Paula Ferris
Associate
Miami Office
9300 South Dadeland Blvd., 4th Floor
Miami, Florida 33156
Paula Ferris is an associate in the Miami Hub of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., focusing her practice on insurance defense litigation, with primary concentration in personal injury protection (PIP), property damage, negligent security, and bodily injury claims. Ms. Ferris regularly manages complex litigation matters from inception through resolution, including strategy development, discovery coordination, depositions of key fact and expert witnesses, and comprehensive trial preparation.
With close to two decades of experience in the insurance litigation sector, Ms. Ferris has built a career defending commercial and residential entities throughout Florida's circuit and county courts. She is highly skilled in handling premises liability, insurance coverage disputes, and PIP litigation, and has successfully managed high-volume caseloads exceeding 300 active matters while maintaining a results-driven, strategic approach to case management. Her background includes extensive experience aligning litigation strategy with coverage positions, early case evaluation, and exposure mitigation.
Prior to joining QPWB, Ms. Ferris served as Of Counsel in a premises liability litigation unit, where she defended insureds against claims involving bodily injury, property damage, elevator accidents, negligent security, slip-and-fall incidents, sidewalk maintenance, and motor vehicle negligence. In this role, she collaborated closely with insurance carriers and adjusters, developed comprehensive defense strategies for mediation and trial, and achieved favorable resolutions through dismissal or settlement in the majority of her assigned matters within a single year.
Ms. Ferris also previously served as a Partner and Trial Counsel in a Personal Injury Protection department, where she was instrumental in establishing and growing the PIP practice in South Florida. As one of three partners leading the unit, she supervised associates, directed case intake and claim analysis, reviewed insurance policies for coverage applicability, and orchestrated litigation strategy through all phases of case progression. Her practice included frequent appearances in mediations, arbitrations, pre-trial conferences, and jury trials, as well as drafting and arguing dispositive and evidentiary motions.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Ferris spent more than 15 years as in-house trial counsel for a major automobile insurance carrier, where she litigated insurance coverage disputes and PIP matters across multiple Florida jurisdictions. In this capacity, she directed all aspects of litigation, from pre-suit evaluations and EUOs through trial execution. She successfully defended 15 of 17 civil jury trials to verdict as both first and second chair, managed extensive litigation teams, and argued numerous dispositive motions resulting in early resolution and reduced client exposure. She began her career as an Assistant State Attorney in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, prosecuting cases ranging from misdemeanors to life felonies.
In 2002, Ms. Ferris earned her Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she was inducted into the Order of Barristers, received the Minority Participation in Legal Education (MPLE) Scholarship, and was recognized for excellence in trial advocacy as a member of the Florida Bar Trial Team. She also received a Master of Public Administration from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, magna cum laude, from Florida Memorial University.
Admitted to practice law in the State of Florida, Ms. Ferris is a licensed Notary Public.
