Senior Trial Attorney & Chief Appellate Counsel
Andrew Kwan is a Senior Trial Attorney & Chief Appellate Counsel at Pankauski Lazarus PLLC. Andrew spends most of his time in court or preparing for trial. He has extensive trial experience including multi-day, hotly contested probate, guardianship, and trust cases. Andrew has sat as “sole chair” and “first chair” in numerous trials throughout Florida and oversees all the firm’s appellate matters.
By way of example, Andrew prevailed in a three-day contentious guardianship trial in front of the Honorable Charles Burton in Delray Beach, where his opponents included four attorneys. He prevailed on an undue influence and lack of capacity will contest matter before the Honorable James Shenko in Fort Myers, delivering a stunning victory for his client in the face of a prior adverse ruling. He was sole strategist and first chair for a successful four-day jury trial regarding guardianship matters and contract disputes in front of the Honorable Michael Barnett in West Palm Beach. He has prevailed in contested AAA and JAMS arbitration matters involving deceased family members and fiduciaries. Andrew’s experience litigating trust matters is also exemplary, including numerous successful bench trials and settlements for beneficiaries aggrieved by trustee misconduct. Andrew was chief strategist and trial leader for a multi-day lack of capacity and undue influence case in Marion County. Not only did Andrew win at trial, but he achieved two appeals court victories at the 5th District Court of Appeals when the adverse party tried appealing – twice.
Andrew previously worked for the federal court system as a judicial intern to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra and a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Linnea R. Johnson. He then joined a prominent, “boutique” West Palm Beach law firm specializing in complex business, commercial, and securities litigation in a variety of state and federal trial and appellate courts. Andrew applies his years of practical knowledge of the civil litigation process to every client’s case. Andrew is known by his colleagues in the Bar for his background in computer engineering and his experience with artificial intelligence and electronic discovery, and has given multiple seminars to other lawyers on these topics.
Last but not least, Andrew is a lifelong Floridian with a passion for giving back to the community and working with kids. He has had the honor of serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, and helped organize the 15th Judicial Circuit’s annual Youth Law Day, the Florida High School Mock Trial Competition, and numerous other civics events.