Two former Holland & Knight partners, Michael Abel and Dan Bean, struck out on their own and are opening Abel Bean Law, with offices Downtown at Bank of America Tower, a few floors below the Holland & Knight’s space.
Abel is a past president of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and current chair of the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Grievance Committee.
Bean is a past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association and curent president of the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association.
The firm will specialize in civil litigation and offer general counsel services to small and medium-size businesses.
Students from LaVilla School of the Arts visited the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse last week to present a collection of their work to the federal court.
The paintings, 25 created and donated by the students, have the theme “iconic landmarks in America.”
The collection was accepted on behalf of the court by U.S. District Judges Marcia Morales Howad and Timothy Corrigan.
Each student received a certificate of appreciation and several spoke to their peers, parents and court staff to explain the inspiration behind their paintings.
The paintings will be permanently displayed in public areas throughout the courthouse.
Sam D. Smart has joined Boyd & Jenerette as an associate attorney, practicing auto liability defense, general litigation and insurance defense.
She attended Boston University, where she worked as the school’s mascot while attending classes.
After graduation in 2009, she enrolled at Florida Coastal School of Law. While in law school, Smart was a Certified Legal Intern with the Public Defender’s Office.
After her admission to the Bar, she worked for the 4th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office from 2012 to 2014.
The city issued a permit for the $365,941 build-out of 7,677 square feet on the 17th floor of SunTrust Tower at 76 S. Laura St. for the Spohrer Dodd law firm. Dav-Lin Interior Contractors is the contractor.
The law firm is moving from 701 W. Adams St.
Managing partner Steve Browning said the lease is about to expire after 17 years at the Elkins Constructors Building in LaVilla.
The new office space is schedued to be ready for move-in by the end of July.
The city issued a permit for the $480,500 build-out of new offices for the Edwards & Ragatz law firm.
In September, E&R Salisbury Properties LLC partners Thomas Edwards Jr. and Eric Ragatz bought a three-story, 43,000-square-foot office building at 4401 Salisbury Road for $2.3 million.
The second floor is being renovated for the firm. Crabtree Construction Co. is the contractor.
Edwards & Ragatz will move from Beachway Road in St. Nicholas this summer.