Thomas M. Gonzalez

Tom is a shareholder in the firms Tampa office with more than four decades of experience in the private practice of law. He represents management clients throughout Florida in labor relations, equal opportunity law, wage and hour law, and all employment and personnel-related matters. Tom has tried cases in state and federal courts in several districts of Florida and other states. He has also argued before the state appellate courts and the 5th, 6th, 11th, and D. C. District Courts of Appeals. Toms experience includes matters involving race, age, religion, national origin, and sex discrimination, sexual harassment, alleged violations of the ADA and ERISA, wrongful terminations, breach of contract, bid violations, the First Amendment, the Florida Whistleblower Act, FLSA and FMLA violations, and funding of construction and infrastructure. Tom has served as City Attorney for the City of Tampa, School Board Attorney for the School Board of Hillsborough County, and General Counsel for the Florida College System Risk Management Consortium. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and an American Board of Trial Attorneys associate. Tom is recognized by his peers as an outstanding lawyer and a Bar leader. He has authored many articles on personnel and labor management administration and labor and discrimination law and has spoken on those subjects to groups such as the Florida Bar, the Florida Public Employers Labor Relations Association, the American Arbitration Association, ASPA, and AMA. Show full biography Education J. D., Florida State University, 1975 B. A., Tulane University, 1972 Admissions Florida U. S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit U. S. District Court for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida Professional Associations and Memberships The Florida Bar Board-certified in Education Law Board of Governors, 1988-1991 Labor and Employment Law Section Executive Council Tampa/Hillsborough County Bar Association President, 1984-1985 American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow American Board of Trial Attorneys, Associate Media The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Corporate Employment Lawyers, Lawdragon, September 22, 2023 Awards and Recognitions Best Lawyers in America, 1987-2026 Employment Law - Management Labor Law - Management Litigation - Labor and Employment Chambers USA, Labor and Employment, 2020-2025 Global, Labor and Employment, 2019 Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent Rated, 1980-present Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2025 Top 50 in Tampa Bay, 2022 Florida Trend, Legal Elite, 2004-2023 Hall of Fame Lawdragon 500 Leading U. S. Corporate Employment Lawyers, 2020-2022, 2026 Michael A. Fogarty In the Trenches Award, Hillsborough County Bar Association, 2001Stellar Performance in Continuing Legal Education, The Florida Bar Labor and Employment SectionAppreciation Award, Florida Conference of County Court Judges Herbert G. Goldberg Memorial Award, Hillsborough County Bar Association, 2014 Marking his distinguished legal career exhibiting fairness, integrity, courtesy, zeal, forensic skill, legal acumen, good sense and respect for fellow lawyersTrial Lawyer of the Year, American Board of Trial Advocates, 2014 George C. Carr Memorial Award, Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, 2018 Excellence in Federal Practice and Distinguished Service to the Federal BarOutstanding Lawyer, Hillsborough County Bar Association, 2018