Mary Meeks has practiced law in Central Florida for over 30 years
and has been awarded the highest "AV" rating by the Martindale-Hubbell National Lawyer’s
Registry. Ms. Meeks is an accomplished civil trial lawyer with extensive experience and achievement who represents individuals, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 companies.
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Ms. Meeks currently concentrates her practice in employment law, including
cases involving discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability,
religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual harassment
and retaliation. Attorney Meeks is experienced in state
and federal courts representing both plaintiffs and defendants, employees and
employers. She has successfully litigated cases involving the Family Medical Leave Act, Fair
Labor Standards Act, Federal Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment
Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Florida Civil Rights Act, Florida
Non-Compete Statute, Florida and Federal Whistle-Blower Statutes, as well as
other contractual and tort claims, including wage and overtime issues and
terminations, and various employment issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. Mary Meeks represents employees and employers in administrative proceedings
before state and local agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC), Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR), Public Employees
Relations Commission (PERC), Florida Department of Education (FDOE), and local school boards. Ms. Meeks also assists
business owners and employers with day-to-day employment matters and provides comprehensive
consultation services, including the drafting or review of employment agreements and
termination documents.
BUSINESS & PERSONAL SERVICES
Mary Meeks handles many other types of civil and business litigation
matters, including business dissolution disputes, construction disputes, intellectual property disputes,
defamation issues, home owner’s association disputes, real estate and probate issues,
foreclosures, contract disputes, and other business torts. She also prepares wills and other protective
documentation, including living wills, health care surrogates and powers of
attorney, and she performs contract drafting, negotiation and review.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Mary Meeks served as co-counsel on the historic
Florida marriage equality lawsuit (Pareto v. Ruvin) filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County which
struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban in July 2014. In addition, she has worked extensively with municipal and state
governments to draft and implement numerous civil rights initiatives, having co-authored
the 2010 Orange County Human Rights Ordinance and 2012 Orlando/Orange County
Domestic Partnership Registry Ordinance, both of which became model legislation
for other local communities in the state.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Mary Meeks has taught Employment Discrimination Law and Florida
Civil Practice as an Adjunct Professor at Barry University Law School, and has
served as a consultant to The Orlando Business Journal and The Orlando Sentinel
on employment issues. Ms. Meeks is a frequent
public speaker and published author on employment law and civil rights issues, and has received numerous awards in recognition of her efforts.
