Proctor, Sharon

Sharon H. Proctor is Board Certified in Appellate Practice by the Florida Bar, and has been certified since 2001.  She graduated first in her law-school class from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1994, where she served as Senior Research Editor of the Florida Law Review.  Sharon was awarded the McDonald Award for Outstanding Law Graduate, the Gersten Key Award, the Cypen Freshman Scholastic Award and Scholarship, and nine Book Awards.  Sharon earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida in 1985, graduating first in her MBA class.  She also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia, where she graduated magna cum laude.  Prior to entering law school, Ms. Proctor taught undergraduate and graduate level business courses at the Florida Institute of Technology.

After law school, Sharon had the privilege of working with William N. Avera, Esquire as an associate attorney with Avera & Avera, P.A. (now Avera & Smith, LLP).  Sharon handled a variety of civil cases in areas including family law, insurance claims, contractual disputes, personal injury claims, medical malpractice, product liability, governmental torts, and workers’ compensation.

In 1998, Sharon opened her own practice in Gainesville, Florida, focusing on appellate law.  She has handled over 70 appeals in Florida’s state and federal courts, and presented numerous oral arguments in the District Courts of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court.  Sharon is a member of the U. S. Supreme Court Historical Society, the Appellate Practice Section of the Florida Bar, the Florida Justice Association, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and Inns of Court (1995-1999).  Sharon currently resides with her family in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, but limits her practice to Florida, where she handles civil appeals and provides research and writing support to trial attorneys.