Alumni Reappointed to Florida Supreme Court JNC

Two alumni recently were reappointed to the nine-member Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission by Governor Ron DeSantis. Fred E. Karlinsky (’92) was reappointed for a term ending July 1, 2026. He has served on the commission since 2014, previously as co-chair and now as chair. Karlinsky is a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, practicing in the Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee offices. He is co-chair of the firm’s Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group. Karlinsky represents insurers, reinsurers, and a wide variety of other insurance-related entities on their regulatory, transactional, corporate, and governmental affairs matters. He is a recognized authority on national insurance regulatory and compliance issues and has held leadership positions in many insurance trade organizations. He also has led many industry-driven legislative and regulatory initiatives, and has spoken and presented to insurance executives and governmental officials all over the world. Since 2008, Karlinsky has served as an adjunct professor at FSU Law, where he teaches Law & Risk Management. He also serves as chair of the law school's Board of Visitors.

Heather L. Stearns (’02) was reappointed for a term ending July 1, 2024. She was first appointed to the commission in 2018. Stearns is president of LIBERTY Dental Plan of Florida, Inc., in Tallahassee. She oversees all lines of business for the Florida market. Stearns previously served as vice president of government relations for LIBERTY. Before joining the company in 2018, Stearns served as chief of staff for the Florida Department of Children and Families. She also worked for the Executive Office of the Governor of Florida as special counsel to the chief inspector general, deputy general counsel to the governor, and general counsel to the Division of Emergency Management.

Published on September 9, 2022