J.D. Advisors

Nick Fox is a Seminole through and through, having earned his Bachelor's Degree in Finance in 2010 and a joint degree JD/MBA in 2013 from Florida State University. After graduating from FSU, Nick immediately began his legal career in Atlanta, GA. He practiced at a large national firm for approximately six years before transitioning his practice to another national firm in Buffalo, NY. At the end of 2020, Nick accepted an in-house role overseeing asbestos litigation nationwide for Mack Trucks, Inc., Volvo Group North America, LLC, and several other entities. Nick is located in Greensboro, NC, and his primary legal experience is in toxic tort/environmental litigation, regulatory compliance, and some product defect work. He is licensed to practice law in Georgia, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Celeste Gaines is a two-time graduate of FSU; she received her bachelor's degree in business management and Spanish in 2011 and her J.D. and Business Law Certificate in 2015. Gaines is a senior counsel, enterprise technology + sourcing transactions, at McKesson Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia. She began her time at McKesson as a staff counsel and has since been promoted twice, serving now as senior counsel. Prior to joining McKesson, she was an associate at a boutique firm, where she focused on commercial real estate and franchise litigation and practiced at a mid-size insurance defense firm, where she primarily litigated personal injury and construction defect matters. 

Alumni Mike Markham ('88) practices in Business Litigation and Bankruptcy Law. He practices with Johnson Pope remotely from Tallahassee and is available to talk with students about law careers in this field and job search strategies. 

Since graduating from FSU Law in 1988, he has practiced with the Johnson Pope firm in the Tampa Bay area. As a bankruptcy attorney, he has interacted with attorneys in various specialties all over the country. Throughout his career, he has mentored and interviewed scores of candidates for attorney positions and understands the hiring process and jobs available to law school graduates.

Preston McLane is a 2009 graduate of the FSU College of Law. Preston currently serves as a Program Administrator for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Resource Management, where he directs the state’s regulatory planning activities, rulemaking, and grants programs under the federal Clean Air Act.

Preston previously served as an Environmental Administrator and Deputy Director with the Air Division. Prior to joining DEP, he was an attorney practicing environmental permitting, water use planning and permitting, professional licensing, administrative law, and art and cultural resource law. In addition to his career in environmental regulation. He also has a Ph.D. in art history and served as the Director of the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts from 2018 to 2022.

Ben Odom has served as vice president of business and legal affairs for NASCAR since January 1, 2020. Odom provides NASCAR legal guidance in litigation, large transactions, corporate governance, and special projects. Odom began his career at International Speedway Corporation (ISC) in 2006, and from 2018 through the completion of the merger between NASCAR and ISC was vice president and deputy general counsel for ISC. At ISC, He was responsible for managing the company’s legal and risk management department, ISC’s board of directors, SEC filings, corporate governance, compliance, litigation, and mergers and acquisitions. Odom also serves as a board member for Cognitive Kinetics and CLASH Endurance. Odom graduated from Florida State College of Law in 2004.