In elections for The Florida Bar’s governing board, 18 incumbent members of the Board of Governors were re-elected to additional two-year terms without opposition; three new board members were elected without opposition; and there is one contested election for Seat 2 in the 13th Circuit.
In addition, one member was elected without opposition to president-elect designate: Michael Fox Orr of Jacksonville.
Ballots for contested elections will be emailed or mailed to eligible voters by March 1, 2025. Any runoff elections will be conducted in April 2025. New terms will begin in June 2025.
Incumbents re-elected without opposition for additional two-year terms, 2025-27, are:
- David W. Grimes, Second Circuit, Seat 1
- Braxton Gillam IV, Fourth Circuit, Seat 2
- Gordon J. Glover, Fifth Circuit, Seat 1
- Sandra Fascell Diamond, Sixth Circuit, Seat 2
- Stephanie M. Marchman, Eighth Circuit, Seat 1
- Diego “Woody” Rodriguez, Ninth Circuit, Seat 2
- Nikki L. Simon, 11th Circuit, Seat 2
- Jorge L. Piedra, 11th Circuit, Seat 4
- Leslie B. Rothenberg, 11th Circuit, Seat 6
- Sabrina Vora-Puglisi, 11th Circuit, Seat 8
- Jesse R. Butler, 12th Circuit, Seat 1
- Manuel Farach, 15th Circuit, Seat 2
- Michal J. Gelfand, 15th Circuit, Seat 4
- Brian H. Koch, 17th Circuit, Seat 2
- Lorna E. Brown-Burton, 17th Circuit, Seat 3
- Gregory S. Weiss, 19th Circuit, Seat 1
- Duffy Myrtetus, Out-of-State, Seat 1
- Eric L. Meeks, Out-of-State, Seat 3
- Jacqueline Simms-Petredis replacing retiring board member J. Carter Andersen in the 13th Circuit’s Seat 3.
- Shawn D. Smith replacing retiring board member Wayne LaRue Smith in the 16th Circuit’s Seat 1.
- Aron J. Gibson replacing retiring board member Adam G. Rabinowitz in the 17th Circuit’s Seat 5.
Nominating petitions are still being accepted to fill two more vacancies on the Board of Governors created by the resignations of Fourth Circuit board member Michael Fox Orr (The Florida Bar’s president-elect designate) and 17th Circuit board member Hilary Creary (who was appointed general magistrate for 17th Circuit Domestic Relations Division). Both board positions are for the remainder of two-year terms. Those offices commence on June 27, 2025, and end June 19, 2026, or until a successor is elected and qualifies.
Pursuant to Rule 2-3.9, nominating petitions for the two additional vacancies must be filed with the Office of the Executive Director on or before 5 p.m., ET, Tuesday, December 31.
The Board of Governors is the governing body of The Florida Bar with exclusive authority to formulate and adopt matters of policy concerning the activities of the state bar, subject to limitations in the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The Florida Bar is an arm of the Florida Supreme Court charged with lawyer regulation and other professional activities. The 52-member board is composed of:
- The president and president-elect (one-year terms);
- The president and president-elect of the Young Lawyers Division (one-year terms);
- Representatives elected by members of the Bar from each of the state’s 20 judicial circuits;
- Four out-of-state representatives elected by members who reside outside of Florida;
- Two public/non-lawyer members appointed by the Florida Supreme Court. As of Dec. 1, The Florida Bar has 111,201 members, with 92,330 of those eligible to practice.