Matthew A. Smith

Kimberly Hogan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Kimberly, who practices law in Tallahassee, Florida, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kimberly is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area. Kimberly (Kimmy) is a native Floridian, and grew up in Tallahassee. She attended Maclay School from...

Lawrence E. Sellers Jr. practices administrative and governmental law, with a concentration in environmental and land use matters. He regularly provides advice on permitting and enforcement matters involving a variety of federal, state, regional and local administrative agencies. He has substantial experience in administrative law, including rulemaking, adjudicatory hearings and appellate review. For more than 25 years, he has represented clients before the Florida Legislature, primarily on e...

Michael Larson advises clients on a range of complex environmental law issues arising in litigation, regulatory, and transactional matters. In addition to handling environmental disputes, he routinely assists clients with the cleanup, reuse, repurposing, and redevelopment of Brownfields and other contaminated or distressed properties. Michael guides clients through obtaining environmental regulatory closure of contaminated sites and also advises on environmental permitting and compliance matt...

Bruce D. Partington is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law. Bruce D., who practices law in Pensacola, Florida, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Bruce D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

A former deputy general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (now DEP), Silvia Alderman is the chair of Akerman’s Water Task Force, a team of multidisciplinary legal professionals and consultants advising on the regulatory and environmental challenges facing our clients. Recognized by Chambers USA , Silvia is praised for her “wealth of knowledge representing utilities” as well as being “very strong on administrative law.” Silvia represent...

Mike McLeod was born in 1954 in Andalusia, Alabama. He graduated from Auburn University in 1976 and from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1979. At Alabama he won every award available for written briefs and oral argument during the annual Law Day Moot Court competition. After completing law school he returned home to Pensacola, Florida where he worked as an assistant public defender before joining the firm in 1984, becoming a partner in 1985. Since 1987 he has been local counsel for...

Chris Barkas is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Tallahassee, Florida office where his practice focuses primarily on the defense of commercial vehicle claims, employment-related claims, professional liability claims and retail/premises liability claims. An AV-rated attorney through Martindale-Hubbell, Chris has practiced law in the North Florida area for more than 20 years and has conducted jury trials in many of the counties in the area. In the early part of his career, Chris was an Ass...

JAMES W. GUSTAFSON JR . is a Shareholder with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A., a member of the firm’s executive committee, and the managing partner of the firm’s Tallahassee office. He is a sixth generation Florida native who served with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and studied at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, before becoming a trial lawyer. Mr. Gustafson is a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a worldwide organization limited to ju...

Brian A. Crumbaker is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Public Finance Law. Brian A., who practices law in Tallahassee, Florida, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Brian A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David C. Ashburn represents a diverse array of clients in their dealings with numerous state and federal regulatory agencies. David’s understanding of governmental regulatory processes has also enabled him to provide counsel to buyers and sellers of health care related businesses, and to lenders and private equity groups that finance those transactions. The many types of health care, managed care and insurance related clients David has represented include the following: Ambulatory surge...