FOUNDERS
DAVID TOM
Founder, Legally Accurate
Firearm Specialist, Tom & Co.
David M. Tom is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and NRA-certified instructor for multiple firearm disciplines, including pistol, rifle, and shotgun, Home Firearm Safety, Range Safety Officer. He is a lifetime supporter of the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation in addition to founding the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) chapter of the Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club.
Mr. Tom is federally licensed as a manufacturer, specializing in the sale and transfer of NFA-regulated firearms, general firearm repairs and has received training certifications including but not limited to: Glock Advanced Armorer, Sig Sauer Armorer P320, P226, P220, P229, and 1911 model firearms.
Drawing on experience as a firearm instructor, technician and retailer, he founded Legally Accurate alongside Ernest Chang and Alan Diamond with the aim of arming criminal and civil practitioners with critical information not taught in law school. Mr. Tom is familiar with highly technical issues such as federal and state regulations, conflicts between state firearm and state beverage law, lawful and unlawful interstate and intrastate firearm commerce, firearm valuations in probate, marital and estate firearm scenarios, alternative dispute resolution, complexities surrounding firearams and debtors in possession, and the culture of firearm use, possession and ownership.
Outside the classroom, Mr. Tom has advised on firearm industry, technology and legal issues for the staff writers and editors of Wide Open Media Group. He has served as range command staff, directing safe shooting operations for the 5,000+ visitors to the 2014 Texas International Firearm Festival in Liberty Hill, Texas.
Independent of firearm related issues, Mr. Tom is certified in the State of Florida as a structural and wildland firefighter and first responder and has also completed additional coursework in emergency management, incident stabilization, incident command and firefighting operations. Changes to the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) in 2021 and 2023 have proven to be an interesting subject matter for Mr. Tom. He is currently involved in litigation challenging several undefined aspects of the law in federal and state courts. He hopes to someday argue a precedential FTSA case before the Florida Supreme Court.
Mr. Tom has contributed to the following legal events and publications:
Florida and Ohio: Lawyers Guns and Money 2019
Florida: 2019 International Firearms Law Symposium
Florida: Lawyers Guns and Money 2018
Florida: Everything You Wanted To Know About Guns - 1305935N
Florida: 2014 Adv. Firearm Law Symposium - 1403587N
Florida: Statutes and Semi-Automatics 2016 - 1603469N
Kentucky: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 166801
Pennsylvania: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 254154
Author, “F Words: Taking A Fifth: Mixing Liquor and Firearm Laws,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Summer 2019
Co-Author, “The Good Faith Defense to the Potentially Fatal Flaws in Florida’s Firearm Laws,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall 2019
Co-Author, “Withheld Adjudication and Firearm Rights,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2020
Co-Author, “The Intricacies of Intimacy,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Summer 2020
Co-Author, “Lessons Learned from the Contagion,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall 2020
Co-Author, “Shotguns and Statutes or Remington 870’s and F.S. 870,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Winter 2020
Co-Author, “Straws and Case Law: Legal Fallout from the Kyle Rittenhouse Shooting,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2021
Co-Author, “Much Ado about Misdemeanors,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Summer 2021
ERNEST CHANG
Founder, Legally Accurate
Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, Ernest L. Chang, P.A.
Ernest L. Chang is a Board Certified Criminal Defense Trial Attorney who has been practicing since 1990. He presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL).
Mr. Chang obtained his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida in 1986. He obtained his J.D. degree from Nova Southeastern University - Shepard Broad Law Center in 1990. Having worked for the Public Defender’s Office from 1990-1993, Mr. Chang then started his own firm in 1993 and continues to devote 100% of his practice to criminal matters. During his decades of practice, he has handled several thousand cases and has personally tried over 200 jury trials to verdict.
Approximately two-dozen of those cases were homicide cases, many of which the State sought the death penalty. He is admitted to practice in both Florida and Pennsylvania. He is admitted to the Federal District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
One of his trials - State v. Carty, a DUI manslaughter case was featured on Tru-TV. Most recently, Mr. Chang and his firm litigated the issue of Search Warrants for Blood Draws in DUI cases. That case was appealed by the State of Florida to the Florida Supreme Court. Because of that case, the State is presently prohibited from obtaining search warrants in misdemeanor cases.
Mr. Chang has had a lifelong interest in firearms. Throughout his legal career, he has had the opportunity to litigate many firearms related legal issues. He is currently involved in litigation challenging the science and the admissibility of firearms ballistics.
