HCBA Lawyer Magazine No. 36, Issue 1 | Page 20

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Appellate Practice Section Co-Chairs: ­Dimitri­Peteves­ – ­Creed­ & ­Gowdy, ­P. A. ­ & ­Alison­Preston­ – ­Creed­ & ­Gowdy, ­P. A.
thesection’ s leadershiphasa fresh, buthopefully familiar, face.
Since leadership of the Section has changed hands more regularly in recent years, it has become tradition for the incoming co-chairs to recognize the service of the outgoing chairs and those continuing and to introduce themselves. 1 These days many precedents may beg challenge, but not this one.
On the contrary— I had the pleasure of serving in government with David Costello for nearly four years and of knowing him for longer; the Section could not have asked for a better leader during the last three years. But now David is passing the torch and working as counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner. Not to worry, he still works remotely
in Tampa and hits whiffle golf balls in his front yard in a Sisyphean effort to improve his game, to the delight of my black Lab-mix puppy while walking around the neighborhood. Please wish him well and thank him for his service when you see him.
Thankfully, the Section will still benefit from the experience and institutional knowledge that Dimitri Peteves gained in his first year as co-chair. After spending several weeks in Greece this summer getting married( congratulations!), Dimitri is back and ready for another year. Not only did I agree to work with him in this capacity, I also decided to practice law with him at Creed & Gowdy, P. A., despite banter about two section co-chairs from the same firm— based in Jacksonville no less.
Although our firm is based there, I am a Tampa native and, like Dimitri, work remotely here. I spent the last several years handling high-stakes appeals and critical trial-level work at the Florida Solicitor General’ s Office and now do similar work for private clients. I treasure this chance to serve and deepen relationships with our members.
That, however, is the least of what is relatively new in the Florida appellate world. Our Tampa-based Eleventh Circuit Judge Charles
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