Berger Singerman Attorneys Melanie Ann Hines and Danny Ponce to Serve on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission

July 11, 2017

Berger Singerman LLP, Florida's business law firm, is pleased to announce that partners Melanie Ann Hines and S. Daniel Ponce have been appointed by United States Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio to serve on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC). Their terms coincide with the 115th Congressional term, through January 2019.

The JNC provides the service of reviewing applications, interviewing applicants, and recommending the most qualified candidates to serve as U.S. District Court Judges in Florida. The JNC's recommendations are made to the Florida Senators for their consideration in forwarding prospective nominees to the White House for the President's consideration for a life-time appointment to the bench. The JNC is divided into three conferences corresponding to each of the three federal districts in Florida, and Hines will serve on the Northern Conference and Ponce on the Middle Conference.

Hines, a member of the firm's Dispute Resolution and Government and Regulatory teams, focuses her practice in the areas of white collar criminal defense, administrative law, and civil litigation. She has represented corporate and individual clients in grand jury investigations, before regulatory licensing boards, in defense of agency enforcement actions and in civil RICO and fraud cases. She has also conducted internal investigations for public and private entities. Before joining Berger Singerman, Hines served as the statewide prosecutor in the Florida Attorney’s General’s Office from 1991 to 2003. Hines is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the Tallahassee Bar Association, the Tallahassee Women Lawyers Association, and the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society. She also serves as a pro bono court-appointed guardian ad litem for children in delinquency and dependency proceedings.

Ponce, also a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution team, is actively engaged in the representation of public and privately held enterprises in complex business and litigation matters. He previously served as an Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Division of Securities and Acting Executive Assistant to the State of Florida Comptroller and Cabinet Officer. Ponce also served as General Counsel to two public companies, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of public companies. In these capacities, he has gained a wide array of knowledge into business and litigation risks and management of those risks, from both an accounting and legal perspective. He is Trustee, Emeritus for the University of Florida, Board Member and Chair of the Audit and Compliance Committee for UF Health, and Past President and Chairman of the Orange Bowl Committee.