Maney | Gordon | Zeller, P.A.

Focus and practice areas

The firm's main work is immigration law, run from a base in Tampa, Florida. It handles family immigration, business immigration, and permanent residence applications. It also takes deportation defense, removal proceedings, and cancellation of removal, the matters that decide whether a client can stay in the United States.

The visa side covers family visas, fiancé(e) visas, student visas, and work visas. Each of those categories carries its own filing forms and eligibility rules, so the label covers a wide spread of casework. Business immigration, by comparison, leans toward employers and workers seeking to fill roles or transfer staff. The firm files naturalization and citizenship applications alongside that immigration docket.

Personal injury rounds out the listed practice areas. That places civil injury claims next to immigration files under one roof, which is a less common pairing. Clients who need help on both fronts can work with the same firm.

How the firm took shape

Richard Maney graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in December 1974. He earned his Florida license by May 1, 1975. He opened Richard Maney, P.A. in 1976, the legacy firm behind the current one.

The name changed several times over the years that followed. The firm became Maney & Stark, P.A. in 1977, then Richard Maney & Associates, P.A. in 1993. Jeffrey Gordon joined in 1992 and became a shareholder in 1998. In 1999 the firm took the name Maney & Gordon, P.A.

An Orlando office opened in November 1997, an early sign of growth beyond the original Tampa base. The current name, Maney | Gordon | Zeller, P.A., adds Christian G.A. Zeller, who the site lists as a shareholder. The dated record gives a clear timeline from the 1976 start to the present partnership.

Who handles the work

The firm names three shareholders: Richard Maney, listed as founder and senior partner, Jeffrey Gordon, and Christian G.A. Zeller. Together they form the ownership group whose surnames the firm carries. Their names track the history laid out on the firm's about page.

Four attorneys hold of counsel roles: Jane Schoener, John Lund, Gerald Seipp, and Caroline Ragheb. Of counsel usually means an experienced lawyer tied to a firm without full partner status. Many of counsel bring a specific field or a long track record. The associate ranks include Lilibeth Cain, Paul V. Suppicich, Kay Johannisson, Maria Valentin, and David Mitchell.

That gives the immigration and injury work a dozen named attorneys across shareholder, of counsel, and associate levels. A roster of that size lets the firm staff filings, hearings, and client meetings without leaning on a single lawyer. It also spreads knowledge, so a matter can move forward when a lead attorney is in court. For clients, more named attorneys can mean steadier coverage when schedules and court dates collide.

Reach and languages

The firm serves clients across the United States and keeps offices in more than one state. Its pages list locations in Florida and Pennsylvania, with references to New Mexico and Texas as well. The main office is in Tampa. Serving clients nationwide from a set of regional offices means much of the intake and filing can run by phone, mail, and online systems, which federal immigration cases already rely on.

Staff offer services in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai. For an immigration practice, that language range matters, since much of the work depends on clear talk about documents, deadlines, and court dates. A client who is more comfortable in one of those languages can handle a case without a separate interpreter for routine questions.

In my opinion, the firm's steady focus on immigration is its clearest defining trait. The firm has carried immigration work through every name change since 1976, and the multilingual staffing fits a client base drawn from across borders.

What the immigration work involves

Immigration matters follow set government channels, and the firm's practice areas map onto them. Family immigration cases generally start with a petition filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, followed by consular processing or adjustment of status. Business immigration often turns on employer sponsorship and labor steps before a visa issues.

Removal and deportation defense play out in immigration court, where a judge hears the case. Cancellation of removal is one form of relief a person can request during those proceedings, with its own tests around time in the country and hardship to family. Naturalization comes near the end of the path, after a period of permanent residence, an application, an interview, and a civics test.

Visas and green cards

The visa categories the firm names each run on their own schedule. Work visas usually require an employer petition and, for many types, a numerical cap that limits how many issue each year. Student visas tie to enrollment at an approved school and to proof that a person can support the study period. Fiancé(e) visas connect to a planned marriage and a later adjustment step once the couple weds.

The firm's roster covers these stages with attorneys at three levels of seniority. Its personal injury work runs through civil courts on a separate track. A client can bring the firm a green card petition and an injury claim and keep both in the same place.

Depth in immigration matters

Christian G.A. Zeller's practice adds detail to the firm's business and employment work. He handles worksite enforcement and compliance, consular processing, appeals, and immigration-related federal court litigation. Those matters can arise after an initial petition or when an agency decision requires further review. His background also includes articles on immigration and international law, along with talks for bar associations and universities.

Gerald Seipp brings a related perspective to removal defense. He advises criminal defense counsel about the immigration consequences of their cases, an important issue when a plea or conviction may affect a person's status. His other work includes family petitions and naturalization matters.

Paul V. Suppicich concentrates on family green card petitions and citizenship matters, as well as deportation defense. He earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law in 2005 after studying applied linguistics and English education. He has also taught at the University of South Florida, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg College, and Florida Southern College. That academic background is relevant to a practice that depends on careful explanations of statutory terms and filing requirements.

The civil trial practice

Jeffrey "Jack" Gordon manages the firm's trial-law practice in Tampa and has practiced for more than three decades. His work centers on claims of medical negligence. He also handles wrongful death, motor vehicle accident, and dram shop cases, which gives the injury side a broader scope than its general personal injury label suggests.

David Mitchell works on personal injury and medical malpractice litigation. His prior matters include consumer protection and healthcare disputes, along with insurance coverage and construction litigation. He holds both a law degree and an MBA from Stetson University, after earning a finance degree from the University of Florida.

Steve Zaloudek adds experience from both sides of negligence litigation. He began with a judicial clerkship in Atlanta and later represented insurance companies. He then spent 14 years practicing in New York City, where he represented injured plaintiffs and worked as a senior trial attorney before moving to Tampa in 2018.

Fritz Gray handles complex civil trials involving medical malpractice and general negligence. His case history includes spinal cord and brain injuries, as well as amputation claims tied to medical care or automobile negligence. He has lectured on medical malpractice to medical students at the University of South Florida School of Medicine and to attorneys.