Experience and Bar Admissions

I’ve been a licensed attorney and member of the Florida Bar since 2007. This membership qualifies me to appear as an attorney before any Florida court. I’ve also been admitted to practice before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the federal system.

Just before starting Lawton Law in November 2020, I served as a career staff attorney to Justice Alan Lawson of the Florida Supreme Court. Before that, I was a career staff attorney to Judge Stephanie Ray and a senior law clerk to Judge Joseph Lewis, Jr., of Florida’s First District Court of Appeal. I spent nearly four years at the supreme court and nearly ten years at the district court. During that time, I evaluated hundreds of appeals and extraordinary writ petitions from an objective perspective, providing legal research, writing, and recommendations to judges.  

Currently, in addition to owning and operating Lawton Law, I’m an appellate advocate, both for Lawton Law and in an “of counsel” role for The Brownlee Law Firm of Orlando, Florida. 

Throughout my legal career, I’ve been involved in professional organizations dedicated to enhancing professionalism and quality representation in the legal profession. These organizations include the following:

• First District Appellate American Inn of Court (member since 2012), in which I am currently a master member and regularly collaborate with other lawyers to develop and present continuing legal education;  
• Tallahassee Women Lawyers (member, 2009 to 2015, 2016 to 2017, and presently), where I have served in many leadership roles, including Board Secretary from July 2010 to June 2011, Chapter Representative to the Florida Association for Women Lawyers from July 2011 to June 2012, and the chair of various committees between 2010 and 2015;  
• Florida Association for Women Lawyers (member, 2009 to 2015, 2016 to 2017, and presently), where I served as the chair of the statewide awards committee from February 2011 to June 2012; and 
• Appellate Practice Section of the Florida Bar (member, 2013 to 2015, and presently). 

On October 1, 2021, at the invitation of the Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, I presented on appellate brief-writing to an audience of 165 attorneys.

Education

During law school, I was active on campus and beyond. Most notably, I was a teaching assistant in appellate advocacy for a semester, a two-year volunteer with Florida’s Guardian ad Litem Program, and a research editor for the Journal of Law and Public Policy. I also spent time working at a civil litigation firm, completed a semester-long judicial externship, and spent my last semester as a certified legal intern representing clients in family-law matters. 

I graduated the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law in 2007, with honors. Before that, in 2004, I graduated with honors from the Honors Program at the University of Georgia, earning B.A. degrees in Spanish and English.  

Interests and Personality

I enjoy a full life focused on family and service, both through my career and my relationships. I’m a proud aunt to fourteen nieces and nephews, two dogs, and at least six cats. I enjoy language—all language, written, spoken, sung, and signed. I mean everything about language, from delightful nuances in the meanings of words to the beauty of different dialects and the connection between linguistics and culture. I’m sometimes mistaken for the grammar police (only because I make a hobby of handing out helpful tips), and I practice conversational Spanish as much as possible. I love travel, live music, and—let’s be honest—watching Netflix.  

I live in Tallahassee, Florida, with my husband and our two quintessential cats, Oscar and Oliver. 

I have a goal to keep learning throughout my life, and ever since I was a child have lived by the words of Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” A similar lesson I absorbed in childhood and have held onto is the importance of reputation and the value of a good name. You can be assured that if my name is attached to a brief or any legal filing, I’ve taken care to ensure that it is something I can be proud of.