Since 2005, Paul S. Leinoff has worked as an attorney and partner at Leinoff & Lemos, P.A. located in Miami, Florida. With nearly 20 years of legal experience, Leinoff specializes in the practice area of family law, having recently been appointed to serve on the Legislation Committee, Relocation Subcommittee and Alimony Committee of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar Association. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2019, Leinoff is currently being honored as “Lawyer of the Year” for Family Law in Miami for 2023.
Of his recent legal experience and award, Leinoff stated: “Over the past year, I was selected to serve on a small committee comprised of lawyers and judges to create new and comprehensive guidelines for Miami-Dade County family court judges to consider when qualifying and addressing an ’emergency.’ When these guidelines are adopted, it is my hope that my participation will have created increased value for the involved families, notably the affected children and improved efficiency for the judiciary. In general, I think that my peers recognize my total dedication to this practice. Overall, I work very long hours, sometimes at the expense of my personal life, in order to be prepared for each stage of my cases. When I walk into a cross-examination, it is not just a routine step for me but rather the culmination of tremendous preparation and an opportunity to skillfully flip the case in my client’s favor. I think my peers also respect my ability to remain cordial and professional, even when opposing counsel instigates unwarranted conflict.”
He continued, “Working as a family lawyer, you see good people at one of the most stressful moments in their lives, in fear of losing what they hold most dear, from their children to their finances and everything in between. My focus is to assist the client in removing his or her emotions from the important decisions to be made. The most rewarding scenario for me personally is when I have worked hard to secure, by settlement or ruling, the most advantageous agreement that places my client in a far better position than when he or she met me. It is an ongoing challenge to try to balance personal life with the persistent, all-consuming demands of a successful family law practice.”
Leinoff, who was inspired to go into the field of law by his father and current legal partner Andy Leinoff, coincidentally became a successful family law attorney, exclusively handling complex family law matters in Florida. Leinoff has provided legal services to clients for a range of family-based issues including alimony settlements, child relocation, child support cases and negotiations of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.
“Unlike other areas of law, my cases involve ongoing contact with human beings whose own personal lives are being directly affected by the case on a daily basis, which can create ’emergencies’ that are very real to them. There is an increasingly growing expectation of absolute availability followed by immediate results,” stated Leinoff.
In addition to representing his clients through a variety of family law matters, Leinoff currently serves as the lead advisor to Kidside Inc., a Miami based non-profit organization committed to providing increased funding to Florida Family Court Services enabling them to continue serving the needs of both children and parents experiencing any form of family conflict.
“As a family lawyer in particular, a tarnished reputation is unfixable. The relationships between all of the professionals who are involved in a family law case are very important. A lawyer who cannot be trusted or cannot be held to his word will not be able to negotiate a settlement or present his case to a judge as successfully as one who has the respect of his colleagues and the court. Of course, to be a ’great’ litigator in bench trials, proficiency in the rules of evidence is also critical.”
