Barbara Fernandez Selected for Inclusion in the 2024 Florida 500™ Edition of Florida’s Most Influential Business Leaders

The law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that Barbara Fernandez, Partner-in-Charge of the firm's Miami/Coral Gables office, has been selected for inclusion in the 2024 edition of the Florida 500™, Florida’s Most Influential Business Leaders, from Florida Trend Magazine. 

Fernandez was included among 47 total attorneys in the Law section of the publication. The Florida 500™ single annual issue profiles state leaders from various professions and economic sectors whose efforts are truly driving Florida forward. A year-long research initiative by the editors of Florida Trend Magazine has resulted in a personal, engaging look at the state’s most influential business leaders. To view the various profiles, visit: https://floridatrend500.com/.

Fernandez is the Partner-in-Charge of Hinshaw's Miami office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She is also a member of the firm's Diversity Committee and serves as the Miami office's Office Mentor Coordinator (OMC). In her role as the OMC, she is responsible for administering the mentor program in her office and serving as an advisor for young attorneys in challenging situations. Fernandez is also a former Co-Chair of Hinshaw's Hispanic/Latino Attorney Network and was a member of the Evaluation Committee for Hinshaw's Attorney Life Committee.

In her practice, Fernandez has developed a niche in consumer and class action litigation, where relatively few women practice law. She has extensive experience in the defense of individual and class action claims involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). She is also co-editor of Consumer Crossroads, Hinshaw’s blog publication, which is focused on the consumer financial services industry and offers insights on judicial, regulatory and legislative developments that directly impact industry professionals.

Fernandez has received numerous awards and recognitions from colleagues and the community, including:

• Named as the 2021 Businesswomen of the Year (Corporate Leader) by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce;
• Recognized as an "Influential Business Woman" by South Florida Business Journal, 2021;
• Named to the "40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of South Florida Award," Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, August 2014;
• Named one of Diversity MBA Magazine's Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders, 2013;
• Selected as one of the Daily Business Review's "Rising Stars," 2013; and
• Selected as one of South Florida Business Journal's "40 Under 40," 2012.

Active in the community, Fernandez is a member of the American Bar Association, American Collector's Association, Members Attorney Program, Cuban American Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, and National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), former Next Level Affinity Group, Co-Chair. She is the former Dade County Defense Bar Association Board Trustee and past president, which she served for three terms.