William McBride (May 10, 1945 – December 22, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he challenged Jeb Bush for Florida governor in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Bush won by a 56 to 43 percent margin, making him the first Republican governor of Florida to serve two terms. McBride had earlier defeated former

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

Janet Reno in the Democratic primary. McBride was born in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is a southeastern suburb of St. Louis. The population was 42,404 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populated city in the Me ...

and grew up in Leesburg, Florida. He graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1967. While at UF, McBride served as treasurer of Florida Blue Key and was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame. McBride served in the Marine Corps from 1968 to 1971. McBride was awarded a Bronze Star with a Valor device. Upon his return to the United States, McBride taught at Officer Candidates School at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Upon leaving the Marine Corps, McBride attended the University of Florida Law School. While studying law he fell under the tutelage of Chesterfield Smith, a powerful politically connected Florida attorney and then president of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

. McBride left law school for a time to serve as Smith's assistant at the ABA. After graduation, McBride joined Smith's

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

, Holland & Knight, where he rose in the ranks until becoming managing partner in 1992. McBride's tenure at the helm of Holland & Knight has been the source of some controversy. He is credited with having expanded the firm's size and power and with having helped to make it the seventh-largest firm in the U.S. by number of lawyers employed at the time of his retirement in 2001. At the time the firm ranked 21st in terms of revenue but 98th in terms of profit-per-partner, and had "become known as a reputable, but flabby, operation, long on underproductive partners and comparatively short on workhorse associates." McBride was the father of two children with his wife, Adelaide "Alex" Sink, a former statewide president for NationsBank (now

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

), former Chief Financial Officer of Florida, and 2010 Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida. Since 2003, Bill McBride was partner with the law firm of Barnett, Bolt, Kirkwood, Long & McBride in Tampa. He was also chair of the board of the

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

firm Hyde Park Capital Partners, LLC, with offices in Tampa and

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. McBride was a member of the American Law Institute and was a member of the board of directors of the Warrington College of Business Administration's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Florida. McBride was named Mr. Leesburg High while still a student. He attended Boy's State while in school and ran a successful campaign for governor at the event. McBride died on December 22, 2012, after suffering a heart attack while vacationing with his family in Mt Airy, North Carolina.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Bill 1945 births 2012 deaths Florida Democrats Florida lawyers People from Belleville, Illinois Spouses of Florida politicians United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War Military personnel from Florida University of Florida alumni Holland & Knight partners Members of the American Law Institute Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers