Louise St. Laurent recently left her position as General Counsel at the Florida Department of Health to become a partner at Tallahassee-based law firm Panza Maurer.
Though a major move, her years of experience in administrative law, regulatory law and rule-making are a good fit for the 40-year-old firm, which is among the most respected firms operating in those fields.
The firm, by way of a close working relationship with Ballard Partners, is also a fixture in governmental relations — something St. Laurent knows a thing or two about from her time in state government.
She recently spoke with Florida Politics about notable legal issues she's worked on during her career to-date as well as intriguing things on the horizon.
Florida Politics: What is the most important case you have worked on that Floridians may not have heard of, but should?
Louise St. Laurent: In the fall of 2021, there was a relatively controversial case regarding the Department of Health's emergency rule permitting parents to choose if their children wore masks in school settings, among other COVID-19 safety protocols in schools.
The public believed the case was only about the unmasking of children in schools, but at the heart of the case was the genuine authority of the Florida Department of Health, with input from the Department of Education, to adopt rules governing the control of communicable diseases.
Ultimately, we were successful in moving beyond the polarized views of masking or unmasking of school children and reaching a purely legal determination that it was wholly within the legislatively granted power of the Department of Health to engage in public health activities.
Despite the fact that the hearing had to occur in a short 14 days after the petition to invalidate the rule was filed, it ended up being one of the most intellectually rewarding experiences in my career.
FP: Your firm specializes in several areas of law. What practice would you say best position Panza Maurer for future success?
LS: Hands down it is our Administrative and Regulatory Law practice. Panza Maurer represents diverse regulated industries including health care, education (Pre-K through 20), the agriculture industries of sugar and citrus, banking, energy, as well as the gaming and cruise industries.
I am partial to this subject, but having had the benefit of working in criminal, civil, and administrative law during my career, administrative law is one of the least understood areas with the fewest attorneys specializing in — and truly understanding — administrative practice.
Tallahassee has a larger roster of administrative law practitioners compared to the rest of the state which is largely due to its proximity to nearly all of the state agencies. But I believe what sets Panza Maurer apart is their longstanding success, statewide presence, and extremely talented attorneys. I feel so fortunate to have been asked to be a part of this team, not only in our Tallahassee office (with administrative law rockstar Virginia Dailey) but I have an amazing opportunity to continue to grow and learn from Mr. Panza, Mrs. Maurer, and the talented attorneys here where we can all continue working to advance our clients' interests.
FP: What is one of the biggest challenges you faced working in the field of Administrative Law thus far?
LS: I handled a significant number of administrative and regulatory trials. However, when I first became General Counsel at the Department of Health, we were in the process of procuring the statewide Medicaid managed care plan for all the children with special health care needs in Florida.
We were up against a deadline where our contract for these services was ending, and we intended to award the contract to a new company, but we received a protest of our intent to award the contract to that company.
Bid protest hearings are required by statute to commence within 30 days of the filing of the protest, so we were in a mode of both simultaneously preparing for an extremely expedited hearing — attorneys drop everything else they're doing for these 30 days and work exclusively on bid protests — while planning for every contingency if we were unable to award the contract before the prior contract ran out and these medically-vulnerable children were left without care.
It was my first experience being fully engrained in policy considerations and a legal challenge simultaneously. It was a real "baptism by fire" moment and I became a much better advocate for my clients as a result.
FP: What drew you to Panza Maurer?
LS: Tom Panza is a force of nature. Anyone that has ever met him knows that. I didn't have a ton of personal experience with Mr. Panza or the firm (which I view as fortunate because they are a force to be reckoned with), but when I was first exposed to Mr. Panza and one of the other partners, I was very impressed.
Somehow, I did something right and Mr. Panza asked if I would meet with Suzie Maurer, our Managing Partner. I wasn't actively looking to leave state government, but I could not turn down such a promising opportunity. When I finally got to speak to Mr. Panza and Mrs. Maurer about the firm and what it stood for, I was incredibly impressed with how genuinely they care about their clients and the employees working for them.
The reason that Panza Maurer has had such a long history of success without having to publicize themselves is the deep bench of legal talent that is led by two of the most amazing lawyers (and people) in Florida. This firm has lasted as long as it has with the perfect number of attorneys and support staff because it was created by Mr. Panza and managed by Mrs. Maurer in a way that allows the firm to be successful without having to grow at exponential rates.
Their clients understand the incredible advocacy that comes from this firm and those clients refer other clients based on that success, legal talent, and personal touch. All in all, everyone here is just amazing, genuine, and fun. I am so happy to be a part of this team.
FP: What is a field of law you never imagined you would be involved in, but you are now?
LS: As a child, I could guarantee you that I would be a lawyer when I grew up. What I could never have imagined is being a part of medical marijuana development, licensure, and regulation.
I happily watched from the Department of Health's Prosecution Services Unit while the State Health Office handled the medical marijuana licensure challenges after the first and only licensure application cycle in 2015.
When the prior Department of Health General Counsel left and I inherited all of that litigation, my eyes got really wide, and I thought to myself "what have I agreed to?"!
I ended up having a great time learning so much about the program, regulations, and opportunities in this relatively new space in Florida's law. Although there are so few skilled administrative law practitioners in Florida, there are even fewer attorneys with the institutional history to understand the medical marijuana laws and regulations surrounding the industry. I am thrilled to have the expertise in both areas and am so excited for the future of the law in this field.
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