F. Scott Westheimer

F. Scott Westheimer joined the firm as an associate in 1996.  He became a partner in 2000 and served numerous years as its managing partner. He only represents injured Plaintiffs and handles cases involving complex and catastrophic personal injury matters, including: Motorcycle and automobile accidents with severe injuries, Premises liability matters and Product liability litigation.

Mr. Westheimer is the Past President of The Florida Bar, having been elected in 2022 to serve as The Florida Bar’s 75^th President (2023-2024), The Florida Bar is the third largest mandatory bar in the country with over 115,000 members. Mr. Westheimer was the first to be elected president from the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. Prior to his presidency, he served on The Florida Bar Board of Governors as the Twelfth Circuit Representative, Seat One, representing over 1,800 attorneys in Sarasota, DeSoto and Manatee counties from 2013 to 2022, on the Executive Committee, and as Chair of some of the most important committees. He has been honored twice with the President’s Award of Merit, by Past President William J. Schifino at the June 2017 Annual Convention and by Immediate Past Present Michelle Suskauer at the June 2019 Annual Convention.  He also received The Florida Bar President’s Award for the Technology Committee in 2021.

During Mr. Westheimer’s presidency and time on the Board of Governors, he pioneered and developed many of The Florida Bar’s tangible tools and resources that lawyers use in their daily practice, including the complete rebuild of The Florida Bar website, spearheading and leading the team that created Nota (The Florida Bar’s trust accounting solution), and LegalFuel.com. To help lawyers keep pace with technology and the transforming practice of law, during his presidency, the first Committee on Cybersecurity and Privacy Law was formed, which was the first of its kind in the country.  He also formed the Special Committee on AI Resources & Tools, which developed the amendments to The Florida Bar Rules and worked with the Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics to develop the first ever Ethics Opinion on generative AI in the nation.

In 2024, Mr. Westheimer received v|Lex’s annual Fastcase 50 Award, which highlights exceptional contributions of the top 50 most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the legal industry in the world.  Mr. Westheimer has an “AV” rating by Martindale Hubbell, which means that he has been deemed to have very high professional ethics and preeminent legal ability.  From 2021 through 2026 he has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list.  A Super Lawyer is an exceptional achievement and title given to lawyers across the country who have reached high achievements and standards within their respective fields. The title of a Super Lawyer indicates that the lawyer has the respect of their colleagues and the public. They have represented their clients well, in addition to earning the respect of their peers who nominated them for this title. They have represented the field of lawyer well, with this title being an honor for a lifetime of dedicated work. He had previously been selected to the Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list., He has also been  recognized among Florida’s “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend magazine (2012-2014, 2017, and 2020-2023).  Only 1,165 lawyers in Florida were named to the 2023 list, which represents just 2 percent of the more than 67,000 Florida Bar Members actively practicing law in the state. 

In 2025, Mr Westheimer received the Twelfth Judicial Circuit’s Lamar Matthews Professionalism Award which is awarded by the Judges of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit . He also received the Judge John M Scheb American Inn of Court Professionalism Award for 2024-25 and was awarded The Florida Bar Solo and Small Firm Section Tradition of Excellence Award in 2024. Mr Westheimer is a past recipient of SRQ Magazine’s  Elite Top Attorney of Florida’s Gulf Coast and has been previously named one of the Top Lawyers of Sarasota and Manatee Counties by Sarasota Magazine. In the past he has also been named to The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Attorneys, America’s Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators and as one of America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys®   In 2013, Mr. Westheimer received the C.L. McKaig Award from the Sarasota County Bar Association for his extraordinary service in support of the formation of the South County Division, his endeavors to promote diversity within the legal profession, and his numerous leadership roles in the SCBA and The Florida Bar.   In 2002, Mr. Westheimer was named as of the Top 40 Under 40 by the Gulf Coast Business Review.

He is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court; U. S. District Court, Middle District of Florida; U.S. District Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; and Florida State Courts.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Westheimer was raised primarily in Sarasota and graduated from Riverview High School in 1989.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, with high honors, from the University of Florida in 1993, and in 1996, received his Juris Doctorate, with high honors, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.  While at the College of Law, he had the distinction of graduating as a member of the Order of the Coif.  He was a Teaching Assistant in Appellate Advocacy and Legal Research and Writing, and participated in the International Law Program at Leiden University in the Netherlands in the spring of 1996.

Mr. Westheimer is a member of:

• The Florida Bar (Member since 1996)
• The Sarasota County Bar Association (Member since 1997)
• Manatee County Bar Association (Member since 2014)
• Cuban American Bar Association
• The Florida Justice Association (Member since 1999, Eagle Member since 2013)
• The American Association for Justice (Member since 2011)
• Florida Association for Women Lawyers – member of Sarasota and Manatee Chapters

He is also a Past President of the Sarasota County Bar Association (2010-2011), a Past President of the Sarasota County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, co-founder and former chair of the Sarasota County Bar Association Diversity Committee, and served on the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors from 2004 to 2013.

Mr. Westheimer is an active volunteer in his community, working with various charitable organizations over the years.  He served on the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of Sarasota County, a volunteer position, from 2009 through 2016; the University of Florida Levin College of Law Alumni Council Board of Directors, and the Doctors Hospital of Sarasota Board of Trustees.  He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and serves on the Law Center Association Board of Directors.

Mr. Westheimer has the published appellate decisions of In Re: Estate of Angelica Gabrielle Salathe v. Salathe, 703 So.2d 1167 (Fla. 2dDCA 1997); Mezroub v. Capella, 702 So.2d 562 (Fla. 2dDCA 1997); Wanner v. State, 746 So.2d 478 (Fla. 2dDCA 1999); and, Barrington v. Gryphon Investments, Inc. d/b/a RE/Max Excellence, 32 So.2d 668 (Fla. 2dDCA 2010).