Nick Ortiz

Attorney Nick Ortiz grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He first became interested in the legal profession after participating in his high school's debate program. He also played a lawyer in a high school mock trial. These experiences led him to become a student in the art of persuasion and argument.

With this foundation, Mr. Ortiz went on to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Yale University. He took two years off after college to work in Washington D.C., at the prestigious law firm Covington & Burling, as a paralegal. He then went on to attend UCLA Law School in Los Angeles, California. While in law school, Mr. Ortiz participated in moot court and trial advocacy program. He also participated in legal aide, assisting the poor and indigent in legal matters. He clerked for plaintiffs' law firms during the summers between academic school years.

Following law school graduation in 2001, Mr. Ortiz stayed in Los Angeles. He passed the State Bar of California and worked as an insurance defense attorney. After only one year representing insurance companies, Mr. Ortiz confirmed he did not want to represent corporate entities. He wanted to represent individuals. He therefore joined a small law firm representing injury claimants.

By 2004-2005, the cost of living in Los Angeles was becoming outrageous. So, in 2004 Mr. Ortiz sat for the Florida Bar and passed. In 2005, Mr. Ortiz returned to Florida with his wife and practiced law with The Soloway Law Firm. While at The Soloway Law Firm, Mr. Ortiz broadened his practice from representing injury victims to representing injury victims and disabled workers. He learned how to handle a Social Security disability claim from beginning to end, and also how to handle long-term ERISA disability claims.

After seven years with The Soloway Law Firm, Mr. Ortiz decided it was time to branch out on his own as a solo attorney. On June 1, 2012, he opened Ortiz Law Firm.

Yale University
B.A., 1996

UCLA School of Law
J.D. (law degree), 2001

Kate Hauser

Ms. Hauser attended the University of Florida for her undergraduate degree. She graduated with a double major in political science and criminology, with a minor in business.

During the summer between her sophomore and junior years, she was offered an internship with the Alachua County Clerk of Courts, with half of her summer spent at the Family and Civil Courthouse and the other half of the summer spent at the Criminal Courthouse. Her experience during this internship solidified her desire to practice law as her career.

Without switching allegiances, Ms. Hauser attended law school at Florida State School of Law, where she served as a staff member for the Journal for Environmental Science and Land Use (article and notes editor). During her time at Florida State, Ms. Hauser used her limited spare time to garner some part-time experience at different law firms in an effort to get exposure to various areas of law. She worked for a criminal defense firm, a complex business litigation and antitrust law firm, the Florida Bar (Department of Legal Education), and an environmental, land-use, and complex business litigation law firm. She also was a member of LitiGators, a club specifically designated for UF alumni who attended Florida State for law school.

Legal Experience
Ms. Hauser joined the Ortiz Law Firm in 2016. As an associate attorney, Ms. Hauser handles the following areas of practice:

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability claims.
Personal injury claims, including slip and fall accidents, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, and wrongful death cases.
Long-term disability (LTD) claims.
ERISA actions.
With her Social Security practice, Ms. Hauser advocates for her clients in order to educate and guide them through the difficult disability process. She works to build the best, well-evidenced cases to give her clients the greatest chance of winning their claims. This includes thoroughly examining clients' medical records, drafting forms specific to her clients' conditions, handling initial clients' interviews, and appearing at hearings before administrative law judges. Ms. Hauser's prior experience appearing before the different administrative law judges gives her insight into the judges' expectations, their typical demeanor during a hearing, and what questions a client can expect to encounter during a hearing.

With her long-term disability practice, Ms. Hauser avidly fights to overturn a denial or a termination of long-term benefits. Ms. Hauser's experience with ERISA claims allows her to steer her clients through the heavily regulated ERISA requirements and procedures. During the administrative appeal process, Ms. Hauser completely breaks down the claim file, assessing the inherent strengths and weakness in the file. She helps clients prepare for any and all arguments and corresponding pieces of evidence the insurance company might use against them. She then analyzes the client's medical records, any medical source statements, attending physicians' statements, MRIs, echocardiograms, and any other form of medical treatment or diagnostic testing to thoroughly evaluate her client's various disabilities. Ms. Hauser then takes this thorough analysis to draft an administrative appeal, including extensive legal arguments and medical arguments to portray the severity of her clients' impairments on their ability to work.

Having focused on disability and injury for her entire career as an attorney, Ms. Hauser is well-versed in the ins and outs of navigating through the different disability and litigation processes.

Florida State University College of Law
Juris Doctorate, 2015

University of Florida
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Criminology, 2012