Steven L. Brannock coordinates appellate work in Holland & Knight's Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando and Lakeland offices. Board Certified in appellate practice by the Florida Bar, his experience includes litigating appellate matters in all five Florida District Courts of Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, five federal circuit courts of appeal, and the United States Supreme Court. He has handled appeals in numerous subject areas including antitrust law, admiralty law, commercial disputes, constitutional law, criminal law, death penalty litigation, family law, franchise law, intellectual property, insurance law, international law, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability and securities law.

Representative cases include a prior restraint case concerning a reporter's right to publish information regarding his testimony before a grand jury, Butterworth v. Smith, 494 U.S. 624 (Fla. 1990) (affirming 9-0 the reporter's right to publish); a complex construction dispute, ADF International, Inc. v. Baker Mellon Stuart Construction, Inc., Case No. 01-10601 (11th Cir. 2002) (reversing $11,000,000 verdict); a death penalty case examining the admissibility of the defendant's confessions, Smith v. Dugger, 911 F.2d 494 (11th Cir. 1990) (reversing conviction and remanding for new trial); a case raising an important issue of Florida Constitutional Law, Fuchs v. Robbins, 818 So. 2d 460 (Fla.2002) (denying standing to public officials attempting to challenge the constitutionality of statutes); a complex legal battle over the issuance of an injunction, Provident Management Corp. v. City of Treasure Island, 796 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 2001) (affirming a $2.9 million verdict); a family law case raising an important and novel issue concerning the right to "savings" alimony, Mallard v. Mallard, 771 So. 2d 1138 (Fla. 2000); bond validation litigation concerning Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, Poe v. Hillsborough County, 695 So. 2d 672 (Fla. 1997) (reversing trial court's refusal to validate construction bonds) and many others. See, e.g., Riley Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Anchor Glass Container Corp., 157 F.3d 775 (10th Cir. 1998); Fund for Animals v. Rice, 85 F.3d 535 (11th Cir. 1996) (rejecting environmental challenges to a Florida project); Arabian American Oil Co. v. Scarfone, 939 F.2d 1472 (11th Cir. 1991) (affirming multi-million dollar damage award); City of Gainesville v. State, 2003 WL 22052315, 28 Fla. L. Weekly S665 (Fla. Sept. 4, 2003) (reversing trial court refusal to validate bonds for a new stormwater system); In re Advisory Opinion to Governor re: Appointment or Election of Judges, 824 So. 2d 132 (Fla. 2002) (ordering election to proceed). Watson Clinic, LLP v. Verzosa,816 So. 2d 832 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (reversing trial court's refusal to award damages); General Dynamics Corp. v. Paulucci, 797 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (reversing verdict in alleged environmental contamination case); Hoechst Celanese Corp. v. Fry, 753 So. 2d 626 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (en banc court unanimously overturns an adverse 3-0 panel decision).

Mr. Brannock is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court, the Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Federal United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, and the Florida Supreme Court. His professional associations include membership in the Litigation and Antitrust Sections of the American Bar Association, the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers and Judges, The Florida Bar, and the National Health Lawyers Association.

Mr. Brannock is active in the Appellate Section of the Florida Bar. He is a member of its Executive Council and serves as chairman of the Appellate Section CLE Committee. He is also a member of the Florida Appellate Rules Committee which advises the Florida Supreme Court on proposed amendments to Florida's Rules of Appellate Procedure. He serves as chair of the Civil Rules Subcommittee of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Brannock is also a frequent lecturer on appellate topics. He participates annually in the teaching of the advanced appellate certification review course offered for attorneys preparing to take the Appellate Board Certification Examination.

Mr. Brannock is the author of two chapters on Florida appellate jurisdiction and procedure contained in the American Inns of Court four-volume Guide to Florida Trial and Appeal. Other recent publications include: "Confronting a PCA: Finding a Path Around a Brick Wall," 23 Stetson Law Review 367 (Winter 2003).

Mr. Brannock earned his B.A., with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa, in 1976 from the University of Florida. He earned his J.D., with high honors, in 1980 from the University of Florida College of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Steve.brannock@hklaw.com
Stetson University College of Law
1401 61st Street South
St. Petersburg, FL  33707
(727) 562-7870

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