Attorneys

Adam M. Balkan

Adam Balkan was born and raised in Huntington, New York. In 1991, he graduated from Western New England College, and from the Nova Southeastern School of Law in 1994. After two successful internships with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, he became a prosecutor in the Broward County State Attorney’s office in April of 1995. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney by The Florida Bar.

As a prosecutor, Adam was dedicated to helping and protecting victims of crime. He successfully tried and convicted many of Broward’s worst criminals, trying over 70 jury and dozens of non-jury trials. In his five and a half years as a prosecutor, Adam was a significant catalyst for change and improvement within the State Attorney’s office.

Adam left the State Attorney’s office in 2000, but never stopped helping the injured and their families. He joined Carman, Beauchamp and Sang, P.A., a prestigious litigation boutique in Boca Raton, Florida, where he established a successful plaintiff practice. In addition to his work on behalf of plaintiffs, Adam gained valuable experience defending insurance companies and corporations in multi-million dollar lawsuits. Today, that experience is being used exclusively to help consumers, insurance policyholders, the injured and their families, and people who have been wronged due to negligence or intentional acts.

Adam is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and has achieved an AV Rating, a classification that signifies an attorney has reached the highest level of ability and ethics and is considered a preeminent attorney by his peers. He is recognized as an expert in civil trial by the Florida Bar.

Practice Areas:

Class Action
Commercial Litigation
Insurance Litigation
Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury / Wrongful Death
Premises Liability
Products Liability

Bar Admissions:

Florida, 1995
New York, 1995
Middle District of Florida
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Education:

Western New England College, B.A., 1991
Nova Southeastern University, J.D., 1994

Awards and Honors:

Martindale-Hubbell – AV Rating
Who’s Who in American Law

Professional Memberships & Leadership Roles:

Member: Legal Elite
Member: Super lawyers
Member: National Trial Lawyers Association
Member: American Association for Justice
Member: American Bar Association
Member: Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce
Member: Broward County Bar Association
Member: Florida Justice Association
Member: Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Member: Palm Beach County Bar Association
Member: South Palm Beach County Bar Association

Our Florida trial attorneys represent personal injury, auto accident, defective products, and consumer fraud clients throughout South Florida, including Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, Parkland, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and throughout the United States.

Leah Charbonnet

Born and raised in the Caribbean on the island of Trinidad, Leah moved to Florida in 1989. She attended high school in Broward County at J.P. Taravella and went on to obtain her B.A. from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Following completion of her undergraduate studies she worked at State Street Global Advisors in Boston, until moving to Houston to join a law firm specializing in mass tort pharmaceutical litigation. She went on to attend law school at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law where she served on UMKC Law Review and obtained her J.D. in 2006.

In 2006, Leah returned to Florida where she was admitted to the Florida Bar and focuses her practice in personal injury. She is also a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney by The Florida Bar. Leah has represented both individual and corporate clients and has litigated thousands of cases. She has successfully tried dozens of jury trials in both State and Federal Court including the United States District Court of Puerto Rico, where she obtained a favorable verdict on behalf of her injured client against a major pharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Balkan Patterson & Charbonnet, Leah represented insurance companies and their insureds for more than a decade. She left insurance defense to use her knowledge, experience, and skills to advocate for victims of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death involving motor vehicle collisions, and premise liability and defective products. Her insight on how insurance companies analyze, evaluate and defend cases gives her an advantage in order to maximize recoveries on behalf of her clients. Leah lives in Deerfield Beach with her husband Mark and her two sons, Nicholas and Ryan. She enjoys spending time with her family, boating, and traveling.

John Patterson – In Memoriam

In March of 2021, our law firm lost a fantastic lawyer and partner, John Patterson.. He was loyal to his friends and a devoted husband and father. The community — and our clients — benefited from his knowledge and caring. His work ethic was second to none – even when he was battling cancer. He would receive treatment in the morning and be in the office that afternoon.

John left no stone unturned when working for clients, and never ever took shortcuts. His ethics and moral compass were unmatched. His diligence and preparation for each case and trial resulted in exceptional results and many awards during his successful career.

John was very proud of his family, and relished his role as a father. While he lost his fight with a horrible disease, he was a winner in every way. He is and will always be remembered for the ethical, respectful and respected, hard-working, and kind man that he was. He is greatly missed, and he is resting in peace, no doubt in a golden courtroom!

Our Staff

Colleen Doering

Colleen was born and raised in Glens Falls, New York. She graduated from Marymount College with a degree in interior design. She then moved to Florida where she worked as a designer for Stainless, Inc. Colleen has been with Balkan Patterson & Charbonnet since the firm opened in 2006. As the firms first employee, she has been an integral part of building the firm to where it is today. She is a highly experienced professional who manages the office. Colleen lives in Boca Raton with her husband. She has two adult children who both live in Atlanta Georgia Attorneys. When Colleen isn’t cheering for the Florida State Seminoles, she enjoys concerts and spending time with her family.

Tiffany Klopfer

Born and raised in New York, Tiffany moved to Florida in 1989. She attended high school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and went on to obtain her B.A. in Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University. While attending university, Tiffany worked part time at an insurance defense law firm where she first began working with Adam Balkan. Tiffany has been a paralegal with Balkan Patterson & Charbonnet since its opening in 2006. She brings over 25 years of experience in the legal field managing cases, assisting the attorneys and working closely with clients. Before that she was a paralegal specializing in stockbroker misconduct and brokerage firm negligence involving stocks, bonds and commodities. Tiffany currently lives in Boca Raton with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she enjoys crafting and watching her daughter play softball.

Eric Ponzan

Eric Ponzan was born in New York and raised in Coral Springs, Florida. He attended high school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Eric is a Florida Registered Paralegal by The Florida Bar. Prior to joining our firm in 2015, Eric worked as a paralegal at The Law Office of John L. Korthals in Pompano Beach, Florida for more than a decade where he handled real estate transactions, probate litigation, and civil litigation cases. Since 2015 Eric has worked at our firm diligently managing cases and working with our clients to assist them through the legal process. Eric currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife and twin boys. In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends and watching as much sports as possible.