Our History

The firm known today as Zisser, Robison, Brown, Nowlis, Maciejewski & Cabrey, P.A., was started by Barry L. Zisser in the early 1960's. In 1971, Barry was joined by his brother, Elliot Zisser, following Elliot's graduation from law school. The late Walter "Bud" Robison joined the firm shortly afterwards. Bud Robison was one of the finest trial lawyers in the state. Unfortunately, Bud died of illness in 1980, but his name is carried on out of respect for the man and his family.

Donald E. Brown and Nancy N. Nowlis have each been with the firm more than 15 years. Don had prior experience as a State prosecutor. Nancy worked in the Public Defender's Office in Pennsylvania, and had also done appellate work. She took time from her career to get her two daughters off to a good start before returning to the practice of law. Donald M. Maciejewski joined the firm after a military career as a helicopter pilot in the United States Army, and he developed his specialty of personal injury and aviation law. Brian J. Cabrey is an associate with the firm. Prior to joining the firm, Brian was a Senior Attorney and Assistant General Counsel with the State of Florida Department of Children and Families, Child Welfare Legal Services, for District Four in Jacksonville, Florida serving Duval, St. Johns, Nassau, and Clay Counties.

Our Philosophy

Our philosophy in helping or clients is simple - our clients come first! We also believe that as attorneys representing consumers, it is our duty to strive to make those at fault responsible to victims in our society.

Our American justice system was designed to protect each individual's rights by not tolerating injustice and human suffering. Our focus on fairness and belief in our judicial system has created an exciting environment in our firm that sets us apart from other firms. We believe in using creativity and state of the art technical resources and litigation methods to help solve our clients' problems. We are determined to do the best job possible for our clients, through persistence, thoroughness and vigorous representation of their interests. We take on challenging cases that sometimes end up changing the law.

No matter whether your case is one of divorce, a slight injury wrongfully imposed, or a tragic unnecessary human death, our firm is dedicated to obtaining full justice for each client that we represent and eliminating causes of preventable injuries.

Our Experience

We are a law firm that has been specialized for over thirty years. We are in business to help people who have tough legal problems and to also help those who have been injured or who have suffered the loss of a loved one due to an accident, defective product, aircraft crash, or other tragedy. Barry Zisser and Donald Maciejewski are FAA certified pilots and both hold FAA commercial ratings. In addition, partners Elliot Zisser and Donald Maciejewski are board certified by the Florida Bar as specialists in the areas of matrimonial law and aviation law respectively. Don Brown is well known for his tenacity as a criminal defense attorney and as a superb divorce lawyer. Nancy Nowlis is known as an outstanding divorce attorney and also works in the area of appeals. Our lawyers have practiced from 10 to 38 years each.

Our firm has a reputation for taking on hard challenges. We believe in aggressively representing our clients and we are not shy about taking on large companies in personal injury and wrongful death cases. We are proud to have successfully prosecuted cases for our clients against such large companies as Home Depot, Coleman, Inc., Sunbeam, U.S. Air, Northwest Airlines, BMY Systems and a host of other large companies and product manufacturers. In the matrimonial field, we have represented the wealthy and the middle class in every phase of economic and family law litigation.

Our Clients

Clients come to our firm because we care about the people we represent. Our clients like us because we treat them as individuals. We develop a rapport with our clients, so that we can help ease the stress that is associated with pursuing any legal matter.

Our lawyers work as a team in order to effect the very best result we can for our clients. We like to consider our clients as extended family, and we give all those we represent special treatment that is rarely found in other law firms. We understand that whatever your legal matter - whether it be a divorce, criminal matter, serious personal injury or other case, that your case is an important one, and that it is our job to advance your case as quickly, efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

We would consider it a pleasure to represent you and to take charge of your case should you require legal services. If you have a legal problem or have been injured please call us. Like so many of our other satisfied clients, you will be pleased with our firm and with what we can do for you!

Our Reputation

Our law firm's existence has spanned over four decades. Along with our experience, legal expertise and economic ability, our clients can successfully pursue claims against others who have caused injury or death.

Too often lawyers treat clients as "just another case." We have learned that each client is unique in spite of the many cases we handle for our many deserving clients. Each client's case is the only one that he or she has, and as such, it is an important part of his or her life. Our firm has built its reputation on the basic foundation of treating our clients with respect and obtaining the very best results possible for them.

Our Service to the Community

Although we spend the majority of every day serving our clients, we believe that strong family values and giving something back to our community is paramount to overall success and happiness. In that regard, our time away from the office is spent with out families and friends, as well as engaging in activities that help others in our community.

