McArdle Franco: Coral Gables’ Premier Construction and Business Litigation Law Firm
Few law firms in South Florida can credibly claim both courtroom excellence and genuine business fluency. McArdle Franco PLLC, headquartered at 255 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables, is one of them. Founded in 2002 by partners George E. McArdle, Xavier A. Franco, and Michael A. Mullavey, the firm has built its reputation on a rare combination: deep transactional and litigation expertise supported by senior partners who have personally built real estate developments, managed private equity facilities, and launched successful businesses. That firsthand experience gives the firm a practitioner’s perspective on the commercial and construction disputes it litigates — an advantage that clients notice immediately.
The firm’s work spans business formation, transaction structuring, real estate development, and commercial litigation, with particular depth in construction disputes. As a recognized Coral Gables construction litigation law firm, McArdle Franco represents developers, property owners, contractors, subcontractors, architects, and lenders across the full lifecycle of construction projects. The firm handles contract disputes, delay claims, lien enforcement, construction defect actions, and arbitration proceedings — the kinds of matters where legal and business judgment must work together for real results. Partner Xavier Franco recently secured a $2 million-plus settlement in a construction defect case, and the firm settled a $7 million delay dispute for a Miami Beach developer.
Recognition has followed the work. McArdle Franco earned a ranking in the 2025 Chambers USA guide for Litigation: General Commercial — Highly Regarded in Florida, one of the legal industry’s most credible peer and client evaluation frameworks, which Chambers describes as built on 30 years of rigorous independent research. The 2026 edition of Best Law Firms named the firm a Tier 2 Miami firm in Litigation – Construction, while partners Xavier Franco and Michael Mullavey were individually recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch editions for the same year. Xavier Franco also appeared on Super Lawyers, placing him among the top 5% of Florida attorneys.
For Florida businesses navigating complex construction or commercial disputes, the difference between a firm with legal credentials alone and one that also understands how business actually works can be decisive. McArdle Franco’s approach — collaborative, consequential, and informed by real business experience — reflects that understanding in every engagement. The firm can be reached at (305) 442-2214 or at mcardlefranco.com.
Justice for Kids: Howard Talenfeld’s Fight for Florida’s Most Vulnerable Children
For more than three decades, Howard Talenfeld has operated in one of the most morally demanding corners of the legal profession: representing children who have been abused, neglected, or catastrophically harmed in the care of the government agencies and private institutions meant to protect them. As Co-Founder and Lead Partner of the Justice for Kids division within Kelley Kronenberg — one of Florida’s largest law firms — Talenfeld has built what is now a nationally recognized practice dedicated exclusively to fighting for the civil rights and financial recovery of abused and injured children.
The firm’s track record is extraordinary. Talenfeld was among the first attorneys nationally to apply the federal civil rights statute (42 USC § 1983) to recover damages for injured foster children, pioneering an approach that has since been replicated across the country. In 2001, he recovered a $5 million award on behalf of six foster children — far exceeding Florida’s sovereign immunity limit — in a case later featured on ABC’s 20/20. In 2007, he secured a $14.26 million settlement, then the largest recovery of its kind in Florida history, for 19 children abused under DCF supervision. The firm also prevailed in a case involving the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and New York City, resulting in more than $27 million paid on behalf of 10 disabled foster children held in what courts called a house of horrors. The landmark 11th Circuit decision H.A.L. v. Foltz, in which Talenfeld served as lead counsel, established that exposing foster children to child-on-child sexual abuse is a viable federal civil rights claim — a precedent that now protects children across Florida and the nation.
Talenfeld has also shaped child welfare law from the legislative side. He helped write the Florida law requiring mandatory reporting of child-on-child sexual abuse in community facilities, and successfully advocated for passage of House Bill 561, which guarantees attorneys for dependent children with certain special needs in all legal and administrative proceedings. As Board President of Florida’s Children First, he has participated in the passage of multiple pieces of critical child protection legislation. Forbes recognized him on its inaugural list of America’s Top 200 Lawyers, and the American Association for Justice presented him with its Trial Lawyers Care Award.
The Justice for Kids division today operates as a multi-attorney team serving abused, injured, and disabled children across Florida, with offices in Broward County, Tallahassee, Daytona Beach, and elsewhere throughout the state. For families who believe a child has been harmed while in state care, foster care, a group home, or a residential treatment facility, the firm offers consultations and pursues cases on a contingency basis — meaning there is no upfront cost to seek representation. The work is not just litigation; it is a systematic effort to hold institutions accountable and drive lasting change in how Florida cares for its most vulnerable.
