VerifiedLawFirms editorial: Where the practice concentrates — Founded in 2000, this Tampa firm splits its work between courtroom disputes and quieter transactional matters. It goes by BBDG Law as a shorthand.
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About Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace
Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace, also known as BBDG Law, is a law firm based in Tampa, Florida. Founded in 2000, the firm represents clients throughout Florida in civil and business litigation as well as transactional and estate planning matters. Its office is located at 15316 North Florida Avenue in Tampa.
The firm handles commercial and business litigation, business torts, bankruptcy and insolvency, shareholder and partnership disputes, and civil trials. It also handles liability defense involving premises liability, trucking and auto claims, products liability, and professional liability. Additional areas include trust, probate, and guardianship litigation, construction litigation, labor and employment, workers' compensation, estate planning, real estate and land use, and corporate and business transactions such as business formation and mergers and acquisitions.
The firm's attorneys page lists 18 attorneys, including partners, of counsel, and associates. The firm states that it serves clients in Florida and in other states, and that it holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Editor's Review
VerifiedLawFirms editorial
Where the practice concentrates
Founded in 2000, this Tampa firm splits its work between courtroom disputes and quieter transactional matters. It goes by BBDG Law as a shorthand. Both sides of that work show up in the practice areas it lists on its site.
The litigation side is broad. The firm handles commercial and business disputes, business torts, and civil trials. It takes bankruptcy and insolvency work, along with shareholder and partnership disputes. When owners fall out, or a company cannot pay what it owes, those are the kinds of cases named here.
Liability defense forms its own strand. The firm lists premises liability, trucking and auto claims, products liability, and professional liability. Defense work of that sort usually means representing a business or an insurer that has been sued, which sits alongside the firm's own business disputes.
The disputes that cross into estates
One group of cases bridges the firm's two halves. It lists trust, probate, and guardianship litigation, which begins with an estate matter and ends up in front of a judge. Construction litigation and workers' compensation round out the contested work, and labor and employment appears on the list too.
The transactional and planning work
Away from the courtroom, the firm handles corporate and business matters. That includes business formation and mergers and acquisitions. A client can set up an entity and, later, buy or sell one through the same office.
Estate planning, real estate, and land use fill out this part of the practice. Planning an estate and litigating one are different jobs, and the firm lists both. In my opinion, keeping those under one roof is a practical fit for a client who wants a single firm across the life of a matter.
This pairing is the through-line of the whole practice. A contract can be drafted on the transactional side and, if it breaks down, moved to the litigation side without changing firms. That does not promise any result, but it does cut the handoffs a client would otherwise face.
How the team is built
The attorneys page lists 18 lawyers. They span shareholders, partners, of counsel, and associates, so the firm runs a layered structure rather than a flat one. That mix lets senior lawyers lead while associates carry supporting work.
The four names on the door still appear on the roster. Robert W. Bleakley and Robert J. Grace, Jr. are listed as shareholders and partners. Charles D. Bavol and J. Ronald Denman are listed as partners. That link between the firm name and the working lawyers is worth noting, since not every named firm keeps its founders active.
Other partners named include Brian P. Battaglia, Richard W. Ervin, Cara F. Morehouse, and Josephine B. Rahn. Samantha L. Dammer is listed as of counsel. Melissa Deegan, Elizabeth Gisondi, and Nikita Patel are listed as associates. The site gives names and titles, though not full biographies.
What the Martindale rating signals
The firm states that it holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. That rating is built from peer review, and AV is the highest band Martindale assigns. It reflects how other lawyers and judges score a firm on legal ability and adherence to professional ethics.
As a reviewer, I read that as a third-party marker rather than proof of any single result. It says peers hold the firm in regard. It does not, by itself, tell you how a given case will turn out, and it reads most usefully next to the specifics of your own matter.
Reach beyond one office
The firm says it serves clients throughout Florida and in other states. For a practice run from a single Tampa office, that points to work that follows clients rather than staying local. Business and commercial disputes often cross state lines, so the stated range fits the caseload described.
The record here is what the firm publishes. A founding year of 2000. A roster of 18 named lawyers. A defined set of practice areas, and a peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Those are checkable facts rather than promises, and for someone weighing a Tampa firm on business or estate work, that is a fair place to start.