Mr. Chang has contributed to the following legal events and publications:
Florida and Ohio: Lawyers Guns and Money 2019
Florida: 2019 International Firearms Law Symposium
Florida: Lawyers Guns and Money 2018
Florida: Everything You Wanted To Know About Guns - 1305935N
Florida: 2014 Adv. Firearm Law Symposium - 1403587N
Florida: Statutes and Semi-Automatics 2016 - 1603469N
Kentucky: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 166801
Pennsylvania: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 254154
Co-Author, “Withheld Adjudication and Firearm Rights,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2020
Co-Author, “The Intricacies of Intimacy,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Summer 2020
Co-Author, “Straws and Case Law: Legal Fallout from the Kyle Rittenhouse Shooting,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2021
Co-Author, “Much Ado about Misdemeanors,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Summer 2021
ALAN DIAMOND
Founder, Legally Accurate
Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, Funk, Szachacz & Diamond
Alan S. Diamond has been the attorney of record in over 10,000 criminal cases.
Mr. Diamond graduated from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies. He received his law degree in 1992 from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill College of Law.
Mr. Diamond was an Assistant State Attorney for more than a decade in the 18th Judicial Circuit. He prosecuted all types of cases including; Homicides, Firearm Charges, Kidnappings, Vehicular Manslaughter, Sex Crimes and Child abuses cases as well as Computer Crimes. Alan Diamond received the Outstanding Trial Attorney of the Year award prior to becoming a felony division chief. Mr. Diamond is a former instructor with the Florida Prosecuting Attorney Association focusing on DUI law and received the 2002 Distinguished Faculty award from the FPAA.
During his career as a criminal attorney, Mr. Diamond has handled numerous cases in both State and Federal Court. He has had numerous jury trials representing those accused of rape, DUI, murder, burglary, drug trafficking and others. Many of the cases he has handled involved the use of a firearm. Mr. Diamond has lectured on officer-involved shootings at the Eastern Florida State College Criminal Justice Center and is presently the Fraternal Order of Police Florida State Labor Council staff attorney.
Now in private practice, he is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney and the 2005 recipient of the Brevard County Bar Association Professionalism Award. Mr. Diamond’s memberships include The Federal Bar Association, Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. District Court - Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the 2012-2013 President of the Brevard County Bar Association, The Florida Bar, The National and Florida Associations of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Bar Association.
Mr. Diamond has contributed to the following legal events and publications
Florida and Ohio: Lawyers Guns and Money 2019
Florida: 2019 International Firearms Law Symposium
Florida: Lawyers Guns and Money 2018
Florida: Everything You Wanted To Know About Guns - 1305935N
Florida: 2014 Adv. Firearm Law Symposium - 1403587N
Florida: Statutes and Semi-Automatics 2016 - 1603469N
Kentucky: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 166801
Pennsylvania: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 254154
Co-Author, “Shotguns and Statutes or Remington 870’s and F.S. 870,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Winter 2020
CONTRIBUTORS
John Sawicki
Contributor, Legally Accurate
President, Forensic Data Corp.
John D. Sawicki founded Forensic Data Corp. in 2011, to provide computer forensics services to organizations in Florida. Today, Forensic Data provides cell tower analysis, computer and cell phone forensics, e‐discovery and data recovery services to companies, law firms, and government agencies throughout the southeastern United States.
Mr. Sawicki holds a Master of Science degree in Digital Forensics from the University of Central Florida, and is a certified computer forensics examiner. He is a licensed private investigator in Florida and Georgia. He has provided expert testimony more than 50 times in state and federal court in the areas of cell tower analysis, and computer and cell phone forensics.
Mr. Sawicki is a seasoned attorney, with experience representing employers in labor and employment litigation in state and federal court, and counseling employers in employment related matters. Mr. Sawicki graduated from the Florida State University College of Law, and is admitted to practice law in both Florida and Oregon. While in law school, John was a law clerk with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, where he represented the Department in the prosecution of professional licensees before the Division of Administrative Hearings.
He also completed an externship as a Certified Legal Intern with the Florida Department of Corrections, where he represented the DOC in career service appeals before the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission. Prior to entering the practice of law, Mr. Sawicki was a deputy sheriff with the Douglas County (OR) Sheriff’s Office where he developed and implemented training programs in the use of force and defensive tactics. He also worked extensively as a field training officer, training recruit deputies.
While a deputy sheriff, he served first as treasurer and then as vice-president of the Douglas County Law Enforcement Association, a police labor organization. During that time, he negotiated collective bargaining agreements on behalf of the labor organization, and represented law enforcement officers in disciplinary matters and internal investigations.
