Hillary B. Cassel is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
for the 101st district. She assumed office on November 8, 2022.
Education
Rep. Cassel earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and government from
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
in 2003 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
Shepard Broad College of Law
Shepard Broad College of Law (also referred to as NSU Law and Nova Law) is the law school of Nova Southeastern University, located on the university's main campus in Davie, Florida. The school offers full-time day and part-time evening programs.
...
. While in law school, Rep. Cassel served as an editor on the Nova Law Review, was Chief Advocate of the Moot Court Honor Society, was a member of the Order of the Barristers, and earned the "Best Advocate" award from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, among other distinctions.
Career
From 2006 to 2009, Rep. Cassel served as an assistant state attorney in the 17th Circuit State Attorney's Office. From 2010 to 2013, she was an associate at Berk, Merchant, & Sims. She then worked as a senior associate at an insurance defense firm from 2012 to 2014. It was at this time that she met her husband and law partner, Michael. She was then a partner at Geyer Fuxa Tyler from 2014 to 2017 before establishing Cassel & Cassel in 2017.
Despite her freshman legislator status, Rep. Cassel was placed in the spotlight by the Democratic Caucus during the 2022 special session related to the Florida property insurance market due to her expertise in the subject matter. Rep. Cassel presented closing arguments in both the commerce committee as an ex officio member and floor debate during the house session on behalf of the caucus. She further provided closing remarks during the post-session press conference along with House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell. Less than 24 hours after Rep. Cassel spoke to Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier's role in the insurance legislation passed during the special session, Mr. Altmaier resigned as Florida's Insurance Commissioner.
[Mower, Lawrence ]
"Florida’s insurance commissioner quits amid state’s property insurance crisis"
- Tampa Bay Times
References
Living people
Florida lawyers
Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
Women state legislators in Florida
Florida State University alumni
Nova Southeastern University alumni
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Year of birth missing (living people)
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