Deborah Corbishley has been litigating complex commercial cases of all types in state and federal courts for more than 35 years, in bet-the-company litigation. She also has extensive experience representing lawyers and law firms in professional liability cases.
Debbie’s cases have involved common law and statutory business torts, contract disputes, fraud and conspiracy claims, state and federal securities law violations, fraudulent conveyances, class actions, and corporate and partnership issues. In many of these matters, she has coordinated with criminal, SEC, regulatory, bankruptcy, and tax counsel, or lawyers representing the same clients in other jurisdictions on related claims. She has also represented taxpayers in federal district court actions.
Debbie is also counsel of choice to represent local and national law firms and attorneys in connection with complex malpractice claims, third-party complaints, disqualification and sanctions motions, and grievance proceedings. She has represented lawyers facing allegations of fraud, conspiracy, aiding and abetting a Ponzi scheme, and RICO, as well as on common negligence and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Her clients have been sued for mistakes or intentional wrongdoing relating to transactional work, intellectual property, real estate advice or documentation, securities filings or advice, bankruptcy representation, and other litigation. Law firm and lawyer clients also regularly rely on Debbie for counsel on ethics issues and preventative and risk management strategies.
Debbie is a member of the Miami-Dade Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee and the American Bar Association, where she has presented to the Legal Malpractice Conference, and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. She is also a member of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers and currently serves as the intake officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida for complaints against clergy.
Honors & Awards
Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2010 - present
AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review RatedSM by Martindale-Hubbell®
South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyers, Corporate and Business Litigation, Legal Malpractice – Defense, 2005 - present
Representative Matters
Represented a restaurant group in resolving put option in prior settlement agreement after prior counsel conceded liability. Chixegg LLC v. Tocaya Holdings LLC, Case No. CACA 2021-017675 (Fla. 17th Jud. Cir.).
Argued and prevailed in a case winning affirmance of an order denying disqualification of counsel. 5350 Park, LLC v. Grycon, LLC, 336 So. 3d 802 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022).
Achieved reversal of an order compelling arbitration of shareholder disputes. Pezeshkan v. Manhattan Constr. Florida, Inc., 313 So.3d 948 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021).
Defended a financial institution on claims by SEC Receiver and class involving a multiphase ski resort and technology center in Vermont; promoters pled guilty to federal crimes. Daccache v. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., et al., Case No. 16-CV-21575-FAM (S.D. Fla.).
Won summary judgment for lawyers and firm on a lender’s claim that they aided and abetted a client’s Ponzi scheme; the promotor and others were convicted or pled guilty. Cordell Consultants, Inc. Money Purchase Plan v. Abbott, No. 11-80416-CIV, 2015 WL 11539507 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 9, 2015), aff’d 682 F. App’x 867 (11th Cir. 2017).
Litigated, tried, and argued a tax controversy involving a claim of right in the context of estate tax. This matter was one of at least eight matters from 1999 to 2015 on which we represented a seller of an aviation company, starting with the first breaches of security agreements, eviction from a related building; cancellation of an option to purchase the building; bankruptcy of the buyer and aviation company; and claims by the buyer, principal of the buyer, and tax authorities. Over the course of 15 years, defeated more than $100 million in tax claims and resolved all other claims favorably. Batchelor-Robjohns v. United States, 788 F.3d 1280, 1282 (11th Cir. 2015).
Newsroom
News & Events
April 14, 2023 – Federal Judge Dismisses Antitrust Lawsuit Against Kenny Nachwalter Client Health First
August 19, 2021 – 17 Kenny Nachwalter Attorneys Recognized in the Best Lawyers In America© 2022
April 5, 2021 – Kenny Nachwalter Recognized in the 2021 South Florida Legal Guide
August 20, 2020 – 15 Kenny Nachwalter Attorneys Recognized In The Best Lawyers In America© 2021, Two Selected “Lawyer Of The Year”
September 30, 2019 – Article Alert: Professional Liability Insurers Impose New Risks on Their Insureds
August 15, 2019 – 12 Kenny Nachwalter Attorneys Recognized in the Best Lawyers in America© 2020 and 1 Selected “Lawyer of the Year”
August 2, 2019 – Deborah Corbishley to Present at the 2019 Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Annual Meeting
April 8, 2019 – Shareholder Deborah Corbishley presents at DCBA Seminar “Civility, Stress or More Serious Issues? on April 17, 2019
March 1, 2019 – South Florida Legal Guide Recognizes Kenny Nachwalter as a “Top Law Firm” and 6 Attorneys as “Top Lawyers” in the 2019 South Florida Legal Guide
February 20, 2019 – Shareholder Deborah Corbishley Presents at the ABA Spring 2019 National Legal Malpractice Conference April 3-5, 2019
August 20, 2018 – 10 Kenny Nachwalter Attorneys Recognized in the Best Lawyers in America© 2019 and 4 Selected “Lawyer of the Year”
April 23, 2018 – Richard H. Critchlow and Deborah S. Corbishley Speak at Legal Malpractice & Professional Liability Roundtable Presented by MIAMILAW
January 15, 2018 – South Florida Legal Guide Recognizes Kenny Nachwalter As A “Top Law Firm” And 6 Attorneys As “Top Lawyers” In The 2018 South Florida Legal Guide
August 15, 2017 – 10 Kenny Nachwalter Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2018 and 4 Selected “Lawyer of the Year”
January 9, 2017 – Kenny Nachwalter, P.A. Recognized as a Top Law Firm and 7 Attorneys as Top Lawyers in the 2017 South Florida Legal Guide
Presentations
Redacted, Revealed and Recalled? Revisiting Confidentiality and Inadvertent Transmittal in the Digital Age." 2019 Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Annual Meeting. August 9, 2019.
Whose Money is It? Trust Accounts, Client Identification, and Fees. Legal Malpractice Roundtable, University of Miami Center for Ethics and Public Service. April 26, 2019.
Civility, Stress or More Serious Issues – Practical Guidance for Lawyers Dealing with Stress or Distress. Dade County Bar Association, Professionalism Committee. April 17, 2019.
- Seminar Chair and Panelist on Identifying and Addressing the Issues.
Defending Mentally Impaired Lawyers. American Bar Association National Legal Malpractice Conference. April 4, 2019.
From Hello to Goodbye. Panelist on Goodbye: Reasons for Discharge, Withdrawal, or Termination and the Impact of Termination on Attorney and Client Rights. Legal Malpractice Roundtable, University of Miami Center for Ethics and Public Service. May 17, 2018.
Clients, Confidentiality, And…Cocktails? Navigating Complex Conflicts Of Interest. Miami Law Alumni Association – Broward Judicial Reception, University of Miami Professional Responsibility & Ethics Program (PREP). March 7, 2018.
Professional Activities
Professional Memberships
American Bar Association
Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers
The Florida Bar
- Business Law Section
- Trial Lawyers Section
Florida Association of Women Lawyers, Miami-Dade Chapter
Miami-Dade Bar Association
- Professionalism Committee
Intake Officer for complaints against clergy, Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Life Member and Former Leader, Girl Scouts of the USA
Practice Areas
Clerkships
- Intern to the Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter, U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, 1983–1984
Education
J.D., Rutgers University School of Law – Camden, with high honors, 1984
- Research Editor, Rutgers University Law Review
- Graduate Merit Scholarship
B.A., Rutgers University – Camden College of Arts & Sciences, with honors, 1981
Bar Admissions
- Florida
- New Jersey
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
