Leadership

DiveBar’s Founders and Board of Directors:

Bob & Kerry Kelley

Founding Members

Bob Kelley is one of the most well-known and successful trial lawyers in South Florida. He is the founder and Chairman of the Board of the DiveBar. Bob has tried cases across the United States, and has obtained some of the largest and most significant product liability, medical malpractice, and personal injury verdicts in the country. In 2009 he was selected by Lawyers USA Weekly as one of the top ten lawyers in the United States, and in 2013 he was selected by the Daily Business Review as South Florida’s Most-Effective lawyer in the area of personal injury litigation. He has been listed for many years in The Best Lawyers in America. Bob is the founding partner of the law firm of Kelley Uustal PLC in Fort Lauderdale, and is the editor of The Florida Jury Selection Blog. You can learn more about Bob on his Facebook page.

Bob and his wife, Kerry, who is also on the board of directors of DiveBar, are both PADI certified Divemasters. They have spent years on the reefs and waters of the Keys, Bahamas and South Florida. Bob is a licensed United States Coast Guard Captain and has been navigating and exploring the waters of South Florida, the Keys and the Bahamas for decades.

Mike Kaufman

Founding Member

Michael Roy Kaufman is a veteran trial attorney and practicing in the South Florida area for the past 31 years, receiving his Juris Doctorate in 1980, and his MBA in 1976. He has been married to Marlyn Krickenbarger, an Ohio farm girl for the past 28 years, has three sons, and has been a resident of South Florida his entire life. His legal career has exclusively dealt with representing individuals suffering disabilities as a result of the wrongful conduct of others.

Since age 12, Mike Kaufman has been an active diver who’s passion and love for the aquatic world has driven him to extensively explore the coral reef systems of Florida, and throughout the world. His recreational scuba interests include underwater photography, spearfishing, exploration, night diving and wreck diving. He is rated PADI instructor, HSA instructor , EFR instructor and a USCG licensed captain. In 2007, he was inspired by the great work of Diveheart; an organization promoting disabled scuba diving around the world and felt it was time for him to combine his underwater passions with his interest to serve individuals with disabilities. Since that time he has been volunteering many hours into the development of programs and events consistent with the Diveheart mission, including the recently created Dive program at Shake-a-Leg, Miami. He is a Diveheart Ambassador serving the South Florida region, and, currently serves on Diveheart’s Board of Directors.

David Black

David Black is a rising star among transactional lawyers in South Florida, having been recognized by Chambers & Partners USA, America’s Leading Business Lawyers (“Associates to Watch”), Martindale-Hubbell (AV® PreeminentTM), and Gold Coast Magazine (2013’s Rising Stars: 40 under 40) in the twelve months preceding his appointment to DiveBar’s Board of Directors. He is a member of Berger Singerman’s Business, Finance, and Tax Team, where he assists clients with corporate transactions and commercial real estate. David began diving at the age of 12. He became a NAUI instructor when he was 20 years old and a PADI instructor when he was 22 years old; he has since taught over 300 people how to dive. He met his wife, Kelsey, who is also an attorney, while they were teaching for the same scuba shop during college.