Bob Butterworth to Receive Florida Bar Foundation’s 2014 Medal of Honor

Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, Fort Myers, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, FL – May 15, 2014 – Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is proud to announce that Robert A. Butterworth, of counsel in the firm’s Government Relations practice, has been selected to receive The Florida Bar Foundation’s 2014 Medal of Honor Award, the Foundation’s highest award.

Butterworth, who was voted the top attorney general in the nation for his accomplishments as Florida’s chief legal officer from 1987 to 2002, was a leader in the multi-state litigation against the tobacco industry, which brought $11 billion to Florida. He was responsible for the passage of numerous Florida statutes and was the impetus behind amendments to Florida's Constitution expanding open government to all three branches of government and reforming the state's antiquated Cabinet system.

Butterworth is renowned for his game-changing leadership of Florida’s Department of Children and Family Services, where he gave foster children a seat at the table, instituted unprecedented transparency and accountability and professionalized the department’s corps of lawyers.

He also became a go-to advisor for Florida governors in need of a troubleshooter. He was tapped to head the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the parent agency of the Florida Highway Patrol, to reform that police force and implement diversity within its ranks, and, again, to serve as interim mayor of a South Florida city plagued by political corruption. In addition, Butterworth has served as a county judge, circuit judge, prosecutor and Broward County Sheriff.

After leaving public office in 2006, he became dean of the College of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, where he worked to advance the science of jurisprudence and instill a sense of duty and service to the public in the school’s students, leaving his mark on future generations of lawyers. He is now of counsel with Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney ǀ Fowler White Boggs.

“Throughout his career Bob has set the highest standard of integrity not only for those in the legal profession, but for those who have worked with him in business and in the community,” said Rhea Law, chair of the firm’s Florida Offices. “We are proud to have Bob as a colleague in our firm,” she added.

Butterworth will receive the Medal of Honor on June 26 at The Florida Bar Foundation’s 38th annual reception and dinner, to be held in conjunction with The Florida Bar Annual Convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.

About The Florida Bar Foundation

The mission of The Florida Bar Foundation (https://thefloridabarfoundation.org) is to provide greater access to justice. The Florida Bar Foundation is the only funder linking 30 legal aid organizations in Florida to form a comprehensive, statewide legal services delivery system. Other Foundation programs include grants to improve the justice system, public service fellowships for law students, and loan repayment assistance for attorneys at its legal aid grantee organizations. Principal support for the Foundation’s charitable activities comes from the Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA) Program implemented by the Florida Supreme Court in 1981. Additional support comes from gifts by Florida attorneys, law firms, corporations, foundations and from other individuals.

About the Firm

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC (www.bipc.com), which recently merged with Florida-based Fowler White Boggs in March, has nearly 530 attorneys and government relations professionals practicing throughout the United States, with 18 offices in California, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. # # #