Class of 1986

View your classmates' news and accomplishments by selecting your graduation year! The most recent class notes entries appear first on each page. If you have anything that you would like to include as a class note, you may submit a class note online or contact Becky Shepherd.

Mary Ann Morgan has been honored with the William Trickel, Jr. Professionalism Award. This is the highest honor bestowed by the Orange County Bar Association. Recipients are nominated by their peers based on an attorney's commitment to both service to the community and to the profession, unwavering ethical conduct, courteous behavior, high moral standards, professional behavior, and having practiced law for 15 or more years. Posted 1.30.23

Roberta M. Truman passed away on January 16, 2022. While at FSU Law, Truman received the Book Award for Federal Jurisdiction in the Spring of 1985. She joined the Florida Bar in October 1986 and retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2012 with 22 years of government service. Posted 2.7.22

Robert Shearman was named to the 2022 Best Lawyers in America list in the areas of commercial litigation, and labor and employment litigation. Posted 9.1.21

 

Robert Shearman was named to the 2021 list of Florida Super Lawyers in the area of employment litigation defense. Shearman is a stockholder at Henderson Franklin in Fort Meyers, Florida. Posted 7.14.21

 

William "Billy" Buzzett is serving as chair of the FSU Presidential Search Committee. Buzzett is the current vice chair of the Florida State University Board of Trustees, on which he has served since 2015. He is currently a partner with the law firm Harrison, Rivard, Duncan & Buzzett. Posted 10.23.20

 

Robert N. Clarke, Jr. was re-appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to serve a third term on the Florida Second Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. Clarke is a shareholder at Ausley McMullen in Tallahassee. He is Board Certified in Business Litigation by The Florida Bar and also serves as an adjunct professor at FSU College of Law. Posted 9.14.20

 

Manuel Farach has been named the recipient of the 2020 Judge Edward Rodgers Diversity Award by the Palm Beach County Bar Association (PBCBA)’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion. Posted 8.20.20

 

Frank Sánchez is now co-chair of Holland & Knight's International Trade Practice. He will split his time between the firm’s Washington and Tampa offices. Before joining Holland & Knight, Sánchez was the chairman and CEO of CNS Global Advisors, providing strategic advice to companies and governments looking to expand in or resolve issues in foreign markets. Posted 7.21.20

Manuel Farach has been invited into and graduated from  Leadership Florida’s Executive Class 11. Farach is a member of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in Fort Lauderdale. Posted 3.13.20

 

farach_manny_web.jpgManuel Farach was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court. On July 12, 2019, the Commission elected Farach as vice chair for a one-year term. Farach is a member of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in Fort Lauderdale. Posted 9.3.19

 

farach_manny_web.jpgManuel Farach has been named to the 2019 Florida Super Lawyers’ Top 100 Lawyers lists for the state of Florida and the Miami area for the fifth consecutive year. He was recognized for being triple-board certified in appellate practice, business litigation, and real estate by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. Farach is a member of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in Fort Lauderdale. Posted 8.5.19

 

farach_manny_web.jpgManuel Farach has joined Florida Trend's 2019 Legal Elite Hall of Fame. He is a member of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in Fort Lauderdale, where he practices real estate law, business litigation and appellate law. Posted 7.8.19

 

Shearman_Robert_web.jpgRobert C. Shearman, stockholder at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. in Fort Myers, was named a 2019 Florida Super Lawyer. He is board certified in civil trial law and concentrates his practice in the defense of tort, civil rights, employment and real estate claims. Posted 7.8.19

 

Perkins_Mike_web.jpgMichael A. Perkins has joined Birmingham, AL based mediation firm The Neutral Solution. He previously served as corporate employment relations manager for Progress Rail, an international subsidiary of Caterpillar, handling employee and labor relations issues all over the country and mediating employment-related disputes Posted 6.25.19

