The Anthony Reeves Experience

Starting a business is often painted as exhilarating—a moment filled with hope, ambition, and the thrill of stepping into the unknown. My day one of opening my law firm was all of those things, but also surprisingly mundane and sobering. At the time, I was living in Kissimmee, FL, and my previous corporate office was in Tampa. For two years, I commuted an hour and a half daily to Tampa. But now, my journey led to Bartow, FL, a rural town nestled in Polk County, about an hour away. Unlike the bustling interstates to Tampa, the drive to Bartow required navigating winding back roads through quiet, unfamiliar landscapes. The solitude of that morning drive stuck with me. For the first time, I was no longer a part of a team, a company, or an established system. I was on my own. There were no coworkers, supervisors, or departments to lean on—just me and the dream of building my own law firm. Arriving at the office—a space I was sharing with another law firm—felt surreal. It was a modes...

Many people ask me about the process of closing my practice and starting a new job in the spring of 2017. It was undoubtedly an exhilarating time, but I must admit it was also quite chaotic. From the moment I received the formal job offer to my reporting date, there was a mere three weeks. During those three hectic weeks, I had to wrap up ongoing cases, shutter my practice, list my house for sale, and embark on a move spanning six states. Looking back, I realize that the chaos stemmed from my reluctance to plan ahead. When I was in the application phase for my new job, deep down, I wasn't entirely confident I would secure it. This lack of certainty led me to procrastinate planning until I had a concrete offer in hand. In hindsight, I had a good year, if not more, to prepare for the possibility of this job change that would necessitate closing my practice. My wife had urged me on multiple occasions to start planning, but my fear of negatively impacting my business held me back. Cons...

In 1998, I embarked on my law school journey at Florida State University with trepidation. I had elevated the idea of attending law school to almost mythical proportions. In my mind, only the best and brightest earned the opportunity, and I didn't consider myself among them. Lingering scars from my undergraduate years left me feeling unworthy of the school's offer. As I arrived in the fall of 1998, I carried the belief that I would likely fail each semester. Uncertainty clouded my mind about when it would happen, but I assumed that eventually, the truth would surface. In my eyes, I didn't belong there, and this feeling was a natural consequence of the school's perceived mistake in admitting me. To my astonishment, after each semester, I remained. Moreover, I was doing reasonably well. While I can't take full credit for my success, I can honestly say that forming relationships with fellow students played a significant role. Studying with groups was a novel concept fo...

R.P.O.V. Counter point to “Talking to your parents about assets, part 2:  Talking about assets”   One of the hard parts about talking to your parents about assets is the finality of the discussion.   The realization that you are talking about leaving things behind when they are gone.   We all know that we will eventually leave this world.   However, when having the conversation about leaving this world can make a lot of people feel very uncomfortable.     Which brings me to the uncomfortable conversation about what your parents have.    If your parents have accumulated a lot of things over their lifetime, taking the time to figure out what they have can be overwhelming to your parents.    It is not that they do not want to itemize everything.  It is just that it forces them to have to stop, take a moment, and truly think about everything they own or are in possession. ...

  The Debate over who can tell who what to do R.P.O.V. Counter point to “Telling your parents what to do”   Two problems tend to present themselves when you find yourself in the position of having to tell your parents what to do: 1)       They may only do the portions THEY want to do 2)       They don’t think YOU should be telling them anything   Therein lies the debate.   The first part lies in the difficulty in telling anyone what to do who have historically told you what to do.  If you grew up in a household where you were raised to respect your parents, having tell your parents to do anything can be a nightmare.    You are already conditioned to respect them so you may feel like telling them to do something is disrespectful.  In addition, they also feel that you are not in the position to tell them what to do since you are their child.  So, when faced with this rea...

If you have ever lived in a city or an urban area, you will find very often that you will have access to pretty much anything you need.  Not only will you have access to the things you need, you will probably have multiple options to choose.  But what does it mean when you live in a rural area and your options are fairly limited? When I used to practice law, I practiced in a rural area. Not only was it rural but the nearest major city was about 35 miles away.  One of the things that I did when I was practicing law was that I wanted to go to the places where my clients received their treatment.   At the time I was practicing, most of the people that I represented relied heavily on Community Health services or various State or County health departments.  These Community Health provides for Physical and Mental Health care are the life blood of many communities.   However, these resources can be limited. Access to Community Healthcare can be challenging.  ...

The reality of the Health Scare 07/09 by The Honorable Anthony Reeves | Legal : Have you ever had an abnormal lab report? How about your doctor telling your that you need to see a specialist? How about being told that you need to get a CAT scan, Biopsy, or XRay? Any of these things or all of things can make you feel scared about your health. Here are some things to think about when faced with a health scare

  Once I became an attorney, I was surprised by the number of times people asked me if I knew about a type of returning to refer to them. Most of the time, it would either be criminal or family law. And most of the conversations usually would start out with just giving me an overview of their case just so that I can get an impression about whether they had a good case or if I could give them some feedback. I usually didn’t mind. The conversation would take a unique turn when the person would ask me if I knew anybody who handles the particular area of law they needed assistance with. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know a few attorneys here and there but the thing that always caught my attention was that they wanted a pitbull to represent them in their case. Even when I told them that most State Bar require attorneys will take your case they have to provide competent representation, there was this expectation that if I referred them to someone, they wanted me to ensure that I connect him...

