Charles Alan Lawson (born May 12, 1961) is an American attorney and jurist who served as a justice on the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

from 2016 to 2022. He previously was a judge on the

Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. History The Fifth District Court of Appeal was created by the 1979 session of the Florida Legislature. The addition of the Florida Sixth District Court of Ap ...

. He is a founding shareholder wit
Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC
and handles civil and administrative litigation, appeals, and government affairs.

Biography

Early life and education

Lawson was born on May 12, 1961, in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. He received an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree, summa cum laude, in 1981 from

Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee State College (TSC) is a public college in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has accredited the school. Peak enrollment was fall 201 ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree, summa cum laude, in 1983 from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

. He received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

and summa cum laude, in 1987 from

Florida State University College of Law The Florida State University College of Law is the law school of Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. It is currently the highest ranked law school in Florida and is ranked in the top 40 best law schools in the United States. ...

Career

He served as an associate and partner at the

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 ...

Steel Hector & Davis Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with over 40 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C.–based Patton Boggs. It is one of the largest law firms in ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, Florida, from 1987 to 1995. He served as general counsel at Verses Wear, Inc., in 1996. He served as an Assistant County Attorney, Orange County, Florida, from 1997 to 2001. He served as a Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, from 2002 to 2005. He served as a Judge of the

from 2005 to 2016 and served as Chief Judge of that Court from 2015 to 2016.

Florida Supreme Court service

On December 16, 2016, Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

appointed Lawson to serve as a justice of the

, to the seat vacated by Justice James E. C. Perry, who retired on December 30, 2016. He was previously nominated by the

Florida Judicial Nominating Commission The Florida Judicial Nominating Commissions are 26 separately constituted bodies responsible for providing the governor of Florida with a list of possible appointments to the various state courts (the Florida Supreme Court, the five Florida Distr ...

. His appointment became effective on December 31, 2016, with his investiture ceremony occurring on April 5, 2017. Lawson was retained for a full six year term on November 6, 2018. However, on April 29, 2022 Lawson announced his imminent retirement, effective August 31, 2022."Justice Lawson retires", ''The Florida Bar News'', Vol. 49, No. 10 (October 2022). p. 1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, C. Alan 1961 births Living people 21st-century American judges Clemson University alumni Florida lawyers Florida state court judges Florida State University College of Law alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Florida Judges of the Florida District Courts of Appeal People from Lakeland, Florida Tallahassee Community College alumni