ELYSIUM LAW - Key Persons
Austin Fowler is the Chief Operations Officer and Legal Blog Editor for Kovar Law Group. Austin joined Kovar Law Group, then Elysium Law, in April 2016. Originally from Orange Park, Florida, Austin attended University of Central Florida on full academic scholarship. Majoring in Legal Studies, Mr. Fowler was heavily involved in Mock Trial and legal pro-bono activities. Subsequently, Mr. Fowler attended Stetson University College of Law where he was the recipient of the Academic Excellence Merit-Based Scholarship Award. Austin graduated from Stetson in 2015. Austin has years of experience as a law clerk, paralegal, and law firm administrator. He has expertise in dealing with insurance litigation, employment law, and family law matters.
Ciera Lipps received her Juris Doctor from Stetson University, and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from New College of Florida. While in law school, she gained experience in family law and criminal law, and has served as a Guardian ad Litem and a certified legal intern at the Public Defender's office, as well as completing the Florida Circuit Appellate Court Externship in Pinellas County.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Managing Attorney
- Owner
Mr. Kovar is the founder and driving force of Kovar Law Group. However, he wasn't always an attorney. Mr. Kovar was most recently the owner of a construction company. He found great success and satisfaction from his business, but, like most people, he wasn't always appreciative of the attorneys he encountered. Thus Mr. Kovar decided that he can utilize his vast knowledge of the construction industry to become the attorney he desired to work with. He created Kovar Law Group with the desire to treat clients with the utmost respect, hoping to afford to them a level of representation that he never received himself as a business owner.
Mr. Kovar has since completed law school in an accelerated time frame, taken and passed the bar, and open a client service focused law firm. Mr. Kovar is constantly growing the firm's professionalism by bringing on board lawyers who are both talented in the practice of law and have warm personalities that he believes will be able to provide better legal service to clients.
Mr. Kovar was born and raised in Florida, attending elementary school in Tampa, middle school in Orlando, and high school in Leesburg. Mr. Kovar then went on to obtain his A.A. Degree from Lake Sumter Community College and a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Central Florida in Finance. Mr. Kovar then received his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law.
Mr. Kovar paid his own way through college. After graduating from UCF, he built single family homes in the Orlando area. He then was an award-winning top-selling salesman for The Contractor Yard in South Carolina where he created new procedures to meet the needs of high volume builders.
Mr. Kovar then moved back to Florida and worked as a business consultant and helped people buy and sell small businesses. During this time, Mr. Kovar ended up acquiring a business in the construction field. With his business and construction background, this was a great fit. Within a year of taking over the business, he had doubled revenues and increased margins by over 54%. He then went to work as a financial advisor to put his finance degree and interpersonal skills to use. Mr. Kovar worked with wealthy individuals to plan for retirement and manage their investments.
In 2011 Mr. Kovar started law school. He completed the 3 year program in less than 2½ years, passing the Florida Bar Examination on his first try. Now Mr. Kovar is working with individuals and businesses to provide legal advice and representation in many areas. Mr. Kovar's main focus is working with clients to analyze problems and create the best solution, legal or otherwise.
Kelly McCue is a partner in the St. Petersburg Office of Kovar Law Group. Kelly is the lead attorney in our Personal Injury Department.
Kelly has been in the legal industry for over 16 years and brings lots of experience to Kovar Law Group. She graduated from the University of South Florida with her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, she then continued her legal education and received a Certificate in Paralegal Studies in 2011 from St. Petersburg College. After working as a paralegal for many years, Kelly decided law school was the path for her and graduated from Western Michigan Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2017.
Outside of practicing law, Kelly enjoys spending her free time with her children. When she isn't at the softball field cheering on her daughter, she is supporting her son playing basketball.
Kristina was born and raised in Connecticut, moving down to Florida for College and Law School. Kristina is a Double Hatter, having attended Stetson University for Undergrad, class of 2012 and Stetson University College of Law, class of 2015.
While in law school, Kristina focused her attention on helping others. In her first year she became a Guardian Ad Litem for children in the foster care system and remained a GAL throughout law school. She was fortunate to see all of her cases come to a happy ending.
Kristina was admitted to practice in the State of Florida in October 2015, and she focused her practice on healthcare law, specializing in Medicare and Medicaid third party recovery. She handled numerous appeals with Medicare allowing Medicare Beneficiaries to receive appropriate care and coverage.
Kristina is currently a partner in the South Pasadena Office of Kovar Law Group and handles matters pertaining to property insurance disputes and other civil litigation.
Outside of practicing law, Kristina and her husband enjoy running and going to Disney. She finished her first Half Marathon in October 2018. Kristina is a Disney Annual Passholder and visits the parks as often as she can.
Ryan Jacobs is originally from Orlando, Florida. He earned his Bachelor's Degree at Florida State University, where he studied History and International Affairs. After completing his undergraduate degree, Ryan earned his Juris Doctor at Stetson University College of Law. At Stetson, Ryan was a member of the Student Bar Association's Advisory Council in 2018 and was a regular volunteer for Stetson's Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy. Throughout his time in law school, Ryan also worked as law clerk and has experience in insurance claims, personal injury, probate, guardianship, and estate planning.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Litigation Partner for Kovar Law Group
Sean Saval was born and grew up in South Florida. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Boston University in 2007. After graduating, Sean returned to Florida to attend Stetson University College of Law. He graduated in 2011, earning his Juris Doctor as well as his Master of Business Administration from Stetson University. Sean also served as an Articles & Symposia Editor for the Stetson Law Review. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2012.
With over five years of experience, Sean is the Litigation Partner for Kovar Law Group. While involved in all firm wide litigation matters, Sean focuses his practice in the representation of homeowners in residential mortgage foreclosures, the representation of homeowners and contractors in property insurance disputes, and the representation of plaintiff's in personal injury matters.
Outside of practicing law, Sean enjoys running. He has completed 4 half marathons, completed the Ragnar Ultra Relay from Miami to Key West in 2014 and 2015, and completed the Gasparilla Ultra Challenge in 2017.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of the Orlando Office of Kovar Law Group
Wes Dunaway is the managing partner of the Orlando office of Kovar Law Group. He has significant experience in probate, estate planning, personal injury, insurance litigation and real estate. He has been a trusted adviser to Jay Kovar, and now Kovar Law Group since before the year 2000.
Mr. Dunaway was raised in East Tennessee and has lived in Orlando since 1997. Mr. Dunaway earned his undergraduate degree from Furman University and his MBA from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. He earned his law degree from Florida A&M University College of Law, serving as Staff Editor of the Law Review and graduating magna cum laude in the top 3% of his class. He is admitted to practice law in all state courts in Florida and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.