Court Appointments

Special Master/Magistrate

Judge Shepherd is frequently appointed by trial judges throughout the region to serve as either a Special Master or Special Magistrate. Recent appointments have included service as a Special Master for the taking of deposition testimony from jurors in a post-judgment civil jury tampering dispute; service as a Special Master to review thousands of insurance claim file documents claimed to be protected by the work-product privilege; and service as a Special Magistrate to carry out the sale of real property in a partition action.

Mock Oral Arguments

“Mock Oral Arguments” are a specialty area of practice in which individuals with a significant amount of experience – usually former appellate court judges – assist other lawyers (including experienced appellate counsel) to prepare for oral arguments. Some lawyers are reluctant to be tested by other experienced appellate lawyers or judges. However, that is often a mistake. Over-familiarization with one’s case or arguments can generate “blind-spots” in thinking or understanding, even in the best of appellate counsel. When suggested to them, clients are increasingly willing to agree to allow their appellate counsel to be tested by other experienced appellate lawyers and judges in order to organize, articulate and refine arguments to be made. Finally, mock oral arguments can be even more valuable to assist in preparation for questions from the Court. Mock panelists often have personal knowledge and valuable insight to offer about the panel that will hear the case as well. These insights alone are worth the time and effort.

During Judge Shepherd's service in the judicial branch, he sat as a judge not just on the Third District Court of Appeal, but also on each of the other four district courts of appeal in the state, rendering written opinions in each court while serving. From this service and service on state-wide judicial committees, he possess personal knowledge of how each district court differs from the other, and some unique insights into the preferences and predispositions of many of the appellate judges currently in service. Although one might wish otherwise, it is common knowledge that the court and composition of the panel hearing a case matters.

Below are examples of the reported cases in which Judge Shepherd has assisted counsel through a mock oral argument:

State of Florida v. Robert Kraft, 301 So. 3d 981 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020) (constitutionality of “sneak and peak” warrant on massage parlor)

Plantation Open MRI, LLC v. Infinity Indemnity Insurance Company, 304 So. 3d 9 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020) (insurance coverage under personal injury protection insurance policy)

WMVF Funding as Successor to One West Bank, FSB v. Luisa Palmero, Case No. SC19-1920, decision pending (whether spouse is a “borrower” under reverse mortgage in mortgage foreclosure case) (Oral Argument held in Florida Supreme Court on December 9, 2020)

LB Judgment Holdings, LLC v. Boschetti, 271 So. 3d 115 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (creditors rights).

Gherardi v. Citigroup Global Markets, 975 F.3d 1232 (11th Cir. 2020) (vacatur of arbitration award in employment case)

Bechtel Corp. v. Batchelor, 250 So. 3d 187 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (appeal from final judgment awarding damages arising out of asbestos exposure at nuclear facility).

J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC v. Geveran Investments, Limited, 224 So. 3d 316 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) (rescission action under Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act).