florida access to civil justice commission short bios

FLORIDA ACCESS TO CIVIL JUSTICE COMMISSION SHORT BIOS
Hon. Jorge Labarga
Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Tallahassee
The Honorable Jorge Labarga is the chair of the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice.
He became the first person of Hispanic descent to lead Florida’s judicial branch of government
when he was sworn in as the 56th chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. He received his
J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. After spending 17 years in private
practice, he served as a 15th Judicial Circuit Court judge and on the Fourth District Court of
Appeal before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009.
Ramón A. Abadin
President-elect, The Florida Bar
Miami
Ramón A. Abadin is President-elect of The Florida Bar. A partner in the Sedgwick law firm, he
has tried cases in both state and federal courts in Florida representing multinational
corporations and insurance companies. He is a lifetime fellow of The Florida Bar Foundation
and a past president of the Cuban American Bar Association. He is a graduate of the Loyola
University New Orleans School of Law.
R. Alexander Acosta
Dean, FIU College of Law
Miami
R. Alexander Acosta is Dean of the College of Law at Florida International University. A native of
Miami, he was a law clerk for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., then a federal appeals court judge. He
served in three presidentially-appointed, senate confirmed positions and went on to become
the first Hispanic to hold the rank of Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He earned his law degree
from Harvard Law School.
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John A. Attaway, Jr.
General Counsel, Publix Supermarkets
Lakeland
John A. Attaway Jr. is the senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Publix Super
Markets Inc. He joined Publix in 1997 as corporate counsel to create Publix’s first corporate
legal department. Prior to joining Publix, he was a shareholder with Lane Trohn Bertrand &
Vreeland, P.A. He is a graduate of the Stetson University College of Law.
Hon. Jeff Atwater
Florida Chief Financial Officer
Tallahassee
The Honorable Jeff Atwater is Florida’s chief financial officer, state fire marshal and a member
of the Cabinet. A fifth-generation Floridian, he was elected to the Florida House of
Representatives in 2000 and to the Florida Senate in 2002. He was Senate president in 2008. He
earned his bachelor's degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Florida. His privatesector experience includes 25 years of community banking.
Martha W. Barnett
Attorney at Law
Tallahassee
Martha W. Barnett is a retired senior partner in the law firm of Holland & Knight. Her primary
areas of practice were administrative, governmental law and public policy. She was president of
the American Bar Association in 2000 and 2001 and was the first woman to serve as chair of the
American Bar Association House of Delegates. She is a graduate of the University of Florida
Levin College of Law.
Hon. Pam Bondi
Florida Attorney General
Tallahassee
The Honorable Pam Bondi, a native of Tampa, is Florida’s 37th attorney general. A graduate of
the Stetson University College of Law, she served as a prosecutor for more than 18 years. She
was awarded the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2011 for extraordinary service to Stetson Law
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and to the legal profession. She serves on the board of The Spring, Tampa’s domestic violence
shelter.
Senator Rob Bradley
Florida Senate
Orange Park
The Honorable Rob Bradley was elected to the Florida Senate in 2012 representing Alachua,
Bradford and Clay counties. A graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, he
previously was an assistant state attorney and special magistrate and was a member of the Clay
County Commission. He was named the 2014 Legislator of the Year by the Conference of
County Court Judges of Florida.
Hon. Nikki Ann Clark
Judge, First District Court of Appeal
Tallahassee
The Honorable Nikki Ann Clark is a judge on Florida’s First District Court of Appeal in
Tallahassee. Before her appointment in 2009, she was a circuit judge in Florida’s Second Judicial
Circuit for 15 years. Clark was on the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Families and
Children from 2004 to 2014, serving as chair from 2006 to 2010. She is a graduate of the Florida
State University College of Law.
Gregory W. Coleman
President, The Florida Bar
West Palm Beach
Gregory W. Coleman is president of The Florida Bar. A graduate of the Stetson University
College of Law, he has been practicing law in Palm Beach County for more than two decades.
He is a partner at Critton, Luttier & Coleman where he concentrates his practice in complex
commercial litigation. Active in professional associations throughout his career, he is currently a
director of The Florida Bar Foundation and a delegate to the American Bar Association House of
Delegates.
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Hon. Timothy J. Corrigan
Judge, U.S. Middle District of Florida
Jacksonville
The Honorable Timothy J. Corrigan has been a United States district judge for the Middle
District of Florida since 2002. From 1996 until 2002, he was a U.S. magistrate judge. He spent 14
years in private practice with the Jacksonville law firm of Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans and
Coxe. Corrigan received his law degree from the Duke University School of Law. He is a board
member of Daniel Inc., which provides services to at-risk children.
Jeffrey S. Craigmile
Chief Counsel, Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista
Jeff Craigmile is chief counsel for Walt Disney World Resort. He has worked as an attorney for
The Walt Disney Company for more than 23 years. As chief counsel, he is responsible for all
legal matters at the Walt Disney World Resort, the largest single-site employer in the United
States with more than 70,000 employees. He earned his law degree from the University of
Virginia School of Law.
Marshall Criser, III
Chancellor, State University System
Tallahassee
Marshall Criser, III, is Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. A former president of
AT&T Florida, he has served as chair of the Florida Council of 100, the Florida Chamber of
Commerce and Florida TaxWatch. He is presently on the Board of Directors of Enterprise
Florida. A Florida native, he graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in business
administration.
Hon. Linda Doggett
Clerk of Court, Lee County
Ft. Myers
The Honorable Linda Doggett is the clerk of the Circuit Court and comptroller for Lee County.
