Irina Prell-Spearing

About Prell Spearing Law Firm

Prell Spearing Law Firm is a boutique real estate, construction and business law practice serving Southwest Florida from offices in Cape Coral, downtown Naples and Sanibel, with a satellite office in Punta Gorda. The firm was founded by, and is owned by, attorney Irina Prell.

The work falls into two halves that feed each other. One half is getting transactions done properly the first time — purchase contracts, closings, deeds, entity formation, cross-border purchases. The other is dealing with what happens when a deal or a project goes wrong — construction defect and payment disputes, breach of contract claims, foreclosure defense and short sale negotiation. Handling both sides is deliberate: it is hard to draft a contract well without having litigated one.

What the firm handles

• Real estate contracts and closings — drafting, review, negotiation and representation at closing.
• Deed preparation — warranty, quitclaim, lady bird and life estate deeds, prepared to Florida’s execution requirements.
• Construction disputes and litigation — defect claims, delay claims, workmanship and Florida Building Code arguments.
• Billing disputes with contractors — overbilling, change orders, abandoned projects and lien issues.
• Foreclosure defense and short sales — including loan modification, short sale negotiation and deed in lieu.
• Business and corporate law — formation, shareholder and partnership agreements, and the sale of a business.
• Estate planning — wills, trusts, powers of attorney and keeping Florida property out of probate.
• FIRPTA — withholding and certification when a foreign seller disposes of US real property.

The full list is on the practice areas page, and common questions are answered on the FAQ page.

Where the firm practices

Most matters sit in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties. Lee, Collier and Charlotte are in Florida’s Twentieth Judicial Circuit; Sarasota is in the Twelfth. The firm can represent clients anywhere in the State of Florida, and much of the work is done without anyone having to travel.

Real estate representation by city: Cape Coral, Naples, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Venice and Sanibel.

Foreclosure defense by city: Cape Coral, Naples, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda and Venice.

A lawyer who has also been a broker and a builder

Irina Prell has been a Florida real estate broker since 2006 and earned a Florida general contractor’s license in 2007. As a contractor she completed more than 400 renovations and roughly 50 high-end custom new-construction projects — on Captiva Island and in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Marco Island, among others.

That background does specific work in a file. In a construction dispute it means the arguments are built on how a job is actually sequenced, priced and inspected — the Florida Building Code requirements, the customary trade practice, what a delay really costs — rather than on paperwork alone. In a transaction it means reading a contract the way the parties will have to perform it: disclosure obligations, inspection and financing deadlines, and the clauses that decide who carries the risk when something is discovered late.

Irina also holds a law degree and an accounting degree earned in Russia, an MBA completed in Florida, and a Juris Doctor from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She is a member of The Florida Bar. Her full biography and education are on her attorney profile.

Working with the firm

This is a small practice, and that is the point — the attorney who takes your first call is the attorney who handles your matter. There is no file being passed down to someone you have not met.

Consultations and closings can be handled in Russian as well as English. If that is what you need, start with the page for your area: Cape Coral, Naples, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda or Venice.

The firm also writes regularly about Florida property law — reassessment after a sale, seller disclosure, deeds, land trusts, quiet title and foreclosure procedure. Those articles are on the blog.

Offices and hours

• Cape Coral — 3729 Chiquita Blvd S, Cape Coral, FL 33914
• Naples — 405 5th Avenue South, Second Floor, Naples, FL 34102
• Sanibel — 1177 Causeway Blvd, Sanibel, FL 33957
• Punta Gorda (satellite) — 252 W Marion Ave, #1130, Punta Gorda, FL 33950

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Telephone +1 239-231-2222, email irina@spearinglaw.com, or use the form on the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the firm take matters outside Southwest Florida?

Yes. The offices are in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties, but the firm is licensed to represent clients throughout the State of Florida, and most transactional work can be handled without either side travelling. Litigation is filed in the circuit where the property or the contract requires it.

Can I be represented in Russian?

Yes. Irina Prell speaks Russian natively and holds a Russian law degree as well as a US one, so consultations, document review and closings can be conducted in Russian. Legal documents themselves are executed in English, which is what Florida recording and court filing require, and each one is explained in Russian before it is signed.

Can a Florida closing be handled if I am out of state or overseas?

Usually, yes. Documents can be sent for signature and, where the document allows it, executed before a notary where you are, or by remote online notarization. Some instruments have stricter formalities — a Florida deed, for example, must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and a notary — so the mechanics are set up in advance rather than on closing day.

What kinds of real estate disputes does the firm take on?

Contract disputes between buyers and sellers, failure to disclose claims, construction defect and delay claims, billing and change order disputes with contractors, title problems including quiet title, and foreclosure defense. Where a dispute can be resolved without litigation, that route is tried first, because in real estate the cheaper and faster outcome is usually the better one.