by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Attorney W.O. “Bill” Birchfield, who spent two terms in the Florida House of Representatives, four years as a naval officer and has over four decades of legal experience, has joined the environmental law firm of Lewis, Longman & Walker.
“I’m expecting an opportunity to work with people who do the kind of work I do in a family-like atmosphere, who have pride in their work and a sense of community,” said Birchfield at his welcoming reception at The River Club last week.
In addition to serving for many years on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and the Jacksonville Port Authority, Birchfield has also been committed to the Jacksonville Health Education Program and the University of Florida Health Science Center and has served as president of Leadership Jacksonville, the Meninak Club, JCCI, the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair Association and the Child Guidance Center of Jacksonville.
“I think if you’re going to live here, you need to put something back,” he said. “Because of my days with JTA, I’m concerned about how we’re going to deal with transportation in the future, the tension between parking versus mass transit and the reality that someday the price of energy will go up. I think we need to look farther than a four-year term.”
Birchfield started his legal career in 1964 with a decade-long tenure at Milam, LeMaistre, Ramsay and Martin. He and his partners then formed Martin, Ade, Birchfield and Johnson, which dissolved earlier this year. Birchfield joined McGuire Woods, but the sheer size of the company was discomforting to Birchfield.
“I’m afraid I was not built to practice law with 650 lawyers,” he explains. “That was bigger than my hometown [Mayo, Fla.]. I can’t think of a finer group of people to practice with, but not all at one time.”
His experience includes mediation, eminent domain, governmental and land use law, complex commercial matters and environmental law. Land use and growth management will be the focus of his new position.
Birchfield earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Florida, but soon realized farming was not for him.
“When I was much younger I wanted to be a veterinarian but I couldn’t pass English,” said Birchfield, a native Floridian. “You have to be able to talk to the animals to get into vet school. At that time, Florida did not have a veterinary school so the opportunity to go to vet school was limited to 12 slots and the competition was very keen and I just simply couldn’t make the cut so I just continued and got my degree in agriculture.
“I learned in ag school that I would not be able to earn a living in farming.”
He replotted his course and put in a tour of active duty in the military. Upon discharge, Birchfield hit the books once again — this time in pursuit of a law degree.
After acting as legal counsel for six years, Birchfield was elected twice to the Florida House of Representatives, but don’t expect to see him running for office in the future.
“I’m having a lot of fun just like it is,” he said. “Looking back on my legislative career, I think being an advocate of no-fault insurance was probably one of the better things I did.”
If he were an elected official, Birchfield says he would ensure the funding and implementation of the Better Jacksonville Plan.
“[Mayor John] Delaney really seized the moment with the Better Jacksonville Plan,” he said. “The second issue I would work on is planning to be more inclusive so that more groups felt like they were included in the process — young people, black people, old people. We’ve gotten ourselves so vulcanized that we need to work on things we can strive for collectively that we can build some consensus around.”
For the present, Birchfield is content to stay out of the political arena and savor the rewards of his profession.
“No two days are alike, every day is a new day.”