She is on the Board of Directors of the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers Association, serves
as chair of both the Technology Strategic Planning Committee and the Comprehensive Case
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Information Systems Committee, and is a member of the Pro Se Committee. She has a degree
in management information systems from Hodges University.
Thomas S. Edwards, Jr.
Attorney at Law
Jacksonville
Thomas S. Edwards, Jr. is the senior partner and a shareholder at Edwards & Ragatz in
Jacksonville. He is a past president of the Florida Justice Association. He currently serves as a
member of the Executive Council for The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section, on the board of
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and on the national board of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
He is a graduate of the Stetson University College of Law.
Ben Gibson
Assistant General Counsel, Office of the Governor
Tallahassee
Ben Gibson is an assistant general counsel for Governor Rick Scott. Before joining the
Governor’s Office in 2012, he was an attorney with the Florida House of Representatives in the
Office of the General Counsel and the Community & Military Affairs Subcommittee. He
represents the Second Circuit on The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors.
He is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law.
Hon. C. Robert Hilliard
Judge, Santa Rosa County Court
Milton
The Honorable Robert Hilliard has been a county court judge in Santa Rosa County since 2005.
Before his election to the bench, he was a Santa Rosa County commissioner. A graduate of the
Georgia State University College of Law, he is president of the Conference of County Court
Judges of Florida and is a member of the Florida Bar’s Vision 2016 Commission.
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James A. Kowalski, Jr.
Executive Director
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid
James A. Kowalski Jr. is the executive director of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. After graduating
from the University of San Francisco School of Law, he began his career as an assistant state
attorney in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, and later he was a civil trial attorney in Jacksonville
specializing in consumer protection litigation. He was a recipient of the Florida Bar President’s
Pro Bono Service Award in 2009 and 2012.
Dominic C. “Donny” MacKenzie
President-elect, The Florida Bar Foundation
Jacksonville
Donny MacKenzie is the president-elect of The Florida Bar Foundation. He is a partner and a
member of the litigation department at Holland & Knight in Jacksonville. He is the firm’s pro
bono partner for Jacksonville and was Holland & Knight’s most valuable partner in performing
pro bono services in 2006. He was honored with the 1997 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono
Service Award. He is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law.
Representative Charles W. McBurney, Jr.
Florida House of Representatives
Jacksonville
The Honorable Charles W. McBurney, Jr., represents parts of Duval County in the Florida House
of Representatives. He was elected in a special election in 2007 and has been re-elected four
times. Previously, he was an assistant state attorney and after that entered private practice. He
is a Florida native and graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Kathleen S. McLeroy
Attorney at Law
Tampa
Kathleen S. McLeroy is a shareholder with Carlton Fields Jorden Burt in Tampa, where she
represents creditors in disputes with commercial debtors. She is chair of the firm’s Pro Bono
Committee and is a past president and a former member of the Board of Directors of Bay Area
Legal Services. She is a past president of The Florida Bar Foundation and currently serves as co-
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chair of The Florida Bar Pro Bono Legal Services Committee. She is a graduate of the
Washington & Lee University School of Law.
Byron Cheney Russell
Chairman and CEO, Cheney Brothers Inc.
Riviera Beach
Byron Cheney Russell is the chairman and CEO of Cheney Brothers Inc., a food service
distributor in the Southeast for almost 90 years. For fiscal year 2014, Cheney Brothers exceeded
$1.2 billion in sales. He is the grandson of company founder Joe Cheney and worked for the
company as a buyer and warehouse manager before being named CEO in 1981. He is a
graduate of Stetson University.
Hon. Bertila Soto
Chief Judge, Eleventh Circuit
Miami
The Honorable Bertila Soto is chief judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. She is the first woman
and first Hispanic chief judge in the history of the Eleventh Circuit. She has served as a judge in
Miami-Dade County since 1997 when she was elected to county court. She was appointed to
circuit court in 2002. She spearheaded efforts to establish CourtCare – a child care program for
those who need to come to court but do not have access to child care – in the Domestic
Violence Division. She is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law.
Hon. Emerson R. Thompson, Jr.
Senior Judge, Fifth District Court of Appeal
Windermere
Emerson R. Thompson Jr. is president of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable
organization dedicated to providing greater access to justice in Florida. He has been on the
foundation’s board since 1995. He has served as a senior judge for the Fifth District Court of
Appeal since 2008. Before his retirement, Thompson served as a county, circuit and appellate
judge. He is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law.
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Robin Hassler Thompson
Attorney at Law
Tallahassee
Robin Hassler Thompson, of Robin H. Thompson and Associates in Tallahassee, consults with a
wide range of organizations including international public policy and human rights advocacy
groups. She led Florida’s first Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence from 1993-1998 and
has served on the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women. She graduated from
the Florida State University College of Law.
William A. Van Nortwick, Jr.
Attorney at Law
Jacksonville
William A. Van Nortwick, Jr. is a partner with Akerman LLP in Jacksonville where he is in charge
of the firm’s national pro bono program and a member of the appellate practice team. He
retired from the First District Court of Appeal in 2014 after serving as a judge for 20 years. He is
a past chair of the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services and formerly
served as president and member of the boards of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and Florida Legal
Services. He is a graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Gwynne A. Young
Attorney at Law
Tampa
Gwynne Young, a shareholder with Carlton Fields Jorden Burt in Tampa, served as president of
The Florida Bar in 2012-13. She handles commercial and business disputes, real property
litigation including title insurance and real estate matters as well as probate and trust litigation.
A member of the Board of Directors of the University of Florida Foundation since 2013, she has
also served in numerous leadership roles for local, state and national legal, educational and
community service organizations. She is a graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of
Law.
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