MANAGING PARTNER
E. A. "Seth" Mills, Jr. (Managing Partner) born Mobile, Alabama, July 4, 1957; admitted to bar, 1982, Florida; U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida; U.S. Army Court of Military Review; U.S. Court of Military Appeals; 2008, Georgia; U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court. Education: The Citadel (B.A., with high honors, 1979); University of Florida (J.D., with honors, 1981). President and Chairman, Mills Paskert Divers. Named, Florida Trend Magazine's prestigious listing of "Florida's Legal Elite" and to Law & Politics' "Super Lawyer" listings for the State of Florida. Named, Law Politics' 2008. National Corporate Counsel "Super Lawyer" list. Member: The Florida Bar (Trial Lawyers Section), Hillsborough County and American (Member, Forum Committee on the Construction Industry; Chair-Elect of Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Litigation Section) Bar; The Georgia Bar; Surety Claims Institute; National Bond Claims Association; Gulf Coast Fidelity and Surety Institute. Fellow: American Bar Association's Young Lawyer's Division. [Capt., JA, U.S. Army, 1982-1986]. (Also at Atlanta, Georgia Office) (Board Certified Business Litigation Lawyer, Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education). Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Construction Litigation; Fidelity and Surety Litigation; Administrative Law; Complex Commercial Litigation; Professional Liability; Administrative Disputes; Construction; Financial Fraud; Director and Officer Liability; Fidelity and Surety Matters.Email: E. A. "Seth" Mills, Jr.
SHAREHOLDERS
Jeffrey M. Paskert (Shareholder) born Tampa, Florida, November 18, 1962; admitted to bar, 1990, Florida. Education: University of Florida (B.S., with high honors, 1986; J.D., with high honors, 1989). Member, University of Florida Law Review, 1988-1989. Instructor, Appellate Advocacy, University of Florida, 1989. Member: The Florida Bar (Vice Chair, Statewide Grievance Committee; Member and Newsletter Editor in Chief, TIPS Fidelity and Surety Committee); Hillsborough County (Young Lawyers Division Board of Directors, 1999) and American (Member, Business Law Section; Chair, Young Lawyers Division, 1997; Member: Litigation Section, Executive Council, 1998-2000; Tort and Insurance Practice Section; Young Lawyers Division, ABA, House of Delegates, 1997-2000; Forum on the Construction Industry; Standing Committee on Unmet Legal Needs of Children; District Representative, Florida, 1996-1997; Chair, National Conferences Committee, 1999-2001) Bar Associations; National Bond Claims Association; Gulf Coast Fidelity and Surety Institute (Founding Member). Practice Areas: Commercial; Construction; Fidelity and Surety; Contract Litigation.Email: Jeffrey M. Paskert
Brett D. Divers (Shareholder) born Tampa, Florida, November 8, 1966; admitted to bar, 1993, Florida. Education: Dartmouth College (B.A., 1989); University of Florida (J.D., with honors, 1992). Member: Hillsborough County (Trial Lawyers and Appellate Practice Sections) and American (Sections on: Litigation; Tort and Insurance Practice; Forum on the Construction Industry; Fidelity and Surety Law Committee) Bar Associations; The Florida Bar (Member, Trial Lawyers Section); National Bond Claims Association; Gulf Coast Fidelity and Surety Institute. Reported Cases: A&L Underground, Inc. v. City of Port Richey, 732 So.2d 480 (Fla.2d DCA 1999); David Boland, Inc. v. Transcoastal Roofing, Inc., 851 So.2d 724 (Fla. 2003). Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Construction and Surety; Litigation; Appellate Practice.Email: Brett D. Divers
James A. Black, Jr. (Shareholder) admitted to bar, 1967, Ohio; 1972, Florida. Education: University of Cincinnati (B.A., 1964; J.D., 1967). Member: Hillsborough County and American Bar Associations; The Florida Bar. (Also at Atlanta, Georgia Office). Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Construction Litigation; Surety Litigation; Creditors' Rights; Bankruptcy.Email: James A. Black, Jr.