 

farach_manny_web.jpgManuel Farach was selected to receive the 2019 Justice Anstead Award for The Florida Bar Board Certified Lawyer of the Year. The award recognizes exemplary professionalism, excellence, character and commitment to The Florida Bar’s certification program and to the practice of law. Farach is one of only 15 members of The Florida Bar who are simultaneously board certified in three practice areas: real estate law, business litigation and appellate law. He is a member of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in Fort Lauderdale, where he practices real estate law, business litigation and appellate law. Posted 6.6.19

 

Cox_Cynthia_web.jpgThe Honorable Cynthia L. Cox, of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Vero Beach, rotated from the felony to the family division. She is the circuit's administrative judge for the Family and Mental Health Divisions, and presides over the St. Lucie and Indian River County's Mental Health Courts, along with a family division assignment. She has been instrumental in the implementation of many of circuit's problem solving courts: Domestic Violence Diversion in 1999, Drug Court in 2002 and Mental Health Court in 2006. These programs have saved taxpayer dollars, enhanced public safety, and saved lives and families. Posted 2.19.19

 

Self_Floyd_web.jpgFloyd R. Self, first certified as a state and federal government and administrative practice attorney in July 2008, has been recertified through July 2023. Also, effective January 1, 2019, he became an equity partner with Berger Singerman LLP, where he continues his state and local government regulatory practice in the firm’s Tallahassee office in the energy, telecommunications, water, and technology sectors throughout Florida and the south. Posted 2.5.19

 

Beatty_Gary_web.jpgGary D. Beatty, who retired in 2017 from the 18th Circuit State Attorney's Office, has been appointed adjunct professor of Trial Advocacy at the Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando. Posted 1.17.19

 

Jane B. Ohlin co-authored the textbook, Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Law: A Preventive Approach (Eighth Edition), in July 2017 with Sten T. Sliger ('94). They received the 2018 Textbook Excellence Award by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. Ohlin is the director of strategic development at the FSU Dedman School of Hospitality. Posted 4.12.18

Gary D. Beatty received the Norm Wolfinger Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the improvement of justice and civil rights. Beatty retired last summer after an accomplished 30-year career in the Brevard County State Attorney Office. He was the prosecutor in more than 150 jury trials and is widely recognized to be an expert in search and seizure law. Posted 2.5.18

cox_cynthia_web.jpgThe Honorable Cynthia L. Cox, of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Vero Beach, was selected to attend the prestigious National Computer Forensic Institute in Hoover, AL in November 2016. At the Institute, the Secret Service shares its forensic knowledge to help judges and law enforcement understand, collect and use digital evidence. Posted 12.7.17

 

judge-jeffrey-p-bassett_web.jpgThe Honorable Jeffrey P. Bassett won a race to keep his seat on the Kitsap County Superior Court in Port Orchard, WA on November 8, 2016. He is the Department Five judge for a four-year term until the next election cycle. Bassett acts and directs in community theatre, and is an active foster parent. Posted 12.7.17

 

Gary D. Beatty was elected president of the Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB), a 501(c)(3) international charity founded by veterans of the Vietnam War. The TLCB raises private donations which are used to build schools, water purification systems, and develop self-sustaining agri-business, in impoverished rural regions where members served during the war. Beatty served as a medic with USAF special operations at a classified base in northeast Thailand. He will retire from the Brevard County State Attorney Office this year. Posted 12.6.17

farach_manny_web.jpgManuel Farach, a member of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC in Fort Lauderdale, has been named chair of the American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section's Real Property Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He was recognized on the Florida Super Lawyers' Top 100 Lawyers lists for Florida and Miami. He also was elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. His admission to the organization reflects his extensive experience and distinguished practice focused on both transactional and litigation real estate matters. Posted 9.5.17

 

judge-jeffrey-p-bassett_web.jpgThe Honorable Jeffrey P. Bassett has been appointed to the Kitsap County Superior Court. He has a solo practice in Bremerton, WA, where he focuses on child dependency law. Posted 6.2.17 (Correction from spring 2016 magazine, incorrectly listed as Jeffrey C. Bassett, Class of 1976)