He was elected without opposition at a recent board meeting in St. Augustine and will be sworn in as president in June 2020. White is a partner at Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon, where he focuses on corporate litigation, including real estate, construction, and employment law. He graduated summa cum laude from the Florida Coastal School of Law in 2010 and earned a B.A. in political science in 2007 from the University of Missouri. White has served on the YLD Board of Governors for four years and has two children with his wife, Katrina.
White said he looks forward to continuing the board’s work to “better the legal profession.”
“We must continue our efforts to develop initiatives to help our constituents have a better work-life balance. This board’s work on the parental leave rule is amazing. Our members should not have to choose between being a good parent and being a good lawyer; those goals should not be mutually exclusive”, White said.
After Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle, White helped fellow board member Kevin Barr of Panama City recover. For Barr, the only form of communication with the outside world was a buried landline that ran to a neighbor’s house.
White called that neighbor to check on Barr’s family almost daily for weeks. White made the four-to-six hour drive to Panama City on two different occasions to bring Barr’s family and neighbors much-needed supplies, and to help tarp a roof and secure possessions. Barr said White was a strong advocate of the Military Spouse Rule, which was recently approved by the Florida Supreme Court since White’s hometown contains numerous military servicemen and women with spouses who struggled to practice law. White said under his presidency, the YLD needs to give young lawyers the tools to ensure they are compensated fairly by their firms, organizations, and clients.
“Finally, we need to continue to tackle the subjects that attorneys don’t want to talk about. For instance, health and wellness, diversity, and the gender pay/advancement gap, just to name a few,” White continued. “This board makes a difference for young lawyers, and I look forward to working with all of you…to strengthen our profession.”