  Preparing to go before a judge is not as easy as it looks. There is a lot of time and energy that goes into making sure that your case is presented in a way to can get you the outcome that you’re looking.  Unfortunately, one of the wild cards is how a judge will respond to what you’re trying to do. It’s not the judge looking to cause harm to your case. It’s just that, as an attorney, you’re preparing for all contingencies because you just don’t know which way the court may go on a particular issue. And it’s the unknown that can be very nerve-racking.  When an attorney has committed themselves to representing you, they know that it is in your best interest to be prepared for every possible scenario that may present itself. Which means, they may have to pivot on a moment's notice if a judge rules a particular way or a judge asking particular question. This can be even more nerve-racking if the judge asks a question that they did not anticipate or rules in a manner that yo...

  ‘Do I need an attorney??’ In the video below, I talk about what happens when you think you need an attorney.   When I was practicing law, that question was a common question.  I would usually get it when I was screening a potential client.   At some point, usually because they weren’t completely sure about hiring an attorney, the person would ask this or some version of this question.   You may be surprised at my response (and I have said this to quite a few people over the years): “Do you NEED an attorney?  No, in most cases, you don’t need an attorney.   But ask yourself this question.  If the transmission in your car breaks down, do you need a mechanic?    Now, if you know how to repair cars, the answer may be no.   Now, if you don’t mind doing the research to figure out how to repair the transmission, the answer may be no.   However, if you have never repaired a car or worked on a transmission, yo...

  There are some organizations that you become a part of that leave a lasting impact on your life. In recognition of pride month, I would be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to mention an organization that served as a significant chapter to my life. In this organization is the miracle of love, Inc. It still amazes me how I managed to become affiliated. In 2006, I was a young associate in a law firm and I was looking for opportunities to be active in various communities with the sole purpose of trying to find future clients.   During my search, Hilda, one of my classmates from law school and a Human Resource Director for a 501(c)(3), HIV/AID Service Organization in Orlando, Florida called the ‘Miracle of Love, Inc.’( https://miracleofloveinc.org/ ), called and asked if I would be interested in serving on the Miracle of Love Board of Director.  The focus of the organization was to provide services for those affected by HIV and AIDS with an emphasis on African Am...

  If you are in a situation where you believe filing a law suit is the best course of action, you are not alone.  Millions of people utilize legal processes and procedures in an effort to obtain an outcome to improve their situation.   However, merely saying “I’m going to sue you” is not enough when it comes to protecting your right.  Law suits are complex processes that requires a variety of different steps, procedures, and protocols that must be followed.  In addition, using the legal system does not guarantee the outcome you are attempting to obtain.   Make sure you take the time to properly educate yourself so you don’t find yourself frustrated with the process of going through the legal system

Saying “I’m going to sue you” is very easy.  But once you are committed to suing someone, are you really ready for everything that is involved in suing someone?   If it’s an individual, it may be fairly straight forward.  But what if you are suing a company, a major corporation, or the government?  Do you know WHO you should be suing?  Do you know the right court to sue them?  Do you know what you want to get out of the law suit?   Do you have the money to sue them? All of these things are things you should honestly consider when you have made the decision to sue someone.  Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t think of these things until they find themselves in court trying to figure out why their case is being dismissed. Take the time to educate yourself about what it means to sue someone so you don’t find yourself stressed because you didn’t take the appropriate steps to sue.

  No one plans to ever use the legal system. No one plans to hire an attorney. There are things that happen during the course of someone’s life that we expect to have happen on a regular basis. But involving ourselves in a lawsuit is not one of them. So if you find yourself in a position where you have to engage the legal system, which may include hiring an attorney, be prepared for your life to change. When I speak of changing in your life, I’m not talking about a situation where you have to change who you know, where you are, or even other aspects of your life. However, depending on the legal situation you find yourself in, you may have to adapt your life to some new circumstances that you never intended. All of a sudden, things that you took for granted like your personal information, privacy information, individuals that you interact with, or even certain day-to-day actions may be impacted by your legal case. And this is not necessarily a comfortable situation for some people. ...

  One of the difficult conversations to have with people as an attorney is getting them to understand the consequences of their actions.   When people hire an attorney, they often think the attorney will show them ‘legal ways’ to get over or get away with something. Attorneys are bound by both ethical guidelines (ethical rules) and legal responsibility (legal malpractice). As such, they have to be very careful in the advice they provide.  Also, attorneys have an ethical duty to keep you informed.  And part of that ethical duty is help you understand the consequences of your actions if you are trying to  “RUN CLEAN” Or “RIDE DIRTY”! Now, for those of you who are confused by the phrase “RUN CLEAN or RIDE DIRTY”, here is what I mean.   At some point, when I say “RUN CLEAN”, you may be faced with a situation where taking a particular course of action is advisable (from a legal standpoint) but not beneficial (from your standpoint).   However, when...

  I hate family law.  There, I said it. Oh, and I hate Criminal, Immigration, Probate law, and ohh, why go on any further! It’s not that it’s hard.  It’s just that it’s……..Oh, who am I kidding.  It’s ALL HARD!  LOL! But that’s not the reason why I hate it. When attorneys go to law school, we are trained how to think.   We all have foundational courses we take (i.e. legal writing, contracts law, property law, torts, civil procedure, constitutional law, and criminal law).  However, these foundational courses serve as a tool to help us readjust our mindsets.  We aren’t being taught THE LAW.  We are being taught how to ENGAGE the law.   We are learning the Rules of Engagement.  We are learning how to view things through a very different set of glasses than the average public.  In other words, as I said before, we are trained to think. Once we get admitted to practice law, we learn something fairly quickly.  In any area of law,...