Practice Areas

Local Government

Our broad and diverse practice is particularly useful in effectively and efficiently delivering legal services to public clients. As a result, we enjoy longstanding relationships with many public clients, including:

• General Counsel for Bay Medical Center, a 400 bed public hospital and Bay County’s second largest employer (over 2600 employees), for 15 years
• Board attorney for the Bay County School Board, Bay County’s third largest employer for 25 years
• Attorney for the Bay County Tourist Development Council for 15 years
• City Attorney the City of Lynn Haven, Bay County’s second most populous city, for 6 years
• City Attorney for the City of Callaway, Bay County’s third most populous city, for over 20 years
• City Attorney for the City of Panama City Beach for over 20 years
• Attorney for the Panama City Beach Community Redevelopment Agency since its inception
• Attorney for the Beach Mosquito Control District
• General Counsel for Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District
• General Counsel for Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority since its inception

We also serve as general and issuer’s counsel to the First Florida Governmental Financing Commission, which named us general counsel after a state wide competitive bidding process. First Florida is a cooperative governmental organization created to provide competitive bond financing for its members, which include Broward County, and the cities of Boca Raton, Hollywood, Clearwater, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Gainesville.

Through our representation of three cities, several special districts and community redevelopment agencies, and other public offices, the Firm has acquired unparalleled knowledge and experience in the wide variety of laws and constitutional principals that apply to governmental bodies. Contracting by public bodies, ethics laws, gift laws, public records laws, public meeting laws, due process rights of public employees, sovereign immunity of public bodies and their officers and employees, police powers and more are all unique and specialized areas of the law that the Firm handles on a daily basis.

Douglas J. Sale leads the Governmental Practice Group. Franklin R. Harrison and Robert C. Jackson are also lead partners in the group. Kevin Obos, Amy E. Myers and Nicholas A. Beninate also practice in this area.

To request a consultation, feel free to use our contact form or call us at 850.769.3434.