WINTER 2016 INFLUENCE | 87 partner with a practice consisting of “highstakes litigation” and appeals, including complex regulatory matters, Kilman said. “I’m excited to return to the private sector,” Panuccio said in a June interview. “That was the plan all the time, but the governor kept giving me great opportunities, and I kept taking them. “Now I’m going to apply everything I learned about government and our economy in Florida to help clients with difficult issues.” Other members are: PAUL LOWELL. He may be a quieter member of Foley’s government practice, but he’s the technical whiz behind Foley’s Capitol efforts. A former senior staff member in the Florida House who oversaw a variety of policy areas including education, government operations, and health care, Lowell was also Bush’s chief health policy advisor. Legislators often asked Paul to stand nearby, prepared to assist with complex subjects before committees, Kilman said. ERIKA ALBA. She’s a trusted counselor to some of Florida’s most prominent political organizations, candidates, and businesses engaged in the political sphere. Formerly the chief legislative counsel and assistant general counsel for Fidelity National Financial, Alba also brings government experience, having served as assistant chief counsel for the California’s Office of Insurance Commissioner. JON YAPO. Always impeccably dressed, Yapo is “the guy everybody in the Capitol seems to know and like,” Kilman said. He’s built relationships with legislators throughout the state through his work during election seasons. He also maintains a network of relationships built while More White Shoes on Adams Street TALLAHASSEE HAS A HOST OF OTHER LOBBYING LAW FIRMS, ALL WITH THEIR OWN STAR POWER. TO NAME A FEW: AKERMAN The Miami-based law firm is now a juggernaut, with offices around the country. It boasts “significant strength in regulatory, governmental and appellate matters” in Tallahassee on its website. One of its faces in the Capitol every session is Richard Pinsky, the firm’s public policy manager. He’s not a lawyer, but has over three decades of lobbying experience, particularly in appropriations. And though not a lobbyist, state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Miami-Dade Republican, is of counsel with the firm, handling zoning, land use, and code issues, among others. In terms of Tallahassee connections, the firm also has attorney Joseph Hatchett, the first African-American appointed to the Florida Supreme Court. He went on to become a judge and then chief judge of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. COLODNY FASS With a 40-year history and a year-round office directly across from Florida’s Capitol, the firm’s executive and legislative lobbying team includes former Florida CFO Tom Gallagher, and Mike Colodny, former attorney for the Florida Senate and fourtime North Miami mayor. Other veteran lobbyists include Katie Webb, Trevor Mask, and Doug Bruce. It’s known for its top-rated insurance industry prowess and hosting of the annual Florida Insurance Summit that draws executives from around the globe. GUNSTER Florida’s business-oriented Gunster law firm has Lila Jaber, the former chair of the Florida Public Service Commission. This fall, she was promoted to regional managing shareholder, having been in charge of firm’s government affairs practice. She was appointed to the PSC, which regulates investor-owned utilities, by former Gov. Jeb Bush and served two terms. Last year, Gunster also hired J. Cameron Yarbrough as a government affairs consultant in its Tallahassee office. His experience includes legislative liaison for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and legislative affairs director for Department of Management Services. HOLLAND & KNIGHT Its Tallahassee lawyers and “policy advisors” represent clients in “health care, financial services, insurance, state and local taxation, public utilities, construction, education, transportation, and the environment,” its website says. Heavy hitters there include Mark Delegal, a prominent insurance lawyer-lobbyist, and lawyer-lobbyist Josh Aubuchon, who’s known for his advocacy of the state’s craft beer makers. Lobbyist Kimberly Case, former legislative affairs director for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, also is in the office. The law firm’s Florida Government Advocacy Team is co-chaired by former Gov. Bob Martinez of Tampa, a non-lawyer who also was U.S. drug czar under President George H.W. Bush. working as a legislative aide to state Rep. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican. CHRISTOPHER M. KISE. He’s served as Florida’s solicitor general, and has been a confidante and legal advisor to both Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist. Kise has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and has a statewide litigation and government affairs practice with an emphasis on energy, environmental, transportation and development issues. CHRISTIAN CABALLERO. A veteran of the Capitol, Caballero’s experience includes serving as Bush’s deputy chief Cabinet aide and chief of staff to the Department of Juvenile Justice. In his Cabinet role, Christian was Bush’s primary advisor during the acquisition of 74,000 acres by the state, then the single largest conservation land purchase in the state’s history. He later was a U.S. Presidential White House Fellow under George W. Bush, and went on to represent one of Florida’s first water farm projects. All that explains why Southern Political Report recently issued a peer-ranked survey placing Foley’s lobbying practice at the top of law firms with lobbying practices in the state. “There’s no doubt that the secret for Foley’s success is the caliber and quality of our people,” Kilman added.
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