Mary Meeks has practiced law in Central Florida for over 25 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. 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 is currently 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.