Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A.

Who?are?Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A.? We are a preeminent maritime and admiralty law firm with an international reputation for integrity, compassion and excellence. ? Our legal team has over 165 years of combined experience and has recovered more than $300 million dollars for clients who have been injured on cruise ships or on other vessels at sea*. ? Founded in 1971, our team is comprised of?14?full-time?maritime?attorneys and a complete support staff. We are regularly featured on international and national news programs for our expertise in the area of maritime law.

We are proud to announce Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. (LM&W, P.A.) has been named to Best Law Firms? in Admiralty & Maritime Law for 2025. LM&W, P.A. is the only admiralty and maritime firm representing injured passengers and crew that has received such an esteemed level of recognition for a decade. Not only has the firm been named to Best Law Firms? in Admiralty & Maritime Law, but the firm is recognized at the highest level of Tier 1, Nationally. Only 4% of firms in the United States are even considered for a Best Law Firms? ranking, highlighting the award’s prestige. Since 1971, our law firm has focused its practice nearly exclusive on Admiralty & Maritime litigation with a core focus on cruise ship passenger and crewmember injuries and assaults. We have successfully represented literally thousands of plaintiffs in cases against all of the major cruise lines, and have recovered nearly half a billion dollars on behalf of our clients. Learn more about this renowned award here: https://lnkd.in/dwxAcbhv

Maritime attorney, Jason Margulies, was featured in the Toronto Sun discussing the class action lawsuit that was filed last week after a passenger found a hidden camera in their cabin. The passenger was on a Symphony of the Seas cruise in February when she alleged that her cabin attendant, identified as Arvin Mirasol from the Philippines, accessed her room and taped a video camera containing a memory card in the bathroom. The passenger discovered the camera and reported it to the ship’s security. Mirasol was arrested when the ship returned to its port in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Mirasol was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The lawsuit states that the cruise line “knew about or should have known sexual assaults were reasonably foreseeable” due to previous reports of sexual assaults aboard its ships.

Our maritime lawyer, Jason Margulies, was featured in the New York Post after a passenger, a client of LMW’s, launched a class-action lawsuit against the company and its former crew member after as many as 960 people may have been victims of a hidden camera in a bathroom on board. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Symphony of the Seas passenger “Jane Doe” and “all other similarly situated passengers” in the Southern District of Florida last week. Its filing comes nearly a month after employee Arvin Joseph Mirasol of the Philippines pleaded guilty to producing?child pornography?and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. “Who knows how many countless numbers of pornographic images of these unsuspecting passengers will be circulating on the internet forever because Royal Caribbean failed to protect their privacy and allowed Mirasol to make these passengers victims,” said Margulies.

Our named partner and maritime attorney, Jason Margulies, was featured in Fox News discussing the class action lawsuit, filed last week in the Southern District of Florida, where we name Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and crew member, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, as defendants. Mirasol, who worked aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, recorded passengers without their knowledge. Law enforcement found numerous videos of children between the ages of 2 and 17 in various states of dress on his electronic devices, according to the office. But Mirasol's surveillance wasn't limited to children. The cruise line did not inform other passengers in rooms serviced by Mirasol between Dec. 1, 2023, and Feb. 26, 2024. Up to 960 passengers could have been filmed, the suit alleges. "Sexual assaults, including voyeurism, aboard cruise ships is at an all time high and needs to be addressed," said Margulies."Royal Caribbean became aware of this problem in March of 2023 when a hidden camera was found in a public bathroom on the pool deck of one of its ships, yet it has seemingly done nothing since then to protect its passengers from reoccurrences – like these instances which went on for nearly three months, over the course of 12 cruises, and involved up to 960 passengers including many children."

Maritime attorney, Michael Winkleman, was featured in Miami New Times discussing a Royal Caribbean passenger suing the cruise line and a former crew member after the employee allegedly hid a camera in her cabin's bathroom. The suit alleges that?Royal Caribbean "knew or should have known sexual assaults were reasonably foreseeable" in light of previous sexual assaults aboard its ships. "Royal Caribbean became aware of this problem in March of 2023 when a hidden camera was found in a public bathroom on the pool deck of one of its ships, yet it has seemingly done nothing since then to protect its passengers from reoccurrences,"?said Winkleman. "Who knows how many countless numbers of pornographic images of these unsuspecting passengers will circulate on the internet forever because Royal Caribbean failed to protect their privacy and allowed Mirasol to make these passengers victims."

