Nicole F. Soto is a highly knowledgeable and results-oriented attorney with 20 years of litigation experience, encompassing personal injury, product liability, and real estate litigation. She has a proven track record of defending self-insureds, insurers, and their policyholders in claims involving personal injury, catastrophic loss, community association disputes, and employment matters, from the initial filing of a claim through the trial phase.
Nicole’s premises liability representation includes a diverse range of establishments, including restaurants, supermarkets, parking lots, drinking establishments, Department of Transportation (DOT)-controlled facilities, stadiums, shopping malls, retail stores, large warehouses, and home improvement stores. Her comprehensive representation in commercial trucking and transportation includes a diverse range of entities, such as motor carriers like semi-trailer trucks and tankers, buses, ambulances, waste haulers, and moving and storage van lines.
Nicole’s community association representation encompasses the defense of condominium and homeowners’ associations (HOAs), HOA board members, and property management companies in claims pertaining to covenants and amendments, common elements, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, and claims for damages to a unit resulting from the association’s alleged failure to maintain common elements or condominium property.
Nicole’s employment practice also includes the defense of discrimination claims based on age, race, national origin, pregnancy, disability, and ADA compliance. Additionally, her employment representation encompasses the defense of Family Medical Leave Act claims and wrongful termination claims.
Nicole holds a Juris Doctorate from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Florida International University. During her law school tenure, she served as the Production Editor for the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. Nicole is dual-licensed in Florida and Illinois (inactive status). She is admitted to practice in all Florida state courts, as well as the Northern District of Florida, Middle District and the Southern District of Florida. Additionally, she is a member of Conroy Simberg’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Education:
- J.D., Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- B.A., cum laude, Florida International University
Professional Affiliations:
- The Florida Bar
- Illinois State Bar
- Tampa Bay Hispanic Bar Association
- Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
Honors & Distinctions:
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2024-2026, Listed in Florida for Litigation - Insurance Law
- Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Award (2012-2019)
Speaking Engagements:
- "Premises Liability Update 2025," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2025
"Premises Liability Update 2024," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2024 - "The Current Wave of Social Inflation: New Arrows for Your Quiver," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2022
- “The New Not Normal – Navigating The Covid-19 Legal Landscape,” Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2021
- "The Rollercoaster Ride of Social Inflation," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, May, 2020
- "5 Hour Law And Ethics Update Course For Adjusters CE5-620," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, May 2019
- "Tango With Technology, Co-Presenter," Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2019
- "The Anatomy of Municipal Tort Claims A Four-Part Series," (Part Three), Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, , 2018
- "I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me New Methods of Uncovering Fraudulent Claims," Conroy Simberg, Co-Presenter, October 2018
- "Medicare Smackdown," Conroy Simberg Annual Seminar, Co-Presenter, May 2018
- "Negligent Security Litigation In Florida," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, March 2018
Representative Experience:
- Obtained defense verdict in rear-end motor vehicle collision with admitted liability by aggressively attacking and disproving causation.
- Obtained favorable declaratory judgment in case involving property line boundary dispute and related claim for implied easement by adjacent landowner.
- Member of trial team that successfully defended a national manufacturer in its $20 million dollar products liability litigation.
- Member of trial team that successfully defended a national restaurant chain in its million-dollar personal injury litigation.
- Fulfilled role as outside counsel for national title insurer in more than 30 commercial and residential claims over 5 years. Representative cases include title agent defalcations, fraudulent transactions, forgeries and mortgage rescue schemes, as well as lien priority, ownership, easement, and boundary line disputes.
- Successfully obtained summary judgment on the issue of punitive damages in a wrongful death action with potential exposure in excess of $7 million dollars.
- Received favorable summary judgment on the issue of franchisor liability for the negligent acts of its franchisee with potential exposure in excess of $4 million dollars.
- Successfully obtained summary judgment in favor of a national correctional facility in federal court in a lawsuit involving a wrongful death claim. Favorably defended the appeal of the summary judgment.
- Negotiated a six-figure settlement in favor of a subcontractor in a construction defect action with potential exposure in excess of $2 million dollars, thereby effectively settling within policy limits.
Community Involvement:
- Attorney Ad Litem – pro bono representation of children in delinquency proceedings (2008 – Present)