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Greenberg Traurig’s Nikki Lewis Simon and Jonathan M. Perry Named to ‘Most Powerful Black Professionals in Business and Industry for 2014’

Miami and Orlando office shareholders recognized by Legacy Orlando Magazine and Legacy Miami Magazine for influence, positive impact

MIAMI – May 20, 2014 – Nikki Lewis Simon, a Shareholder and the Director of Client Development and Corporate Social Responsibility at the Miami office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig, and Jonathan M. Perry, a Shareholder in the Real Estate Practice in the firm’s Orlando office, were named to the “Most Powerful Black Professionals in Business and Industry for 2014” by Legacy Orlando Magazine and Legacy Miami Magazine, respectively.

Simon and Perry are listed among distinguished business professionals who are making great strides to positively impact their local communities. The lists, published annually by Legacy Orlando Magazine and Legacy Miami Magazine, include corporate directors, community leaders, top attorneys, public officials and successful entrepreneurs. Honorees were carefully vetted and selected by a selection committee comprised of former honorees and business and civic leaders in South and Central Florida.

Established in 2004, Legacy is a bi-monthly news/business publication designed for Florida’s black professional community. Through its distribution partnerships with The Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, and South Florida Sun-Sentinel, it has a combined readership of more than four million.

Both attorneys were featured in Legacy’s “Ten-Year Commemorative Anniversary Issue,” which was published in April and inserted in The Miami Herald and in the Orlando Sentinel.

Nikki Lewis Simon

As the director of client development and corporate social responsibility of Greenberg Traurig’s Miami office, Simon works to strategically align the firm’s diversity and inclusion programming and initiatives with clients’ needs.

Simon’s professional and community involvement includes: Fellow, the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Florida Bar Leadership Academy, 2013-2014; Participant, Leadership Broward, Class XXXII; Adjunct Professor, Litigation Externship Program, University of Miami School of Law; Member, American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation Sections; Member, National Bar Association, Commercial Law Section; Member, National Association of Women Lawyers; Vice Chair, The Florida Bar, Federal Court Practice Committee; Board Member, Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association; Member, Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter NBA; Member, Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association; and Charter Member, South Broward Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

She has received awards and accolades throughout her career. Most recently, these have included: Team Member, a Law360 "Employment Practice Group of the Year," 2011 & 2013; Listed, Florida Trend magazine, "Legal Elite," 2012; Selected, Legacy Miami magazine and Miami Herald "Legacy Legal Leader," 2012; and Winner, Profiles in Diversity Journal, "Women Worth Watching Award," 2012.

Simon received her law degree, cum laude, in 1999 from the University of Miami School of Law, and her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in journalism in 1994 from Florida A&M University.

Jonathan M. Perry

Perry represents real estate owners, developers, investment firms, institutional and private lenders, and business entrepreneurs in virtually all phases of commercial real estate transactions. His community involvement includes: Central Florida Partnership, Board of Directors, 2013-Present; Chair, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Leadership Council, 2012-Present; Vice-Chair, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Leadership Council Board 2010-2012; Mayor’s Project Downtown Orlando (DTO) Task Force Committee Member, 2014-2015; Mayor’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, 2006-Present; Mye-Dash Consulting, Inc., Advisory Board, 2009-2014; Coach, YMCA Youth Sports, Basketball, Soccer and Flag Football, 2007-Present; Mary Hall Freedom House, Inc., Advisory Board, 2005-2010.

Perry has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout his career. Most recently, these have included: Recipient, "Champion of Education Award," United Negro College Fund, 2014; Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2014; Team Member, The Legal 500 United States, "Top Tier" Firm in Real Estate, 2013; Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2011, 2012 and 2013; Member, Winning Team, Chambers USA Award for Excellence, Real Estate, 2010 and 2013.

Perry received a law degree in 1997 from Emory University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in 1993 in business administration from Kenan – Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.