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BPBrian P. BattagliaPartner
Brian P. Battaglia is a partner at Bleakley, Bavol, Denman & Grace in Tampa, Florida. He earned his J.D. from Drake University Law School and an LL.M. in Health Law from Loyola University Chicago. His practice covers labor and employment litigation, business litigation, health care law, civil litigation, and arbitration and mediation matters in state and federal court and administrative forums. He is a Florida Supreme Court certified circuit, county, and family mediator.
Practice focus
Business Law
Employment Law
Health Care Law
Litigation
Arbitration and Mediation
Insurance Defense
CFCara F. MorehousePartner
Cara F. Morehouse is an attorney based in Tampa, Florida. She earned a B.S. from the University of South Florida in 2012 and a J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2015. Her practice covers business law, insurance defense, and stockbroker and investment fraud matters, and she also handles civil litigation and contract disputes.
Practice focus
Business Law
Insurance Defense
Stockbroker & Investment Fraud
Civil Litigation
Breach of Contract
CDCharles D. BavolPartner
CPCorey P. ShillAssociate
EGElizabeth GisondiAssociate
Elizabeth Ann Gisondi is an attorney based in Tampa, Florida. She practices at the firm Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace. She attended Stetson University College of Law.
JRJ. Ronald DenmanPartner
J. Ronald Denman is a trust, probate, and business litigation attorney at Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace in Tampa, Florida. His practice focuses on trust litigation, estate litigation, and probate disputes, including will contests, trust contests, undue influence claims, breach of fiduciary duty, and trustee and beneficiary disputes. He also handles commercial litigation matters such as breach of contract, partnership disputes, shareholder disputes, and business torts. He previously worked as a prosecutor and as general counsel.
Practice focus
Trust litigation
Estate and probate litigation
Business and commercial litigation
Contracts and agreements
JBJosephine B. RahnPartner
Josephine Blair Rahn is a partner at Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace in Tampa, Florida. She earned her law degree from the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 2017. Her practice focuses on personal injury, medical malpractice, health care, litigation, and wrongful death matters.
Practice focus
Personal Injury
Medical Malpractice
Health Care
Litigation
Wrongful Death
MRMary RosethAssociate
MDMelissa DeeganAssociate
Melissa Marie Deegan is a litigation lawyer based in Tampa, Florida. She practices at Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace. She earned her law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2021. Her practice focuses on litigation matters.
Practice focus
Litigation
MAMichael A. ValverdeAssociate
Michael A. Valverde is a Florida attorney who works as an associate. He earned a B.S. from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2007 and a J.D. from Florida State University in 2011. His practice covers construction law, construction defects, arbitration, insurance matters, personal injury, products liability, professional liability, and toxic torts.
Practice focus
Construction law
Construction defects
Arbitration
Personal injury
Insurance
Products liability
NWNicholas WestcottAssociate
NPNikita PatelAssociate
NJNoah J. VollmerAssociate
RRRichard RodriguezPartner
Richard W. ErvinPartner
RJRobert J. Grace, Jr.Shareholder and Partner
Robert J. Grace, Jr. is a Senior Partner at Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace in Tampa, Florida. He earned a B.A. from Indiana University in 1987, a J.D. from the University of Mississippi in 1990, and an LL.M. in International Banking from Boston University in 1991. His practice focuses on civil trial practice, insurance defense, and workers' compensation matters.
Practice focus
Civil Trial Practice
Insurance Defense
Workers' Compensation
Litigation
RWRobert W. BleakleyShareholder and Partner
SLSamantha L. DammerOf Counsel
Samantha L. Dammer is Of Counsel at Bleakley Bavol Denman & Grace in Tampa, Florida. She earned a degree in English Literature from St. Xavier University in Chicago in 1995 and graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1998, where she served as Executive Symposium Editor for the law review. Earlier in her career she founded a general practice firm in the Chicago area, and after relocating to Tampa she concentrates her practice on bankruptcy law, real estate litigation, foreclosure solutions, family law, asset protection, and debt restructuring.
Practice focus
Bankruptcy Law
Real Estate Litigation
Foreclosure Solutions
Family Law
Asset Protection
Debt Restructuring
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