Our Team – For the Military – Khawam Ripka LLP
BREAKING NEWS: You can now file a claim for sexual assault while on active duty in the military, as per the recent 9th Circuit Court decision. Call us today for your free consultation!
BREAKING NEWS: You can now file a claim for sexual assault while on active duty in the military, as per the recent 9th Circuit Court decision. Call us today for your free consultation!

Our Team

OUR VISION

OUR MISSION

At Khawam Ripka, LLP, our mission is to help active-duty, and recently active-duty military, win compensation for military medical malpractice that happened when seen by a military physician or military medical personnel.

A recent change in the law means it is now possible to file a claim with the federal government for medical military malpractice.

Please read below to discover more about our team:

Overview And Experience

Commitment

At Khawam Ripka, LLP, we are committed to helping active-duty and recent active duty military personnel get the compensation they deserve for military medical malpractice.

Experience

Collectively, the attorneys at Khawam Ripka, LLP have decades of experience in medical malpractice and related legal cases. We bring our experience to your case to help you secure justice.

Focus

When we work with you, we pursue your case aggressively with total focus. Our goal is justice for you and your family.

Practicing law is not about winning.
It's About Justice.
It's About Finding The Truth

Judge Sarah L. Hart

Natalie Khawam

Esq, MBA, MS

Natalie Khawam is an experienced attorney, entrepreneur, and volunteer. She founded the highly-regarded Whistleblower Law Firm in Tampa, Florida, after working in both the Federal government and private sector for over 15 years.

Ms. Khawam graduated from Georgetown Law School and has an M.B.A. from the Fox School of Management at Temple University.

She has also been a volunteer with the Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay and has won the Pro Bono Honorary Award from Georgetown University. She also holds an MS degree.

She is passionate about serving our Veterans, fighting for justice, and seeking the truth in all matters. Ms. Khawam practices Federal law, with a focus on whistleblower laws.

Ms. Khawam brings her passion for helping military personnel plus her extensive experience to the firm.

Email:

[email protected]

It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do.

Edmund Burke

Alan Ripka

Esq, Senior Partner

Mr. Ripka, a renowned trial attorney, is senior partner to the firm. He is admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of New York and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He holds various pro hac vice appointments, including in New Jersey, California and Florida. He began his legal career as a criminal prosecutor at the District Attorney’s office for Kings County. In 1992, he began in civil litigation, where he continues today, and has had New York State’s highest verdicts for the past five years.

Mr. Ripka currently practices in the areas of Medical Malpractice, Mass Tort, Products Liability, Consumer Fraud and General Negligence. He has tried countless cases to verdict and has recovered numerous awards over one million dollars. He is a member of the Medical Malpractice Hall of Fame, the American Bar Association and a former member of the Board of Directors for the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

Email:

[email protected]

Jack Kelly

Partner

Jack Kelly is a Partner in the McPherson Group‚ LLP and a highly regarded adviser on the management of public policy risk to national and multinational corporations.

Previously‚ he has served as a political aide to two U.S. Presidents‚ served in staff positions with Congress and in the New York and Federal courts. For 28 years until his retirement‚ Mr. Kelly served in active and reserve components of the United States Army and he was the commander of a Special Forces unit. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit. From 2004 until 2018 he served as a member and Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Committee on National Cemeteries and Memorials.

Presently, he serves as member of the U.S. Advisory Committee for Arlington National Cemetery, the Army Distaff Foundation, the Advisory Council on Graduate Studies and Research for the University of Notre Dame, and the Fordham Law School Advisory Board on Corporate Compliance and Ethics. An avid runner he has successfully completed a number of marathons including the New York‚ Marine Corps and Boston marathons.

Email:

[email protected]

Megan Stayskal

Office Manager

Megan Stayskal is an experienced professional who applies her natural business sense in her role as office manager of Khawam Ripka LLP. Megan overseers all day-to-day administrative functions and operations of the firm, and is completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Studies and Support with a concentration in Paralegal Studies from Purdue University.

Megan was born and raised in San Jose, California, is a proud mom of two little girls, and spouse to Sgt. Richard Stayskal whom the military medical malpractice bill is named after. Prior to joining the firm Megan attended nursing school until Richard was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.

When she is not supporting the firm and her family, she is zealously advocating for the rights of our nation’s military service members.

Stephanie Shepherd

Attorney

Stephanie Shepherd is an experienced medical malpractice attorney. She has been in private practice for 15 years and developed a diverse skill set. She is excited to put her knowledge and skills to use representing military service members.

Ms. Shepherd also devotes pro bono hours to representing victims of rape and domestic violence in her home state of West Virginia.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, running, and tackling home improvement projects.

Sophia Choti

Intern

Sophia Choti is a current student at Florida Atlantic University, where she is studying for her undergrad degree. Sophia is from a small town in New Jersey called Delaware Township, where she lives with her parents, her older brother, and grandparents.

Sophia is an avid equestrian, where she spends majority of her time when she is not working with the firm. She travels all over the country with her horses competing during the summer and resides in Wellington Florida for the winter competitions. When Sophia is not riding, she also enjoys skiing and spending time with her family and friends.

She has been an intern with the firm since November 2021, learning and gaining knowledge and experience first hand, working with clients and the other lawyers on the team. After her time at FAU Sophia plans to go to law school and to start her career in law. Sophia has a passion for helping others and helping people receive the recognition they deserve, making Law a great career choice for her.

