2017 Dancers

Catherine Chapman is a shareholder with Guilday Law with practice areas in civil litigation, nursing home defense, healthcare, and many others. She graduated Cum Laude from the Florida State University. She has previously served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Former president of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers, she was awarded the 2013 Inspirational Service Award for her dedication to giving back to her community.

After serving on the bench for over 20 years, Nikki Ann Clark continues to give back to her community by joining us as a celebrity dancer in LSNF’s Dancing with the Stars Tallahassee!

Judge Nikki Ann Clark has been an instructor for Continuing Legal Education Courses on mortgage foreclosure, ethics, procedures for high-profile cases, and creation of the trial record since 1995! Her dedication to LSNF’s mission or providing access to justice for all is longstanding! She has been awarded the LSNF’s Children’s Advocate Award for her dedication to helping Florida’s youth, and was also an attorney at LSNF between 1979 and 1981.

I’ve learned that when people hire a lawyer, it’s not a fight they want, they just want it to be over. They want to know that I’m taking care of it. There is no such thing as a peaceful lawsuit, but I give my clients the next best thing: the best and fastest resolution possible with the least amount of intrusion into their lives.

If there has to be a fight, I’ll handle it. If an agreement needs to be hammered out, I’ll get it done. Unless you’re a lawyer, you don’t enjoy litigation. I get that.

I represent people of all ages and walks of life. Each client’s situation is unique, but every person who comes to me needs help and feels vulnerable. My clients know that I respect and appreciate their worries.

Dina is a family law attorney and Florida Supreme Court certified family mediator at the Pennington, P.A. law firm. She previously served on the North Carolina District court.

Dina’s life in the law has focused her professional efforts toward families, children, and the belief that pro bono services are a vital part of any attorney’s mission. She has also received the Tallahassee Legal Aid Foundation’s glass starfish award.

Lewis is a member of Berger Singerman’s business reorganization team, as well as a certified Civil Circuit and bankruptcy mediator. For more than 25 years, Lewis served as the Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida. Lewis has been paired with a professional dance instructor at Fred Astaire Tallahassee and is ready to show off his dance moves to support pro bono legal services!

Dean LeBoeuf is the managing partner at Brooks, LeBoeuf, Bennett, Foster & Gwartney P.A. Dean has been honored as the trial lawyer of the year by the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is a former president of the Tallahassee Bar Association. He served as a statewide elected representative for the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, as well as serving on the board of directors for the Capital Area Chapter of the Red Cross.

Sheriff Walt McNeil was elected Sheriff of Leon County in November 2016. For 10 years at the helm of the Tallahassee Police Department, then Chief McNeil was recognized for his progressive voice and his effective response to citizen concerns. He has chaired the Heart Walk for the county chapter of the American Heart Association, been honorary co-chair of Leon’s March of Dimes Walk America campaign, and served on the boards of the local Boys and Girls Town, Chamber of Commerce and Refuge House.

Erin O’Hara O’Connor is the dean of the Florida State University’s College of Law, previously taught at Vanderbilt Law School, and was the director of graduate studies in the Ph.D Program in Law and Economics.

Andy Thomas has been a criminal defense lawyer since 1983, and now serves as a Public Defender in the Second Judicial Circuit. Andy has served as a defender in every courtroom setting: Juvenile, Misdemeanor, Felony, Capital, Post-Conviction for Death Row inmates, Appeals, and Specialty Courts.

Barbara recently opened up her own law firm – The Walker Firm, PLLC – and is well known and respected in Tallahassee from her from her work as an associate attorney at Parks and Crump. She is also a registered nurse, and Florida A&M University alumna.

She has coordinated and participated in numerous community-based health fairs that have provided free blood pressure screenings and education regarding diabetes management and screening. Barbara mentored youth with Role Models Foundation, Inc., whose purpose is to serve youth by encouraging and enabling young people to succeed, and she served as a mentor with the Daughters of Sarah Allen, a youth outreach ministry for young-girls established by the A.M.E. Ministries.