Jane Graham

Jane Graham, Esq. is a Florida Bar Board Certified Attorney in City, County, and Local Government Law with over a decade of experience dealing with local governments throughout Florida. She has extensive experience in environmental and land use issues. Ms. Graham previously worked as a lobbyist and policy advocate for National Audubon Society/Audubon Florida on Everglades restoration and conservation, water policy, and wildlife law issues. She served on the South Florida Water Management District’s Water Resources Advisory Commission and on the Board of the Everglades Coalition. She was a local government attorney at two coastal municipalities in South Florida, where she focused  on a variety of environmental, land use, public works, transactional and procurement, sunshine law, code enforcement, and ethics matters. In early 2019, Ms. Graham moved to Tampa Bay, where she practiced environmental, property rights, and land use litigation at a well-known boutique litigation firm in downtown Tampa.

In 2020, Ms. Graham opened the doors to Sunshine City Law. She is dedicated to using her knowledge of local government, environmental law, constitutional law and property rights to make this area of law more accessible and understandable. Ms. Graham is a straight-talker, and believes that the best solutions are driven by listening and understanding the clients’ needs and specific facts.

Ms. Graham holds a Masters of Laws in Environmental Law, magna cum laude from Vermont Law School, a top ranked environmental law program in the United States. She is a proud double Cane, holding a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude with a double major in history and political science, and a Juris Doctor, cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In law school, Ms. Graham served as President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and was a member of the International and Comparative Law Review. She placed first in Marine Ecology and the Law, Law and Medicine, and Reparations and the Law. Ms. Graham has published in numerous law journals and national legal publications on environmental, land use, and property rights issues. She has also published articles on environmental issues and wildlife conservation in the Huffington Post and One Green Planet.

In her spare time, Ms. Graham enjoys exploring Florida’s many beautiful state and national parks with her husband Jon. She also enjoys cooking, writing fiction and non-fiction, and supporting Tampa Bay’s many local restaurants, breweries, artists, and record shops.

Ms. Graham holds a Masters of Laws in Environmental Law, magna cum laude from Vermont Law School, a top-ranked environmental law program in the United States. She is a proud double Cane, holding a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude with a double major in history and political science, and a Juris Doctor, cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In law school, Ms. Graham served as President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and was a member of the International and Comparative Law Review. She placed first in Marine Ecology and the Law, Law and Medicine, and Reparations and the Law. Ms. Graham has published in numerous law journals and national legal publications on environmental, land use, and property rights issues. She has also published articles on environmental issues and wildlife conservation in the Huffington Post and One Green Planet.

In her spare time, Ms. Graham enjoys exploring Florida’s many beautiful local, state and national parks with her husband Jon and son Max. Jane is proud to serve as a board member of the Florida Native Plant Society. She previously served as Conservation Chair and Vice-President of the Pinellas Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society and was delighted to volunteer in efforts to create and conserve the Gladys Douglas Preserve in Dunedin.  She also enjoys cooking, writing fiction and non-fiction, and supporting Tampa Bay’s many local restaurants, breweries, artists, and record shops.

Florida
United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
United States District Court, Southern District of Florida

University of Miami
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, 2006, cum laude
3.98 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa

University of Miami School of Law
Juris Doctor, 2009, cum laude
International and Comparative Law Review
President, Student Animal Legal Defense Fund

Vermont Law School
Master of Laws in Environmental Law, 2011, magna cum laude
Thesis: Proposing a Comprehensive Federal Invasive Species Regulatory Framework

English
Spanish

Conservation Chair, Florida Native Plant Society, Pinellas Chapter
Board Member, Tampa Bay Canes Alumni Chapter
Member, Westshore Alliance

Jane Graham, Lines in the Sand: Law, History and Policy of Customary Use, American Planning Association Florida Annual Conference Presenter and Moderator, Sandestin, Florida, September 2019.

Jane Graham, As the Tide Rolls In: Florida Cities and Counties Adapt to Sea Level Rise with Land Use Plans, NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT, Spring 2019.

Jane Graham & Julie Hill-Gabriel, Jump-Starting Everglades Restoration via Tools for Interim Progress, NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT, Spring 2013.

Jane Graham, Snakes on a Plain, or in a Wetland: Fighting Back Invasive Nonnative Animals. Proposing a Federal Comprehensive Invasive Nonnative Animal Species Statute, 25 TUL. ENVTL. L.J. 19 (2011).

Protecting the Marine Resources of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from Climate Change through the National Marine Sanctuaries Act at the 8th International Union of Conservation of Nature Academy Colloquium on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Ghent, Belgium, Sep. 2010.

Jane Graham (co-author), Statutes with Sharp Teeth: Prosecuting a Crocodile Killing with State and Federal Statutes, Florida Bar Animal Law Committee Newsletter, Vol. 2, Iss. 1, Spring 2009.

Jane Graham, From Russia Without Love: Can the Shchukin Heirs Recover Their Ancestor’s Art Collection? 6 U. Denv. Sports & Ent. L.J 65, 65-106, Spring 2009.