carl A. Feddeler, III

Licensed to practice law in 1993, Carl A. Feddeler, III has concentrated his practice on representing injured workers in workers' compensation proceedings both at the trial level before the judges of compensation claims and at the appellate level before the First District Court of Appeal. Over the course of his practice, he has represented hundreds of workers to ensure that they received the appropriate medical and compensation benefits to which they were entitled. He is Board Certified in Workers' Compensation and is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and Cooley Law School, where he served on the Law Review. Outside of his practice, Mr. Feddeler is active in the First United Methodist Church and enjoys spending time with his family.
 

"We are committed to serving injured individuals, not insurance companies, and ensuring that they and their families receive all of the benefits which they are entitled to by law."
- Carl A. Feddeler

Bradley Guy Smith

Following in his father's footsteps, Bradley Guy Smith joined the firm in 1995 after graduating from Regent School of Law. Since then Mr. Smith has devoted all of his practice to the representation of injured workers in workers' compensation proceedings and disability retirement proceedings. In addition to serving as a panel member at The Florida Bar's Advanced Professionalism Seminar, he has also traveled to Tallahassee to lobby for the interests of injured workers as part of the efforts of the Florida Workers' Advocates. He is Board Certified in Workers' Compensation by the Florida Bar. Mr. Smith resides in Lakeland with his wife and two children.

"I am proud to be a part of a commitment to make a difference for injured individuals."
-Bradley Guy Smith

Laurie Thrower Miles

Laurie Thrower Miles joined the firm in 1995. She graduated with honors from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, where she served on the Law Review and the Moot Court Board. Admitted to practice in Florida in 1996, Ms. Miles has exclusively represented injured workers both in trial proceedings before the judges of compensation claims and at the appellate level before the First District Court of Appeal and is Board Certified in Workers' Compensation. Ms. Miles is the only attorney in the State of Florida to make a perfect score on the Workers' Compensation Board Certification Test. In addition to her membership in Florida Workers' Advocates, she has also spoken at various seminars sponsored by Florida Workers' Compensation Advocates and at the Florida Workers' Compensation Convention. She lives in Lakeland with her husband and two children.

"Board Certification from the Florida Bar is a prestigious and significant accomplishment. To our firm, it is our way of furthering our commitment and dedication to representing injured workers."

Edward T. Mason

In 1998, Edward T. Mason began his legal career with the firm after graduating from The Florida a State University School of Law. While initially involved in representing injured workers in Workers' Compensation proceedings, Mr. Mason has primarily focused on representing individuals in Social Security proceedings since March of 2000. Within the Social Security practice, he has appeared before the administrative law judges and handled appeals before the Appeals Council as well. In addition to his active practice, Mr. Mason is involved in his church and community. He resides in Bartow with his wife and two daughters.

Mark G. Capron

Joining the firm in 2000, Mark G. Capron brought years of experience representing employers and insurance companies in the workers' compensation and personal injury fields. Familiar with the practices of employers and insurance companies handling these claims, he now applies this practical knowledge on behalf of injured workers in workers' compensation proceedings and retaliatory discharge actions. He graduated from William & Mary Law School, where he served as a member of the Moot Court Board. Mr. Capron is Board Certified in Workers' Compensation. A native of the Plant City area, he resides in Lakeland with his wife and two sons and is actively involved in his church.