TAMPA – An attorney from the Tampa Environmental Practice of the law firm Greenberg Traurig started serving as a member of the Florida Bar’s State and Federal Government Administrative Practice Certification Committee on July 1.
Michael Cooke, along with the other members of the committee, will review applications for certification and consider challenges to certification examination results. The committee is also responsible for determining the criteria for certification.
The State and Federal Government Administrative Practice Certification Committee is one of 71 committees operated by the Florida Bar.
“Mike brings a broad perspective given his depth and breadth of legal experience,” David Weinstein, the Tampa managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig, told the Florida Record.
Cooke’s practice has concentrated on administrative law, especially environmental, utility and land use law. For three years, he managed air quality programs as Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection’s director of the Division of Air Resource Management. After his tenure working with air quality, he served as general counsel to the Florida Public Service Commission in Tallahassee. At Greenberg Traurig, Cooke has represented a wide array of clients in environmental regulatory matters.
“Each of these positions provides a unique perspective that Mike can bring to this committee,” Weinstein said.
Cooke is a certified expert in state and federal government and administrative practice, and said in a statement that he welcomed the opportunity to further develop the certification standards. Certification is the highest recognition of competency within an area of law issued by the Florida Bar, as well as the attorney’s commitment to professional and ethical practice.
Weinstein seemed optimistic about how Cooke’s new role with the bar would reflect on Greenberg Traurig.
“Service to the community and the bar is a core value of Greenberg Traurig,” he said. “Having Mike serve in this capacity furthers our goal of giving back to our community and profession.”
Greenberg Traurig is an international law firm that has collected accolades from sources like Law360, BTI Brand Elite Report and The Best Lawyers in America. The firm’s Tampa office, where Cooke works, serves a broad array of civil and criminal law in addition to environmental regulations, including class actions, intellectual property and mass tort.