Heather Lopez
M. Hayden Phillip
Rick Mercure
Carey Taylor
Mike Decembrino
Several Jacksonville law firms are beginning 2021 with new attorneys on their staffs.
• Real estate attorney Hunter Faulkner joined the Jimerson Birr law firm as partner.
Faulkner represents buyers and sellers in contract negotiations for the acquisition, sale and finance of residential and commercial real estate in Northeast Florida. His practice includes land use law, estate planning and corporate law.
A Navy veteran, Faulkner received his law degree from the University of Miami after graduating from the University of North Florida in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
He’s a member of the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association and the Jacksonville Bar Association.
The Rogers Towers law firm added two members to its Jacksonville office staff.
• Heather Lopez is a member of the firm’s Business and Tax Department.
She received her bachelor’s degree in marketing and history from Florida State University and her J.D. from Florida State University College of Law.
During law school, Lopez served as a judicial intern for 4th Judicial Circuit Judge Virginia Baker Norton in Jacksonville and was staff editor of the Florida State University Law Review.
• M. Hayden Phillip is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Department and Government and Regulatory departments.
He received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. from The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
During law school, Phillips was a notes editor of The University of Memphis Law Review.
Lopez and Phillips are members of the Jacksonville Bar Association.
Three associate attorneys joined Kubicki Draper’s Jacksonville office.
• Carey Taylor practices property and personal injury cases.
She graduated from Flagler College and the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
• Rick Mercure specializes in motor vehicle and premises liability matters.
After graduating from the University of Miami School of Law, he began his career as an assistant public defender and then was in private criminal trial practice.
• Jose Rosado practices general civil litigation.
Before joining Kubicki Draper, he also was an assistant public defender.
Rosado is a graduate of the University of Florida and Florida Coastal School of Law.
• Mike Decembrino joined Holland & Knight in Jacksonville.
A litigator who practices in state and federal courts, he focuses on business, insurance and contract disputes, as well as class actions across various industries, negligence and product liability.
Decembrino was a judicial extern to the U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan and 4th Circuit Judge Robert Dees.
He graduated second in his class at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and was a summer associate in Holland & Knight’s Jacksonville office for two consecutive summers.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard in the Jacksonville Division of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, has a vacancy for a temporary judicial law clerk beginning in April for a 13-week term with the possibility of extension.
The caseload in the jurisdiction is heavy, and the types of cases presented are varied, sometimes involving novel issues of law, according to the job posting.
Visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/flmd/jobs/2913153/temporary-law-clerk for salary and benefits information and to apply.
The Florida Bar has extended the 2021-22 Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Leadership Academy Class IX application deadline to Jan. 31.
It’s a multisession training program designed to assist a diverse and inclusive group of lawyers in becoming better leaders within the legal profession while enhancing their leadership skills.
The program is open to all Florida Bar members who are in good standing. In an effort to achieve diversity among the participants, qualified attorneys will be sought from different backgrounds, large and small law firms, the private and public sectors, different practice areas and different areas of the state.
There will be seven mandatory meetings, which will require up to 14 business days during the year including graduation at The Florida Bar’s Annual Convention. The proposed dates of each training session are included in the application. Continuing legal education credits are awarded for most sessions.
Visit https://www.floridabar.org/about/academy/#Apply to apply.
