Gainesville’s Avera & Smith Law Firm Announces New Managing Partner, Partner & Associate Attorney
GAINESVILLE FL; June 1, 2021 – Longtime Gainesville-based law firm Avera & Smith has announced new senior management and personnel roles, including a long-planned transition from Managing Partner Mark Avera to new Managing Partner Dawn Vallejos-Nichols. Additionally, Mark Avera has passed the bar and obtained his license to practice law in North Carolina and will represent clients wrongfully injured in the state, as well as continuing with his busy schedule of Florida-based cases.
Vallejos-Nichols, a Partner at the firm since 2015, has been with Avera & Smith for more than 25 years. “Dawn is a respected leader with our firm, so this transition to Managing Partner is a smooth, natural step for her,” said Mark Avera. “We are fortunate to have such a gifted, thoughtful professional at the helm of Avera & Smith.”
Among her other responsibilities, Vallejos-Nichols plays a major role overseeing the firm’s tobacco litigation division. This includes multiple past case wins of tens of millions of dollars each, including $34.6 million for a Florida family against R.J. Reynolds. Some of these cases received national attention and set important precedents for all attorneys who battle the seemingly limitless dollars and resources that tobacco companies use in their efforts to deny victims who have suffered illness and death from the use of their products.
Vallejos-Nichols was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1994 after graduating with Honors from the now Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 1994. She also was appointed by then-Florida Senator Bill Nelson and Senator Marco Rubio to a series of terms on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, Northern Conference. Vallejos-Nichols has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association continuously since 2005, serves as the editor of its monthly newsletter, and was President in 2012-13. She currently serves on The Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the Eighth Circuit, as well. She holds lifetime memberships in the honor societies of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, and is a strong believer in giving back to the community, having previously served as a member of the Constituency Board for CARD, the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. She is presently the Chair of the Guardian Foundation, Inc., and additionally serves on the Board of Directors for Three Rivers Legal Services.
In another significant step, Jennifer Cates Lester, Bradford T. Willard and paralegal Shannon Dewey are bringing their fiduciary and commercial litigation practice to Avera & Smith. Lester, a former Partner with the Gainesville firm of Salter Feiber, joins the firm as a Partner. She is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Her expertise involves personal injury litigation, professional malpractice, commercial and fiduciary litigation. Lester’s background in civil litigation and insurance gives her special insight into personal injury, estate and trust litigation and professional malpractice cases.
Lester will continue to devote time to improving the legal profession and conducting seminars on trial practice. Lester also enjoys working with law students and has been an adjunct professor of Trial Practice at the now Fredric G. Levin College of Law. She strongly believes in giving back to the community and has been a certified Guardian Ad Litem since the early 1990s, and performs pro bono services for the Eighth Circuit Court Guardian Ad Litem program.
Bradford T. Willard joins Avera & Smith as an Associate Attorney. Willard, also formerly with Gainesville’s Salter Feiber law firm, has focused on commercial litigation, professional malpractice, fiduciary litigation, and high-end personal injury. He’s also handled white collar and criminal defense cases. Willard is an experienced criminal and civil trial lawyer. Previously, he served in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit as a prosecutor, including with the Special Victims Unit, where he prosecuted sex crimes, crimes against children, and felony domestic violence.
Willard attended Vanderbilt University Law School and achieved his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Florida.
Avera & Smith has represented Floridians for more than 65 years with a legacy of personal service and genuine care for clients and the local community. Visit avera.com for more information.
Media Contact:
Phillip Bergman, Frankel Media Group
Cell: 845-728-3984