Alberta L. Adams (Shareholder) born Orlando, Florida, April 29, 1970; admitted to bar, 1993, Louisiana; 1996, Florida; 2004, Mississippi. Education: Florida State University (B.S., Political Science, 1990); Tulane University of Louisiana (J.D., magna cum laude, 1993). Moot Court. Member, Maritime Law Journal, Tulane University of Louisiana, 1992-1993. Law Clerk, Central Staff, Louisiana Supreme Court. Author: "Elimination of Loss of Society Damages in General Maritime Law: Cater vs. Placid Oil Co.," Tulane Mar. Law Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2, Spring 1992. Member: The Florida Bar; The Mississippi Bar; Louisiana State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Construction; Fidelity and Surety Litigation; Bankruptcy.Email: Alberta L. Adams
Ty G. Thompson (Shareholder) born Tempe, Arizona, January 13, 1974; admitted to bar, 2002, Florida, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, and U.S. District Court, Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida. Education: University of Florida (B.S., Building Construction, 1996); Stetson University (M.B.A., 2002); Stetson University College of Law (J.D., 2002). Member: The Florida Bar (Trial Lawyers Section); Hillsborough County Bar Association; American Bar Association (Member, Forum Committee on the Construction Industry; Fidelity and Surety Law Committee). Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Construction Litigation; Surety Law; Collections.Email: Ty G. Thompson
Philip Keith Lichtman (Shareholder) born London, England, April 19, 1976; admitted to bar, 2001, Alabama U.S. District Court, Northern, Southern and Middle Districts of Alabama; 2003, Florida, U.S. District Court, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida; 2007, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit; 2008, Georgia and U.S. District Court, Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia. Education: University of Alabama (B.A., 1998); University of Alabama, School of Law (J.D., 2001). Member: The Florida Bar; Hillsborough County and American (Member, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee; Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Sections) Bar Associations; Alabama State Bar; Georgia Bar; Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute. (Resident, Atlanta, Georgia Office). Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Fidelity and Surety Litigation.Email: Philip Keith Lichtman
ASSOCIATES
Adam C. King (Associate) born Tampa, Florida, June 7, 1973; admitted to bar, 1998, Florida; U.S. District Court, Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. Education: Florida State University (B.S. in Finance, with honors, 1995); Wake Forest University School of Law (J.D., 1998). Member: The Florida Bar; Hillsborough County and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Construction Law; Fidelity and Surety; Commercial Litigation.Email: Adam C. King
Kevin M. Mekler (Associate) born Suffern, New York; admitted to bar, 2004, Florida. Education: Park University (B.S., Accounting and Management, cum laude, 2000); Stetson University (J.D., cum laude, 2004). Member: Hillsborough County, Florida and American Bar Associations. [U.S. Air Force, 1997-2001]. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Construction Law; Fidelity and Surety.Email: Kevin M. Mekler
Ryan M. Scully (Associate) born Houston, Texas, May 10, 1981; admitted to bar, 2006, Florida and U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida. Education: Florida State University (B.S., Management and Human Resource Management, summa cum laude, 2003; J.D., cum laude, 2006). Member: Hillsborough County and American Bar Associations; The Florida Bar; Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute. Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Construction Litigation; Surety Law.Email: Ryan M. Scully
Brandon J. Held (Associate) born San Leandro, California, December 23, 1979; admitted to bar, 2007, Florida. Education: University of Florida (B.S., 2002; M.S., 2002); Stetson University (M.B.A., 2003; J.D., cum laude, 2007). Member: Hillsborough County Bar Association; The Florida Bar; Fidelity & Surety Law Committee. Practice Areas: Construction Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Fidelity and Surety .Email: Brandon J. Held
Lila Haughey (Associate) born 1979; admitted to bar, 2007, Florida. Education: University of Notre Dame (B.A., 2001); University of Florida (J.D., 2007). Member: Hillsborough County and American (Fidelity and Surety Law Committee) Bar Associations; The Florida Bar. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Construction Litigation; Surety Litigation; Creditors Rights; Bankruptcy.Email: Lila Haughey