Fish, Melissa S.

Areas of Practice

Ted Corless is recognized as one of the leading insurance litigation attorneys in Florida, having previously represented most of Florida's largest property insurers in more than 1,000 first-party property insurance disputes. These disputes include (but are not limited to): damages associated with sinkhole, windstorm, fire, and water. In his current capacity, he represents owners of homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings, and condominiums in insurance claims and disputes.

Corless has authored and presented lectures throughout the United States on a wide variety of topics including insurance coverage, complex expert testimony, and insurance bad faith. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Kansas, and Missouri, as well as several Federal District Courts and Federal Appellate Courts, and he is ranked "AV" by the Martindale-Hubbell® system for being recognized by his peers as having the highest level of excellence and professionalism.

Summary Of Experience

Ted Corless has a broad range of litigation experience including first-chair jury trial experience in matters relating to commercial litigation, environmental law, construction law, bodily injury, advertising injury, products liability, and insurance coverage litigation. Lecturer in development and cross-examination of expert witnesses in a wide variety of scientific, engineering, and medical-related matters.

Corless has also served as lead counsel in jury-tried cases, as well as bench-tried and arbitration disputes. He's provided active audit support to insurers regarding statutory compliance and drafting of policy language. Finally, he has deposed and cross examined expert witnesses in various fields, some of which include: architectural design, cardiology, civil engineering, economics, epidemiology, fire cause and origin, geotechnical engineering, geophysics, hydrogeology, internal medicine, oncology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pathology, psychiatry, pulmonology, seismology, and toxicology.

Personal Biography

"Lawyers are like oncologists. You'd prefer they not be in your life. But if they are, they better be dependable, honest, and know what the hell they are doing." - Ted Corless, 2004

Prior to creating his own firm in 2002, Corless spent nearly a decade fighting for some of the largest companies in America. He trained at Shook Hardy, an international law firm infamous for its vigorous representation of Big Tobacco. Shook Hardy triggered his passion for scientific and medical-related litigation. "When I later got into insurance litigation – working on sinkhole, hurricane, and fire cases – I knew I was hooked."

The 'Non-Lawyer' Lawyer

Although Corless was on track to being a partner at these big firms, something was missing.

"I left all the law firms that did it the traditional way," he says. "I wanted to create a practice where, if my family needed a lawyer, it would be the kind of place where we could find answers."

Much of what makes Corless tick comes from his upbringing in a small northwest Missouri town. He started his practice in the Midwest and brings those values to his firm today.

Part of that approach means not taking every case. Instead, his firm limits itself to spending time on the cases that deserve the attention and care only Corless Associates can provide.

"I like to tell people we represented Big Tobacco, Big Insurance, and now we represent Big You."

Corless points out having a bunch of clients just means you do a good job marketing.

"Telling the world you will 'aggressively' represent someone says nothing about legal talent, experience, or what you can deliver as a law firm. Documented experience – not angry rhetoric – is what our clients are looking for, and it's what we deliver."

Corless realizes the importance and significance of what he does every day for the clients he does take on – how the suggestions he offers or the decisions he makes impact people's lives. At the same time, giving people a voice to fight back is what drives him.

"Whether we're fighting on a sinkhole case or a personal injury matter, the case is our client's most important one. I tell my staff, we might have other work, but this is our client's only case, and never forget that."

The Corless Family

Corless and his wife, Christine, spent 4 years waiting for their adoption to be completed. "You start thinking it will never happen." But, in 2009, they traveled to the Hunan Province of China, bringing little Thea home. "She is an amazing kid, and I think she has Elmo in every size and form ever made."

Hidden Talent

He's a devotee of Cajun Creole cooking. "I don't get to cook as much as I like, but when I do, I guarantee it will be spicy." For Super Bowl, you can expect Shrimp Creole, Crawfish Etouffee, and lots of BBQ at the Corless home.