Hinshaw Partner Barbara Fernandez Selected as One of Florida Legal Elite’s 2023 Most Notable Women Leaders in Law by Florida Trend Magazine

The U.S. law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson today announced that Miami partner-in-charge Barbara Fernandez has been selected as one of Florida Legal Elite’s 2023 Most Notable Women Leaders in Law by Florida Trend Magazine.  

Fernandez was selected for making a measurable and specific impact on the types of legal cases handled, mentoring other attorneys, promoting professional practices and values in the workplace, and demonstrating leadership in professional organizations and civic/community service initiatives.

In announcing the honorees, Florida Trend Magazine noted the historic shift in female enrollment in U.S. law schools, going from 4 percent in 1968 to 56 percent last year. The publication anticipated that "if past is prologue, the lawyers profiled [as Most Notable Women Leaders in Law] represent not just leaders in the law but likely the legal sector's emerging leadership overall."

Fernandez is the partner-in-charge of the firm'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). The OMC is responsible for administering the mentor program in her office and serving as an advisor for young attorneys in challenging situations. Fernandez is a former co-chair of Hinshaw's Hispanic/Latino Attorney Network and was also 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), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Florida Consumer Collection Practices and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. She is also Co-editor of Consumer Crossroads, Hinshaw’s national Consumer Financial Services blog, which is focused on the consumer financial services industry and offers analysis of judicial, regulatory, and legislative developments that directly impact industry participants.

Fernandez has received numerous awards and recognitions from colleagues and the community. She was recognized as the 2021 Businesswomen of the Year (Corporate Leader) by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce; an "Influential Business Woman" by South Florida Business Journal, 2021; "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 one of the Daily Business Review's "Rising Stars," 2013, and selected 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 (three terms).