When not spending time with his wife, children or grandchildren, Barry Zisser, is a member of the Southeast Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. In addition, Barry is a past member of the Board of the Jacksonville Jewish Federation, as well as the Jewish Community Alliance where he remains active in athletics and civic events. He is also past president of his Synagogue, Beth Shalom Congregation, and is the past Chairman of its Board of Trustees. Also an avid Gator and Jaguar fan, Barry enjoys sports of all kinds and participates in tennis, golf and swimming.

Elliott Zisser is also a family man who relishes his time with his family. Elliot is also a much-sought-after speaker at Continuing Legal Education seminars. His hobbies include sailing, biking, and traveling. He has served his city as a member of the Environmental Protection Board for ten years and served as President of the Jacksonville Jewish Federation.

Don Brown is a Jacksonville native who enjoys fishing and vacationing with his wife and daughters in Key West. Don is a supporter of the Police Athletic League and the City Rescue Mission, and he is also a frequent speaker to local business groups regarding legal matters affecting the rights of our citizens. In addition to being a Jaguar footfall fan, Don is an avid golfer.

Nancy Nowlis has been active in local Bar Association and civic functions for many years in Jacksonville. When not spending time away from the office with her husband, Chris or her two daughters, Nancy enjoys quilting, art, reading and movies.

Don Maciejewski is a retired Army helicopter pilot and an active member of the Army Aviation Association of America. He is a frequent lecturer on the topic of aviation accident litigation and is an adjunct Professor of Law at Florida Coastal Law School. In his spare time, he enjoys weightlifting and martial arts training. Don and his wife Judy (who is also Don's full time legal assistant), enjoy beach activities, travel and outdoor sports. Don is a supporter of the City Rescue Mission and is also active in the Army Reserve Officer's Association.

Brian Cabrey enjoys spending his time away from the office with his wife, Jennifer, and their two young daughters. In addition to being a NASCAR and auto-racing enthusiast, Brian enjoys Civil War history and reading. He is a member of Sertoma and the Knights of Columbus and performs much pro bono work for the Guardian Ad Litem Program. He also volunteers his time with the YMCA and is a Youth Mentor.

Our attorneys support many local civic and charitable organizations including Hubbard House, The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and a host of other important organizations. We believe that selfless giving to the community and to worthwhile causes is both a privilege and a responsibility. We feel that the more we can do for our community, the stronger our community will be for its citizens and our clients.

Why People Choose Us

We believe that choosing a lawyer is a very personal decision and one that can only be made after meeting with the law firm, discussing your case, and being advised regarding the analysis of your claim and the likelihood of success in your case. Because our former clients have been satisfied with the manner in which we have represented them, many of our new cases are referrals from former clients. We believe that our service and experience are far superior to what other lawyers promise and what they ultimately deliver. Many of our clients are also referred to us by other lawyers. We consider this the ultimate compliment.

Because of our reputation, many of our clients come to us after first visiting with lawyers who advertise on television or other law firms, and ultimately end up hiring our firm to represent them. The reason for this is simple - we treat others as we would like to be treated and we respect our clients' wishes and desires. At the same time, we objectively analyze every client's case and give them a full explanation of the risks of their case, along with our opinion of their likelihood of success.

Time after time, we have had the pleasure of representing our clients because they want experienced lawyers to handle their case. Our proven track record of success, coupled with our firm but fair approach to the law is why clients choose us. We pride ourselves in our legal excellence and in our dynamic approach to solving difficult issues. The firm is a recognized expert on the laws that govern divorce, aviation and aircraft disasters and personal injury.

We believe that substantial damage awards to our clients will help prevent similar injuries in the future, and we believe that it is important to always deal from strength, and never from weakness. Each client's case is always fully prepared to go to trial, and we hire the proper experts and do a thorough investigation researching every point of the case in order to obtain the very best result possible for our clients.

Our recipe for success is a combination of experience, caring and preparedness. We have found this recipe to be one that brings success for our clients.

Our Promise to You

As lawyers, we believe that we occupy a special place in society that requires us to serve you to the very best of our ability. That means we promise to work hard for you and bring the very best result we can for you on your particular case. No matter how difficult your case may be and no matter how wealthy or financially established the opposing party may be we are committed to promising you a full and fair evaluation of your case.

We promise to fight hard for you and to advance your case to the fullest extent of what the law will permit.

More often than not, lawsuits and legal battles are not pleasant matters. As your lawyers, we place your interests first and understand that we work for you.

We believe that it is important to keep promises to clients and to keep them informed about their case every step of the way. You will see that we are not a law firm that over-promises and under-delivers. You can count on us to work hard for you and get results.