Mr. Sawicki has contributed to the following CLE programs:
Florida: 2019 International Firearms Law Symposium
Geoffrey Golub
Contributor, Legally Accurate
Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, Geoffrey P. Golub, P.A.
Geoffrey P. Golub graduated from Montclair Kimberly Academy Upper School in Montclair New Jersey in 1985. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1989 with a Major in History and a Minor in Religious Studies.
He graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, Miami, Florida, in 1993 and was admitted to the Florida and New Jersey Bars that same year. He worked as an Assistant Public Defender for James Russo in Brevard County, Florida. He is currently a Sole Practitioner at the Law Offices of Geoffrey P. Golub, P.A.
Mr. Golub is a Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Trial Expert, and his professional memberships include: Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and he is a Former Barrister, for the Vassar B. Carlton American Inn of Court. He is also admitted to federal practice in the Middle District of Florida.
Mr. Golub has contributed to the following legal events and publications:
Florida: 2014 Adv. Firearm Law Symposium - 1403587N
Florida: Speaker, Seminar for Medical Assistants Program at Florida Metropolitan University (FMU)
Florida: Speaker, Brevard County Paralegal Association Seminar
Florida: Speaker, Florida Judicial Assistants Association Statewide Continuing Education Seminar
Florida: Panelist, Dealing with the Press
Florida: Speaker, Juveniles’ rights
Florida: Speaker, Melbourne High School on School rights
Author, “The Potentially Fatal Flaws in the Implementation of Florida's Firearm Laws,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2019
Author, “Suburban Legal Myths Volume 1, 2, 3 and 4,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Author, Ex Parte, A publication of the Brevard County Bar Association: Legally Bald, Law News and Humor Column for the past 13+ years
Co-Author, “The Good Faith Defense to the Potentially Fatal Flaws in Florida’s Firearm Laws,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall 2019
Author, “The Text Is Mightier Than the Spoken Word, Mightier Than the Sword and Mightier Than the Sticks, Stones and the Broken Bones,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall 2020
Author, “Applying Florida Law to the Issuance of the Breonna Taylor Search Warrant,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Winter 2020
Author, “The Text Is Mightier Than the Spoken Word, Mightier Than the Sword and Mightier Than the Sticks, Stones and the Broken Bones,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2021
Alexander Ferrara
Contributor, Legally Accurate
Managing Partner, Bluegrass Law Group
Alexander A. Ferrara has a diverse range of legal experience as the University of Kentucky Legal Counsel, the Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney, and practice in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Mr. Ferrara earned his bachelor's degree in International Studies from the University of Kentucky and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He practices exclusively in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Mr. Ferrara's specializations are in the areas of: Family Law, Estate Planning, Contract Law, Real Estate Law, Business Law, and Firearm Law.
Mr. Ferrara has contributed to the following CLE programs:
Kentucky: 2016 and 2017 Gun Law in Kentucky, National Business institute
Kentucky: Statutes and Semi-Automatics - 166801
Ernest Myers
Contributor, Legally Accurate
Corporate/Insurance Litigator, Marcus & Myers, P.A.
Ernest J. Myers is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. He has been in practice since 1992, concentrating in first-party and third-party insurance coverage litigation, insurer bad faith litigation, general liability defense, commercial litigation and appellate practice. He also represents several gun stores, shooting ranges, gun clubs and firearms instructors in Florida.
He received his B.B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Temple University and his J.D. degree from the University of Florida. Mr. Myers is admitted to practice in all Florida State Courts, all Florida Federal Courts, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He has represented clients at all appellate levels in state and federal courts, including a 2015 appearance in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Myers is a founder and the Managing Partner of the Law Firm of Marcus & Myers in Orlando, Florida. He is also an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor and Range Safety Officer, and he provides classroom and practical instruction for concealed firearms licensees. He served as Vice President of the Central Florida Rifle & Pistol Club in Orlando, Florida for 10 years. He is an NRA Certified Level 1 Pistol Coach, and an assistant coach on the National Champion CFRPC Scholastic Action Shooting Program team. And, he is a past President of the Florida Sport Shooting Association, the NRA state association in Florida.
Mr. Myers has contributed to the following legal events and publications:
Florida and Ohio: Lawyers Guns and Money 2019
Florida: Gun Law In Florida 2017
National: 19th Annual National Firearms Law Seminar (2016)
Florida: Gun Law in Florida 2016
Co-Author, “Lessons Learned from the Contagion,” Florida Defender, A publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Fall 2020