PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Seth Mills is President and Chairman of the firm. Seth's practice is primarily focused in the areas of complex commercial litigation, including professional liability, administrative disputes, construction, financial fraud, director and officer liability, fidelity and surety matters. He received his B.A., with high honors from The Citadel in 1979, and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida in 1981. Seth graduated from the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General School, with honors, in 1982. Thereafter he served as the Chief Trial Counsel at Fort Carson, Colorado, gaining substantial trial experience during his tenure with the military. Seth is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He is also Board Certified as a Business Litigation Attorney by the Florida Bar. Seth has been named to Florida Trend Magazine’s prestigious listing of "Florida’s Legal Elite" in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and to Law & Politics’ "Super Lawyer" listings for the State of Florida each year from 2006 through 2010. He has also been named in Law Politics' National Corporate Counsel "Super Lawyer" listing in 2009 and 2010. These distinctions are the result of extensive attorney peer review and voting processes. Finally, Seth is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing justice through rigorous research of the law, legal practices and the law's impact on our society. The American Bar Foundation is an honorary organization of lawyers, judges and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession. Fellow membership is highly restricted.

Seth is also a former member of the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry. He is a Fellow of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association and was formerly Florida’s Young Lawyer Representative to the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division. He currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Fidelity and Surety Law Committee and has held various leadership positions within its Torts, Trial and Insurance Practice Section. Seth is also a former Vice-chair of the Litigation Committee of the General Practice Section of the American Bar Association and he is a current member of the ABA’s Litigation Section. Finally, Seth is a founder of the Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute and a member of both the National Bond Claims Association and the Surety Claims Institute.

Seth’s litigation practice involves representation of private clients, sureties, insurers and local governments. He assists clients in the resolution of all types of major contract, administrative and professional liability claims. He has been involved in some of the most complex construction, fidelity and surety claims presented in Florida. Seth’s construction practice has involved high-rise buildings, schools, roads, deep underground injection wells, hotels, rail stations, airports, power plants and virtually all other forms of construction. His cases range in size from disputes involving a few hundred thousand dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars. He has also represented clients in international commercial disputes. Finally, Seth is a noted author and speaker.

MEMBERSHIPS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Florida, all Georgia courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Military Review, the United States Court of Military Appeals and the United States Supreme Court

Fellow of the American Bar Foundation

Repeatedly listed as one of Florida Trend Magazine's "Florida Legal Elite"

Repeatedly listed as a "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics Magazine (both in Florida and its National Corporate Counsel Edition)

Nominated to receive the Ronald Reagan Republican Gold Medal by the National Republican Business Advisory Council

American Bar Association
Past Chair of ABA/Tips Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
Member Governing Committee of the Forum on Construction Industry
Litigation Section
Vice Chair, Litigation Committee, General Practice Section
Florida District Representative to Executive Council of Young Lawyer's Division

National Bond Claims Association

Surety Claims Institute

Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute

Defense Research Institute

The Florida Bar

The Georgia Bar

Hillsborough County Bar Association
Trial Lawyer's Section
Pro Bono Children's Adoption Committee
Construction Law Committee

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

"Fiduciary Obligations and Bad Faith: An Analysis of Georgia Jurisprudence," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2009.

"The Lucky Thirteen: Top Tips for Presenting the Insurer/Surety for Deposition," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2008.

"Georgia and Alabama Construction Lien and Bond Law Update," Philadelphia, PA., Jan. 2008.

"Florida Construction Lien and Bond Law Update," Hunt Valley, MD, Jan. 2008.

"Bad Faith Claims Against Sureties, A Quick Glimpse at a Moving Target," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2007.

"Preparing for Trial of the Complex Fidelity and Surety Case," National Program Chair, American Bar Association, Jan. 2007.

"Florida Construction Lien and Bond Law Update," Philadelphia, PA., Fall 2006.

"Early Termination of Coverage Under the Financial Institution Bond and Commercial Crime Policy," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2006.

"The Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrines: The Boundaries of Protected Communications Between Insured and Insurers," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2005.

"Tender By The Surety," Bond Default Manual, Third Edition, May, 2005.

"Florida Construction Lien and Bond Law Update," Hartford, CT., Spring 2005.

"Thanksgiving Turkey for the Surety Industry," Insights, Winter 2005.

"Critical Contract Clauses in Public Construction Contracts," Construction Management Association of America, June 2004.

"The Surety's Analysis of Time Related Construction Claims," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2004.

"Spearin and the Subcontractor," Insights, Spring 2004.

"Preparing Witnesses: Part Art, Part Science and Part Mystery," Florida Department of Environmental Protection, September 2003.

"Dishonest Employees and Their Wreckage: Termination of Coverage under the Financial Institution Bond and Commercial Crime Policy," Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June 2003.

"Takeover by the Surety," National Program Co-Chair, American Bar Association's TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, May 2002.

"Restrictions on Allocation of Risks of Delays or Accelerated Performance," American Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry and TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, January 2002.

"Claim Notice Requirements - Sound Policy or Economic Duress," American Bar Association's Forum Committee on the Construction Industry and TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, January 2002.

"State & Federal Prompt Payment Laws," Hillsborough County Bar Association, April 2000.

"Sick Building Contract Claims & Defenses," Mealey's National Sick Building Symposium; Co-Chair, November 1999.

"Dual Obligees: Dependent or Independent Rights?" Gulfcoast Surety Institute, June 1999.

"When to Hold and When to Fold: Practical Advice on Recurring Construction Issues," National Program Co-Chair, American Bar Association's Forum on Construction Industry, April 1999.

"Sovereign Immunity and Implied Contracts Revisited", The Florida Bar Agenda, April 1998.

"Bond Defaults," American Bar Association's Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, October 1997.

"Res Judicata, Collateral Estoppel and the Surety," Surety Claims Institute, June 1996.

"Softening the Blow of Construction Contract Clauses," ASA, March 1996.

"I Got Ya' Covered: Insurance and Surety Bonds in the 90's," American Bar Association's Forum on Construction Industry and TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, January 1995.

"What Lies Behind the Doehr? A Review of the Constitutionality of Mechanics' Lien Laws," The Construction Lawyer, October 1994.

"The U.S. Constitution: Its Impact on Mechanic's Lien Rights and the Construction Industry," Comments on Construction, Summer 1993.

"Construction Lien Rights - Out the Doehr?" The Florida Bar Journal, June 1992.

"Negotiation Tactics and Strategy, ABA/YLD, Washington, D.C., 1989.

"Minority Business Enterprises and Public Bidding Requirements," Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Tampa, Florida, 1988.