With nearly 100 years of combined legal experience and reputations for excellence, diligence, integrity, and professionalism, Lawson’s founding shareholders formed Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC at the beginning of 2023 with the shared vision of establishing Florida’s premier litigation and appellate law firm, capable at the outset of successfully handling high stakes matters and cutting-edge legal issues for a diverse client base.
Founding Vision
Elite Legal Talent and Small Firm Value
100% of our lawyers practiced at an AmLaw 200 Firm, clerked for a federal judge or Florida Supreme Court Justice, and/or graduated in the top 10% of their law school class. The firm is carefully adding elite legal talent while staying lean and keeping overhead low.
Experience & Results
As detailed further in our Practice Area descriptions, Lawson’s lawyers have combined decades of experience in handling appeals in state and federal court and in litigation practice areas, including complex business disputes, construction, environmental and regulatory litigation, personal injury, mass tort, and class action defense, and white-collar criminal defense. The firm’s government contract lawyers also stand ready to help our clients successfully navigate every stage of the contracting process.
Our Mission
Lawson Huck Gonzalez was built on a simple idea: that clients should be able to find the caliber of legal talent associated with the nation’s largest firms, delivered with the focus, efficiency, and value of a closely held partnership. We solve complex business disputes, handle the full range of civil litigation, guide businesses through complicated regulatory environments, and practice regularly before the Florida Supreme Court and all six District Courts of Appeal — always with our clients’ business objectives at the center of the strategy.
Our Philosophy
Not every victory happens in a courtroom. We prepare every matter to be tried, and that readiness is precisely what allows us to resolve disputes early and favorably when that serves the client best. We measure success by outcomes, not billable motion — protecting our clients’ relationships, reputations, and economic value, and bringing cases to trial when a fair resolution cannot be reached.
Our Culture
We are, genuinely, a partnership. The firm was founded on true collaboration and equal opportunity — a place where every attorney is given the same platform to build a career and share in the firm’s success, and where we promote and celebrate one another from top to bottom. That culture is not incidental to our growth; it is the reason for it. It is why accomplished lawyers leave the largest firms in the country to join us, and why the firm has grown from four attorneys at its founding to one of Florida’s fastest-rising litigation practices.
Our Growth
From its first official day of operations on February 3, 2023, Lawson Huck Gonzalez has grown quickly and deliberately across Florida.
February 2023 – The firm opens in Tallahassee and Miami, founded by retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson with Paul C. Huck, Jr. and Jason Gonzalez.
2023 – Former Second DCA judge Samuel J. Salario, Jr. and a founding-year team join to build the practice.
March 2024 – The firm opens its Orlando office as shareholder Michael Kelley joins to lead the new location.
April–July 2025 – The firm launches its Miami office in Coral Gables under Harold “Ed” Patricoff and adds shareholders across offices; the roster reaches roughly 25 attorneys.
May 2025 – Firm alumnus Ray Treadwell is appointed to Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
February 2026 – Angela C. de Céspedes joins in Miami as the roster surpasses thirty attorneys.
2026 – Josh Webb joins in Tampa with Chambers USA recognition, and the firm elevates a new class of shareholders from within.
June 2026 – Michelle Montanaro, with the firm since day one, is promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
For the complete record of the firm’s milestones, hires, and recognitions, visit our News & Press page.
Our attorneys have a track record of success and our firm is dedicated to serving each client skillfully and efficiently; to giving the best possible advice; and to obtaining the best possible result in every matter on which we are engaged.
CALL US
(850) 825-4334 (Tallahassee)
(305) 845-1000 (Miami)
(407) 710-9950 (Orlando)
(305) 845-1000 (Miami)
(407) 710-9950 (Orlando)
info@lawsonhuckgonzalez.com