I graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1979. After completing a clerkship with U. S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges of the Middle District of Florida, I entered private practice with the Tampa law firm of Shackleford Farrior, Stallings & Evans, P.A. and later practiced with Shook Hardy & Bacon, where I concentrated in business litigation. I was honored to serve as Chair of the Business Law Section from 2003-2004 and am now retired from the practice of law.
What have you gained from your involvement with the Section?
I have immensely enjoyed my over 35-year association with the BLS. During my legal career, the Section not only afforded me the opportunity to stay current on developments in the law and enhance my expertise in business litigation, but also to create strong and lasting relationships with many other practitioners, judges, and law professors with similar interests in business law. Moreover, I have been most gratified to be involved in legislative efforts as well as in litigation on behalf of the Section that have improved the law, the rules of procedure, and the ethical standards for lawyers practicing in this state.
Which Committees/Task Forces have you serve on within the Section?
Prior to serving as Chair of the Section, I served as Chair of the Business Litigation Committee. I also was a member of the Restrictive Covenants Task Force that developed s. 542.335, Florida Statutes (1996), as well as a member of the Judgment Liens Task Force that under Professor Jeff Davis’ leadership drafted the new execution lien law passed during the 2000 legislative session. Just before I became Chair of the Section, I served as Chair of the Legislation Committee and worked with Judge Mike Williamson on the Budget Committee of the Section, which was responsible for addressing a crisis in the Section’s finances taking place at that time. After serving as Chair of the Section from 2002-2003, I have served as Vice Chair of the Financial Literacy Task Force, which was instrumental in the adoption of the mandatory requirement for courses in financial literacy in Florida public high schools, and served and continue to serve as a Co-Chair of the Chapter 48 Task Force, which was primarily responsible for the comprehensive statutory changes to the requirements for service of process in 2022, as well as for a 2025 glitch bill addressing that legislation. For the last several years, I served on the current Chapter 542.335 Task Force, that developed proposed legislation to amend the 1996 legislation on restrictive covenants and drafted position papers on the proposed FTC rule on noncompetition agreements and on the 2025 bill by the Florida legislature. Finally, I have served as a member of the Civil Rules Task Force that drafted several comments to the recent extensive changes to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure as well as on the Voluntary Trial Resolution Task Force, on which am currently serving as Vice-Chair.
What is your favorite memory from your term as Chair?
As I am sure is the case with many former Section Chairs, my favorite memory of my time as Chair was our Spring Retreat. The year I served as Chair, we went to London, where with the able assistance of the late Judge Bill Van Nortwick and his friend with the Lincoln Inn of Court, we were able to take an intimate and immensely informative tour of that institution. We also visited the London courts and took advantage of an evening dinner cruise on the Thames. Perhaps most enjoyable, however, was that I convinced my entire family (except my oldest daughter who was then off at college) to join us in London for the Retreat and for the week prior to make a private automobile tour throughout southwestern England.
What is something that will surprise our members to learn about you?
Most Section members may not be aware that I am not a native Floridian. I was born in Alabama, where my family had lived for many generations. My great-great grandfather was serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War when he was captured by Union forces. I have on my bookshelf at home a treasured memento of the time he spent during the rest of the war locked in a Yankee prison on the shores of Lake Erie — a dove of peace that he carved from a shell on the prison floor. Our Section lobbyist Doug Bell may be one of few who knows about my first job, at the age of 12, when I worked as a page in the Alabama House of Representatives in Montgomery. Buy me a drink, and I will tell you more about my memorable experiences working for that distinguished institution.