Shannon McLin – Florida Appeals Expert

Shannon McLin, B.C.S., is a board-certified Florida appellate lawyer and the founder of Florida Appeals, a premier statewide appellate law firm focused exclusively on appellate advocacy. With over 30 years of experience devoted to appellate practice, she is widely recognized as one of Florida’s leading appellate lawyers and represents clients in complex civil, commercial, constitutional, and family law appeals throughout Florida’s appellate courts.

Florida Appeals is a boutique appellate and trial-support firm serving lawyers and clients throughout the State of Florida. The firm leverages secure remote technology, video conferencing, and Collaborative digital platforms to remain seamlessly connected with trial teams, courts, and client statewide, allowing it to provide sophisticated appellate counsel efficiently and effectively regardless of location.

The Florida Appeals team includes an exceptions group of professionals, including former trial and appellate judges, William D. Palmer and Earle W. Petersen, Jr., and Thomas Sculco, all seasoned appellate practitioners with extensive experience in Florida appellate courts.

A substantial part of Florida Appeals’ work occurs in the trial courts, where its appellate lawyers frequently serve as additional counsel of record to provide appellate and trial support services. In this role, the firm assists trial counsel with strategic issues analysis, legal research, briefing, and potentially dispositive motions, with a focus on particular emphasis on preserving error and position cases for appellate review. Members of the firm also regularly testify as experts on appellate issues and attorney’s fees.

McLin is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in appellate practice and hold an AV Preeminent rated from Martindale Hubbell. She has consistently been recognized by Florida Trend as a Florida Legal Elite in Appellate Practice, named a Florida Super Lawyer, and honored as one of Florida’s Top 50 Women Lawyers. She has also been named to Chambers Spotlight Florida in Appellate Practice, recognizing her appellate expertise and the firm’s work on sophisticated and high-impact appeals.

Since 1993, McLin has been a Charter Member of The Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, where she has served on the Executive Council and as the section delegate to the Council of Sections. She has also served on The Florida Bar’s Appellate Court Rules Committee and the Appellate Court Certification Committee, holding leadership positions including Vice-Chair and Chair.

In addition to her appellate practice, McLin is deeply involved in the family law community. She currently serves on the Executive Council of the Marital and Family Law Section, and she co-chairs the Section’s Appellate Practice Committee. She has also served as guest editor of the Commentator.

McLin and the Florida Appeals team routinely assist trial lawyers and their clients in complex matters across Florida’s trial and appellate courts, providing strategic insight at every state of litigation.

Shannon’s numerous accolades, recognitions, and career highlights include:

• Board Certified Appellate Lawyer
• AV rated by Martindale Hubbell
• Top 50 Women Lawyers in Florida
• Florida Trend Legal Elite in Appellate Practice
• Florida SuperLawyer in Appellate Practice
• Chair, The Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Certification Committee
• Executive Council, The Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section
• Co-Chair of the Amicus Committee, The Florida Bar’s Family Law Section
• Law Clerk, Fifth District Court of Appeal

A significant part of Shannon’s practice takes place in trial courts, where she advises trial lawyers and their clients and often serves as additional counsel of record for trial support purposes. When engaged to join a trial team, Shannon assists lead counsel with strategic analysis and briefing, legal research, and potentially dispositive motions, all with a focus on preserving error and positioning cases for appellate review. She also testifies as an expert on appellate issues and attorneys’ fees and serves as a mediator in appellate and select trial-court cases.

Ms. McLin is an experienced appellate advocate with an extensive background in state and federal appeals. As a former law clerk to the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal, Ms. McLin developed a unique perspective as to what appellate courts expect in appellate briefs and pleadings. Ms. McLin is admitted to practice in Florida state courts, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Ms. McLin earned her Juris Doctorate with honors from Pepperdine University School of Law where she was Associate Editor of the Pepperdine Law Review. She also earned her B.A. in journalism with honors from the University of Central Florida.

Ms. McLin has lectured and written on issues important to appellate courts and practitioners. Writings include:

• We’re Not So Bad After All
• Jurisdiction is Jurisdiction: A Warning to Litigators
• Your Appellate Lawyer: A User’s Guide for Family Lawyers
• Inside the Fifth District Court of Appeal
• Oops: Did we say His Interest in his Pension? We meant Her interest in His Pension: The Typo that Changed the Law, The Family Law Commentator
• Florida Litigation and Appeals: Appealing the Trial Court’s Decision

Ms. McLin is a member of The Florida Bar, and since 1993 has been a Charter Member of the Appellate Practice Section, where she served on the Executive Council and as a section delegate to the Council of Sections. She is the former chairman of the section’s Outreach Committee and served on the Fifth District Court of Appeal’s Mediation Task Force.

Ms. McLin also served on The Florida Bar’s Appellate Court Rules Committee and is the current Chair of the Marital & Family Law Section’s Amicus Committee. Ms. McLin was appointed by The Florida Bar’s President to the Appellate Court Certification Committee where she has held the position of Vice-Chair and Chair. She is also a member of the Florida Justice Association, where she served on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Caucus, and on the Amicus Curiae Committee. In addition to her state and national bar activities, Ms. McLin is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, the Marion County Bar Association, the Sumter County Bar Association, and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

Ms. McLin was awarded the Florida Justice Association’s S. Victor Tipton Award for Superior Achievement in Legal Writing. In addition, Shannon was a recipient of the Brevard County Legal Aid Appellate Law Award for pro bono work.

A life-long resident of Lake County, Ms. McLin has been active in the community. She has served as Vice President of Habitat for Humanity of Lake County, Inc., as well as on the organization’s Board of Directors. She was also a member of Leadership Lake County and served as President of the Class of 2001. She served on the Board of Directors of First GREEN Bank the first environmentally focused financial institution in the Southeast, where she has served on the Executive Committee, the Loan Committee, the Asset & Liability Committee, the Audit Committee, and the IT Committee. Ms. McLin also serves on the Board of Directors of The Hans and Cay Jacobsen Foundation, a charitable organization devoted to bettering the lives of deserving children in Lake and Sumter Counties.