Health Advocates Network: Boca Raton’s Healthcare Staffing Powerhouse Climbs the Inc. 5000
When Health Advocates Network ranked 300th on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America — representing 1,408% revenue growth over three years — it was the kind of milestone that forces the healthcare staffing industry to take notice. Founded in January 2020 in Boca Raton, the company entered one of the most turbulent periods in modern healthcare history and turned the chaos into a growth engine. CEO and Chairman Kevin Little, whose background includes co-founding Medical Staffing Network and building Accountable Healthcare Staffing, knew from day one that the path to market leadership ran through quality, speed, and a relentless acquisition strategy.
Health Advocates Network provides supplemental staffing solutions to healthcare systems across the United States, matching travel nurses, allied health professionals, non-clinical staff, and government services personnel with facilities that need them. The company’s mission — matching highly skilled providers to exceptional healthcare facility opportunities while achieving unsurpassed patient care and outcomes — has earned it recognition beyond the Inc. 5000. Kevin Little was named to Staffing Industry Analysts’ Staffing 100 North America list in 2024 for leaders who are making the world of work better. The company was also named one of ClearlyRated’s 2024 Best Staffing Firms for Women, a designation held by fewer than 0.1% of staffing firms in North America.
The acquisition activity that has defined Health Advocates Network’s recent growth is extensive. Since its founding, the company has completed eight acquisitions, including WorkSquare Healthcare Staffing Solutions, Staff America Medical Staffing based in Ocala, DiagnosTemps, and Louisiana-based Medical Temps. Each deal has been designed to expand geographic reach, deepen specific service lines, or enter adjacent markets such as corrections healthcare staffing. The company also raised $15.6 million in combined debt and equity funding in 2025, with J.P. Morgan among its institutional backers — capital earmarked primarily for continued organic growth and additional acquisitions.
In 2025, Health Advocates Network followed its Inc. 5000 recognition with a 54th place ranking on the Inc. 5000 Southeastern US list. For the South Florida business community, the company’s trajectory represents a compelling case study in what patient capital and a high-quality team can achieve in a market where healthcare facility staffing demands are growing faster than the supply of available professionals. With 26 employees at its Boca Raton headquarters and 121 across the company, Health Advocates Network is still early in its national build-out — and the acquisition pipeline, by the company’s own description, remains robust.
The FAA Takes SpaceX to Task Over Safety Lapses at Cape Canaveral
When the Federal Aviation Administration proposed $633,000 in civil penalties against SpaceX in September 2024, it landed as more than a fine — it was a pointed public statement about the limits of the commercial space industry’s relationship with regulatory oversight. The violations at issue were specific and procedural: during a June 2023 satellite launch from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX used a new launch control room without prior FAA approval and failed to conduct a required readiness poll two hours before liftoff. One month later, the company launched another communications satellite using a new rocket fuel facility that had not yet received regulatory clearance. Neither incident resulted in a launch failure, but in the FAA’s view, that outcome does not determine whether procedures were followed.
The FAA’s position is straightforward: safety requirements exist precisely because launch failures and their consequences are catastrophic and irreversible, and the licensing framework is designed to ensure that all new infrastructure and procedures are reviewed before use — not after. FAA’s Marc Nichols stated plainly that the agency considers compliance non-negotiable, and that failure to follow safety requirements will have consequences regardless of whether a mission succeeds. SpaceX, which conducts a significant portion of its Falcon 9 operations from Cape Canaveral and is the dominant commercial launch provider operating from Florida’s Space Coast, contested the characterization that its procedures compromised safety, as is standard in regulatory disputes of this kind.
The episode reflects the broader tension that has emerged between the FAA’s traditional authority over commercial spaceflight and the ambitions of launch providers operating at unprecedented pace and scale. SpaceX has consistently pushed for faster regulatory approvals to match its launch cadence, which at Cape Canaveral can reach dozens of Falcon 9 missions per year. The FAA, charged with balancing the promotion of commercial space with its public safety mandate, has found itself in the middle of a structural challenge: oversight frameworks built for a much slower era of space launch activity are being applied to an industry that has fundamentally changed. For Florida — home to multiple launch facilities including Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and growing commercial spaceport activity — the outcome of this and similar enforcement actions carries implications for how the state’s aerospace economy develops in the coming decade.
