Jacqueline Garcell

Jacqueline Garcell is a senior partner and active trial attorney in maritime law for Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. She routinely handles passengers’ personal injury, sexual assault and wrongful death claims, as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. Ms. Garcell is the fastest attorney to ever make partner at the firm, having been promoted to the partner position after being with us for a decade.

Ms. Garcell has helped settle hundreds of cases on behalf of both cruise ship passengers and crew members. She achieved one of the Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in Florida in 2017 — this rare and incredibly impressive feat encompasses all personal injury verdicts, not just those in the maritime law field.

Some of her notable wins include:

• $2.6M recovery where a cruise ship passenger was injured in a cruise ship’s waterpark area. This verdict was in the Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in Florida in 2017. Garcell (alongside our other attorneys) effectively argued that the cruise line was negligent, as its own policies and procedures required a crew member to be stationed in the area to prevent the type of incident that occurred. This was a major success for our firm and established Ms. Garcell as a leading litigator in the maritime field.
• $1M+ settlements in confidential sexual assault and rape cases. Garcell has worked on numerous cases involving passengers and crew members who were subjected to violent sexual conduct while aboard a ship.
• Confidential settlement amounts in shore excursion transportation cases. Garcell has worked on multiple cases in which groups of passengers were injured in bus accidents while being transported to shore excursions (that were purchased and arranged directly through the cruise line). In these cases, she sued the cruise lines, the excursion operators, and the bus companies, and secured favorable settlements on behalf of her clients.
• Confidential settlement amount in crew member injury cases. Garcell has settled numerous cases on behalf of cruise ship crew members who sustained harm while on-the-job. She has also successfully handled cases in which such crew members failed to receive prompt, proper, and/or adequate medical treatment that their employer was duty-bound to provide.

In working as a maritime lawyer, Ms. Garcell is able to help clients who might otherwise feel as though they have no recourse. She believes that it’s important to be transparent and communicate to the client what strategy is likely to lead to a favorable result.

Ms. Garcell first began her legal career as a paralegal, after graduating from the University of Miami. While attending the Florida International University College of Law, she was hired as a summer associate by our firm in 2010. She subsequently worked as a law clerk until she joined the firm as a licensed attorney in 2013. Finally, in 2019, Ms. Garcell earned her a place as a partner at Lipcon.

Ms. Garcell is admitted to practice in all Florida state courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. She is a member of the Florida Bar, the Dade County Bar Association, and the Cuban American Bar Association. She is also fluent in Spanish.

In her free time, Ms. Garcell invests a significant amount of time into her work for the Guardian Ad Litem program, where she serves as a critical stakeholder in the foster care program to ensure that at-risk kids don’t fall through the cracks.