Our maritime expert, attorney Michael Winkleman was featured in Newsweek discussing the class action lawsuit that was filed on Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of a passenger, identified only as Jane Doe, and "all similarly affected passengers" against Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. (RCCL) and Arvin Joseph Mirasol. Mirasol, a former stateroom attendant on Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in August after pleading guilty to producing child pornography. In a statement to?Newsweek, attorney Michael Winkleman, representing the plaintiff, emphasized the significance of the case, calling it "extremely important." "Incidents of sexual assault, including voyeurism, aboard cruise ships are at an all-time high and demand urgent attention," Winkleman said. "Royal Caribbean became aware of this issue in March 2023, when a hidden camera was discovered in a public restroom on the pool deck of one of its ships. Despite this, the company has seemingly failed to take sufficient action, allowing incidents to continue for nearly three months across 12 cruises, affecting up to 960 passengers, including numerous children."

Our named partner and maritime expert, Jason Margulies, was featured in USA Today discussing a passenger of Royal Caribbean International who is suing the company and a former crew member, accusing the employee of secretly placing a camera in her cabin bathroom. ? The class action lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday, represents the guest—referred to as Jane Doe—and "all other similarly affected passengers." According to the lawsuit, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a former stateroom attendant, secretly recorded images of the guest while she was undressed and engaging in private activities during a February cruise on the Symphony of the Seas. ? Mirasol was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in August for recording guests, including children, with hidden cameras while they were naked. He still faces additional video voyeurism charges in Florida. ? “If you're a company that's looking out for the best interest of your passengers, and aren't acting in your own financial interests, then you would certainly be telling all these people that they could be potential victims, right?” said our named partner, Jason Margulies, whom is representing the plaintiff. “I mean, that's the humane thing to do.”

Our maritime expert, attorney Michael Winkleman, was featured on NBC 6 discussing Royal Caribbean facing legal trouble after passengers filed a lawsuit over hidden cameras placed in state rooms by a former employee. That employee, Arvin Mirasol, has since been fired and is now serving prison time but passengers say the cruise line could have done more to protect them. “This is already a known industry problem and not just hidden cameras being an issue and it’s happened on virtually every other cruise line but also rapes and sexual assaults at sea,” said Michael Winkleman, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in the case. Winkleman states Royal Caribbean should also be to blame. “I think Royal Caribbean had a moral obligation to notify all the passengers that likely could’ve been affected, they didn’t do that, now the notice is out there,” said Winkleman.

Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. was featured in the Miami Herald discussing the class action lawsuit?we?filed in?the?Miami federal court against Royal Caribbean Cruises and Arvin Mirasol, a former Royal Caribbean crew member. Mirasol placed hidden cameras in passenger cabin rooms and recorded children and adults while they undressed. The lawsuit comes less than two months after Mirasol was sentenced in Fort Lauderdale federal court to 30 years in prison on a charge of producing child pornography. ? The class action suit filed Tuesday by our firm alleges there could be “up to 960 passengers” who are victims. ? "In addition to looking for all the victims in the Mirasol case, federal agents are also seeking to thwart the spread of exploitative images. That’s one key reason for the spate of arrests of other crew workers,” said maritime expert, Jason Margulies. “There were few arrests before the ex-Royal Caribbean room attendant but a bunch after. The feds are trying to crack down on the circulation of the images.” ? The lawsuit also alleges that the “plaintiff lives in a constant fear, reasonably under the circumstances, that images of the plaintiff undressed while engaging in private activities are regularly viewed by others and used for illicit purposes.” ? “Since the victims were digitally recorded, the resulting media files are easily duplicated, uploaded to remote servers worldwide, disseminated via peer-to-peer sharing, and are subject to posting on the world wide web and the dark web, where voyeuristic recordings as these are traded, sold, viewed, and downloaded by all types of people,” Margulies said.