Email:

[email protected]

Babu Uthaman

CFO

Babu Uthaman is the Chief Financial Officer of Khawam Ripka, LLP and has been with the firm since the very beginning. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the States of New York and California.

Mr. Uthaman is also an Enrolled Agent with the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Uthaman has a Master’s Degree in Accounting from India and has several years of financial reporting and tax accounting experience.

Email:

[email protected]

Darik Knutsen

IT director

Darik Knutsen has over 15 years of professional IT experience. A graduate of Northwestern University, he began his career while still in college as a consultant for the Kellogg School of Business. Post graduation, he worked as the senior network architect for the Anesthesiology Department of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. After moving to New York City, he took a position with corporate IT consulting firms before breaking out on his own. He specializes in providing infrastructure, support, and security to law firms. He is also an accomplished classical singer, and devoted supporter of the Performing Arts. Security + Certified with CompTIA, 2017

An Important Change

A recent change in federal law means that active-duty military personnel can now file a claim with the federal government for military medical malpractice that occured after 2017.

Why It’s Important

You should not have to suffer due to mistakes made by military doctors when you were on active duty. Now you can get the justice and compensation you deserve.

Your Next Steps

If you believe you’re the victim of military medical malpractice, it’s important you contact us by calling 855-484-3645 or filling out the form here.

Watch how Attorney Natalie Khawam fought for a decorated Green Beret

You Deserve The Best

Over 30 Years of Law Experience
FREE CASE REVIEW

Free Case Review

Share your experience and we will call you
If you were Active-duty within the last 2 years, we can help.

Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Your privacy is important to Khawam Ripka, LLP and its affiliated companies (hereinafter collectively referred to as “we,” “us,” “our” or “Khawam Ripka, LLP”). Because your privacy is our concern, we have developed this Privacy Policy to inform you about Khawam Ripka, LLP’s privacy practices. This Privacy Policy covers how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, and store your information. The examples in this Privacy Policy are illustrative only and are not intended to be exhaustive.

INFORMATION COLLECTED

We use the term “Personal Information” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, telephone number(s), driver’s license number, occupation, date of birth, social security number, personal or business tax identification numbers, legal information (such as judgment, liens, bankruptcies, etc.), credit history, and medical information (such as your health status and treatment history). The information we obtain depends on the context of your interactions with us. We may obtain such information directly from you on our website (the “Site”) or by telephone, and/or from applications, contracts, documents and forms you complete or sign. We may obtain additional information about you or, with your authorization, about others who may have an interest in your insurance or annuity policy, from your insurance or annuity company, insurance producer, health care providers, creditors, credit reporting agencies, and from your representatives or advisors. We may also obtain information about you from public records and, with your authorization, from other persons.

We use the term “Anonymous Information” to mean any information that does not identify you, and may include, for example, aggregated demographic information and statistical information concerning how you and other visitors use our website (the “Site”).

USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use the Personal Information you provide for purposes of the transactions or information that you request. As permitted by law, or as authorized by you, we may share your Personal Information with affiliated and non-affiliated companies that provide services related to information or transactions you request, under the following additional circumstances: (i) for us to establish or exercise our legal rights or to defend against legal claims; (ii) in connection with a proposed or actual sale, merger, transfer, exchange or consolidation of Khawam Ripka, LLP, an affiliated company or any portion thereof; (iii) to secure or obtain services and/or advice from our attorneys, accountants and auditors; and (iv) to permit our affiliates to contact you about products or services. We may also disclose your Personal Information to others for other purposes, with your authorization or otherwise as required or permitted by law.

Maintaining the accuracy of your information is a shared responsibility. We maintain the integrity of the information you provide us and will update your records when you notify us of a change. Please contact us at the address or phone number listed below when information concerning you changes.

USE OF ANONYMOUS INFORMATION

We may share Anonymous Information with our partners and resources.

FORMER CONTACTS OR INQUIRIES

We treat information obtained from past contacts and inquiries in the same manner we treat information that we obtain through current or future contacts or inquiries.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

We restrict access to your Personal Information to our employees who need this information in connection with your current or future transaction(s) or to provide you information that you may request from us. We maintain electronic, procedural, and physical safeguards to guard your nonpublic information. We take precautions to protect your information, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While the computers/servers in which we store your Personal Information are kept in a secure environment, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

UPDATES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time. If our information practices change, we will post the changed policy to our website. These privacy principles do not constitute a contract, create legal rights, or supersede any preexisting agreements with clients.

“COOKIES”

We use “cookies” on this site. A cookie is a piece of data stored on a site visitor’s hard drive to help us improve your access to our site and identify repeat visitors to our site. For instance, when we use a cookie to identify you, you would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information on our site. Note that your browser settings may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” signal to websites and online services you visit. There is no consensus among industry participants as to what “Do Not Track” means in this context. Like many websites, Khawam Ripka, LLP currently does not alter its practices when it receives a “Do Not Track” signal from a visitor’s browser.

LINKING

Our Site may contain links to other affiliated websites. Because we do not control the content of websites linking to or from our Site, we are not responsible nor can we make representations regarding the content of those websites or their individual privacy policies. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website that links to or from our Site that collects personally identifiable information.