Diane W. CarrDiane W. Carr

119 South Monroe Street, Suite 300
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850.222.7500




Experience

  • Combines government experience as Counsel for the House Commerce Committee and Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation with private-sector experience as trade association lawyer-lobbyist and private practice attorney to represent clients before the Legislature and executive branch agencies.
  • Involved in all facets of government relations practice, including drafting legislation, lobbying bills through the Legislature, securing budget appropriations, agency rulemaking, political action, and campaign finance.
  • Drafted major legislative reforms benefitting the business community, including rewrites of the Banking Code and the Workers' Compensation Law, and bills enacting tort reforms and repealing regulatory burdens.
  • Counsels clients regarding compliance with laws and rules governing legislative and executive branch lobbying, gifts to public officials, and conflicts of interest.
  • Assists clients in developing and implementing strategies to navigate complex agency rule and policy schemes and obtain regulatory relief.
  • Maintains administrative practice representing business and professional clients in licensing, permitting, rulemaking, and dispute resolution matters and proceedings.


Gubernatorial and Cabinet Appointments

  • Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, charged with managing licensure and regulatory needs of 1.6 million Floridians whose interests include alcoholic beverages and tobacco; pari-mutuel wagering; hotels and restaurants; condominiums, timeshares, homeowners associations, and mobiles homes; and nineteen professions, including accounting, architecture, engineering, contracting, veterinary medicine, cosmetology, and real estate, 2003-2005
  • Board and Chair, Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association, 1997-2003
  • Board, Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association, 1997-2003
  • Member, Governor’s Task Force on Workers’ Compensation Administration, 2000-2001
  • Member, Governor’s Privacy & Technology Task Force, 1999-2001


Other Professional Experience

  • Senior Vice President & General Counsel for the Florida Retail Federation, 1997-2001
  • Vice President & Assistant General Counsel for Associated Industries of Florida, 1994-1997
  • Vice President for Government Relations for the Florida Bankers Association, 1991-1993
  • Counsel, Commerce Committee for the Florida House of Representatives, 1989-1990


Education

  • Florida State University, J.D. 1988, B.A. 1977
    • Law Review, Executive Editor
    • Moot Court
    • Public Service Fellowship
  • Certificate in Association Management, Tallahassee Community College, 2000
  • Certificate in Organization Management, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2001


Bar and Court Admissions

  • Florida Bar, 1988
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 1990


Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Florida Bar Association
  • Tallahassee Bar Association


Publications and Presentations

  • Presenter, Regulation of Pesticide Application and Use After the 2007 Session, Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Course (Gainesville, September 2007)
  • Presenter, Litigating Mold Claims, Lorman Continuing Legal Education Course (Tallahassee, December 2005)
  • Author, “Community Safeguards Against Predatory Contracting”, National Association of Counties, County News, Vol.37, No. 24, December 2005
  • Author, “The Florida Supreme Court is Asked to Decide Whether Punitive Damages May Be Awarded Against a Deceased Tortfeasor’s Estate” 15 Florida State University Law Review 375 (1987), quoted by the Florida Supreme Court in Lohr v. Byrd, 522 So.2d 845, 847 (Fla. 1988)


Community Involvement

  • Chair, Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation Finance Committee, 2011-Present
  • Chair, Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation Business Climate and Competitiveness Caucus, 2010-Present
  • Board, Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2009-Present
  • Member, Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, 2006-2009
  • Board, Florida Guardian ad Litem Foundation, 2010-Present
  • Chair, Leadership Florida Gubernatorial Appointments, 2007-2010
  • Member, Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists, 2005-Present
  • Leadership Florida, Class XVII


Award and Recognition

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America, for Government Relations Law, 2008-2012 Editions; for Administrative Law, 2010-2012 Edition.

Diane W. Carr Practices in: Administrative Law, Business Expansion and Relocation, Climate Change, Legislative Practice, Oil and Gas, Wetland Regulation and Mitigation Banking.