R. Lainie Wilson Harris

Harris is a Senior Lecturer of legal studies. At Dickinson & Gibbons, P.A., a mid-sized 75-year old firm in Sarasota Florida, she is the designated associate attorney for Deborah J. Blue who is a Florida “Super Lawyer” in the Family Law category. This designation identifies her among the top 5 percent of family lawyers in the State of Florida based on peer reviews and independent research compiled by the publisher of Super Lawyers, Key Professional Media, Inc. Before joining Mrs. Blue’s team, Harris was the research attorney and appellate specialist for the firm. For partners and associates in all practice areas, she researched and drafted countless motions and memos. Her rewrite of one of these memos captured Bryan Garner’s attention during his February 11-12, 2013 Advanced Legal Writing seminar, where he held it out as one of two showing the most dramatic change. Why put that in Harris’s bio? Because the man who edits Black’s Law Dictionary and writes books with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia noticed and complimented her revision.  It’s like the Edge saying to a session guitarist, nice riff. By the way, in case it isn’t obvious, please take away from the prior statement that Harris has a sparkling sense of humor and not that she is obsessed with Bryan Garner.

 

As a speaker and scholar, Harris has presented to students and lawyers at various conferences and gatherings including the 2013 Southeast Regional Legal Writing Conference hosted by the Savannah Law School on remaining persuasive in the new digital environment shaped by mandatory electronic filing in Florida state courts.