PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP: NAWJ RESOURCE BOARD MEMBER ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, ESQ.

ELIZABETH M. HERNANDEZ, ESQ.

Elizabeth M. Hernandez is a Partner at the Miami office of Akerman, LLP, whose practice focuses on all aspects of local government law, including procurement and contract disputes, land use and zoning, elections, ethics, and Florida constitutional law. She represents both municipal clients and developers in creating strategies and agreements to address the rights of property owners and the goals of the affected governmental agencies. Attorney Hernandez was instrumental in drafting legistlation in enforcing municipal codes and has been a speaker on enforecement-related matters. She has handled complex litigation and commercial real estate matters for the city, and rewrote the city’s codes and charter. Attorney Hernandez served served on the County Charter Task Force and chaired the Miami Dade County Ethics Commission Task Force. Prior to that, she served as Chief Legal Officer for the City of Coral Gables for 16 years, overseeing the risk management and insurance needs of the City. As the City's Chief Prosecutor on all code enforcement matters, she trained other agencies on enforcement of their codes.

Attorney Hernandez is an accomplished trial attorney, and has been acknowledged with numerous awards. Among her multitude of honors, she has been recognized as a top attorney by the Super Lawyers magazine, Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, South Florida Legal Guide, and Daily Business Review. American Registry named her among America’s Most Honored Professionals Top 1% in 2016, and she is listed in Florida in The Best Lawyers in America 2018 book for real estate litigation. In 2005 she was designated City Attorney of the Year by the Florida League of Cities. In addition, she received The Torch award, Florida International University's Top Alumni award, and the Paul S. Buchman award--the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association's highest honor.

Attorney Hernandez has been a memer of and supported the NAWJ since 2012, leading the NAWJ’s Friends Committee campaigns and being the Friends Committee Co- Chair for NAWJ’s 2012 Annual Conference in Miami.  She has also been a NAWJ Resource Board member since 2015.  In 2016, she received The Florence K. Murray award for influencing women to pursue legal careers, opening doors for women attorneys, and advancing opportunities for women within the legal profession.  Before joining Akerman, LLP, Attorney Hernandez obtained her B.A. from Florida International.

For more information about the National Association of Women Judges, contact Marie Komisar at mkomisar@nawj.org.