The Law Offices of Curtis S. Fallgatter, P.A. are located across the street from the Yates Building in the old Title and Trust Company Building on Forsyth Street.
WHERE WAS THE
OFFICE BEFORE?
“We were in the old Atlantic National Bank on the ninth floor,” said Fallgatter. “I bought this building in 1998 from Judge [Tyrie] Boyer and his son [who is now a judge].We renovated and did a fair amount of cosmetic work. The walls and floors were stripped and restored because they were dark and dingy.”
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BUILDING?
It was built in 1928, a year after the Florida Theatre. Marsh & Saxelbye, who also worked on the train depot, designed the three-story facility. The walls are a foot thick and there is a huge vault on the second floor that can be used as a bomb shelter.
The structure contains the original, functional elevators installed during construction.
WHO MAKES UP THE FIRM?
Fallgatter has two other attorneys in his office, Musa Farmand and William Roelke Jr., an independent contractor. He also employs paralegal Cynthia Houston, office manager Rachel Schwerdtfeger, receptionist Bonnie Hughes and three legal assistants, Teresa Kyle, Vanya Gwaltney and Rebecca Roberts.
WHAT IS THEIR NICHE?
Civil litigation, commercial litigation (such as business or contractual disputes), product liability, fraud litigation, personal injury and wrongful death, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, insurance claims and criminal defense of felonies and misdemeanors. “The firm is equally divided among these practice areas.”
WHAT CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASES DOES THE FIRM HANDLE?
Drug offenses, domestic violence, theft, appeals, juvenile, white collar crimes, probation violations, assault, sex crimes, DUIs, worthless checks and military defense can all be handled by the staff.
WHY HE TURNED DOWN A SCHOLARSHIP TO COLUMBIA
“I had an undergraduate degree in math [from the University of Oklahoma] with no interest in becoming a lawyer,” recalled Fallgatter. “I took the LSATs, which piqued my interest in law school, so I applied to a few. I went to Columbia for the weekend. I got a motel on 14th Street and left all my clothes in my 1964 Chevy. At home, you could leave your stuff with the windows rolled down and no one would take it. My car had been broken into and everything had been taken. The second day, they stole my license plate. Back in the 1970s, things were a little more rugged [in Harlem]. I wasn’t ready for the big city.”
WHERE DID HE EVENTUALLY GET HIS LAW DEGREE?
At his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma. Farmand is a graduate of the University of Florida and Roelke attended Cleveland State University.
QUICK RESUME
After serving in the Navy JAG program, Fallgatter served 17 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the last 13 of which he functioned as chief assistant. After that, he was employed at Kirschner, Main, Petrie, Graham & Tanner before hanging his own shingle in 1995. In 1996, Fallgatter was presented with the Victim’s Rights Award by Mayor John Delaney and then-president of the City Council, Eric Smith.
DID HE OPEN THE PRACTICE ALONE?
“Guy Bond was my partner when I started the firm. He was a transactional lawyer. He moved out to the beach about two years later with some other attorneys. I continued the firm and moved to this building.”
THE SKINNY ON THE REST OF THE STAFF
Farmand joined the firm four years ago from a firm in Orange Park. Previously, he was practicing with Smith, Hulsey & Busey. He is the father of six children. Roelke has a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from Western Maryland College and one in biomedical sciences from Hood College. He worked as a research scientist at the National Cancer Institute and was subsequently employed as a microbiologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Roelke clerked for a federal judge before he began to work for Fallgatter.
WILL THE STAFF GROW?
“Probably. Our criminal practice is very active. My expectation is to bring another attorney or two on as our practice grows. It’s sort of a weekly topic. It’s more a question of when and who. We try to run the firm more like a family. The lawyers are not better than the secretaries. We’re all equals. I copy, type and file. Some attorneys feel like since they went to law school that all of a sudden they’re more important than anyone else. We want people that recognize the importance of a team approach and don’t talk down to others.”
DO YOU OR YOUR ASSOCIATES HAVE ANY ASPIRATIONS FOR A JUDGESHIP?
“Not to my knowledge. I’ve got a firm to maintain and responsibilities here. I very much enjoy private practice. I left government practice with some trepidation. There I fought for the justice of the United States. Now, I fight for the justice of folks that hire us. I feel like I have the same job.”
— by Monica Chamness