About

Diane Ward graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1982 and has been a member of the Florida Bar for thirty-eight years.

In law school, Diane Ward was a Certified Legal Intern in the Appellate Division of the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Officer from 1980-1982.  She learned to research and write appellate briefs under the tutelage of such great attorneys as Elliot Scherker (Greenberg Traurig), Karen Gottlieb (FIU law), Beth Weitzner and Rory Stein.

Upon becoming a member of the Florida Bar in 1982, Diane Ward worked in the trial division of the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office.  In 1988, she opened her own law office in Miami specializing in criminal law with a focus on capital litigation.  She continued to handle criminal appeals throughout her career.

As an attorney, Diane Ward was lead counsel in over 100 jury trials.

In 2002, Diane Ward was elected to the Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County.  As a judge she spent most of her time in the Criminal Division where she presided over more than 300 jury trials.  She was also regularly assigned to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court Appellate Panels where she considered criminal and civil appeals from the County Court.

While an attorney, Diane Ward was a member of a Grievance Committee of the Florida Bar where she was assigned to investigate cases and participated in hearings where the Committee considered testimony and evidence, and make recommendations to the Board of Governors.

As a judge, Diane Ward was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court as a Referee to preside over cases involving complaints filed against lawyers accused of violating the Canons of Ethics.  As a Referee, Judge Ward was responsible for scheduling case management conferences, considering motions and objections of counsel, reviewing consent judgments, presiding over the trial and submitting a final Report and Recommendation to the Florida Supreme Court.

Diane Ward was active in Judicial Education throughout her time on the bench.  She was a member of the Education Committee of the Florida Conference of Circuit Court Judges (FCCJ) from 2004-2018.  She served several terms as the Criminal Track Leader for both FCCJ and the Florida Judicial College (FJC).  Diane Ward presented courses on a wide range of topics on criminal law and procedure to judges at FCCJ, FJC and Advanced Judicial Studies (AJS).

If you are in need of a Florida criminal defense lawyer or appeal lawyer contact the Law Offices of Diane Ward, P.A. today at (305) 757-7300.