Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A., the largest law firm in Central Florida according to the Orlando Business Journal, is pleased to announce that it is celebrating 45 years in business.

John Lowndes, who founded the firm in 1969, attributes much of the firm's success to its attorneys and staff, many of whom have been with the firm their entire career. The list of clients who have been with the firm since its inception is also long.

"Our clients are our proverbial partners," said Lowndes. "We've nurtured many of them from their beginnings, and we're delighted to have been able to grow with them."

Lowndes started the firm with three partners, primarily providing legal counsel for budding contracting and construction companies that have since become some of Central Florida's largest entities.

The firm quickly developed a reputation as "dirt lawyers" and continues to be recognized for its large real estate practice, which is often at the forefront of complex commercial and residential real estate issues. Today, though, the firm also represents clients in over 50 other practice areas across a myriad of industries, from capital raising to copyright and trademark advice, corporate governance to employment law, entity formation and representing those entities as they expand locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's attorneys advise clients on estate and wealth management issues, litigate on behalf of organizations and individuals in high-stakes, high profile disputes, and are busy with one of the largest bankruptcy practices in the area as well.

The firm recently ranked No.1 on the Orlando Sentinel's 2013 Top 100 Companies for Working Families in the 249 employees and below category and it is also listed as the 2013 Corporate Champion of the Year. The firm has been honored as a Top 10 employer in the annual Top 100 Companies for the Working Families program for the 7th straight year. The firm also ranked No.1 in the Orlando Business Journal's Best Places to Work Large Company category.

From the inception, John Lowndes also set the standard for the firm's commitment to the community as well as to its clients early on. The firm has been long known as a strong corporate citizen with dedicated civic and charitable support and involvement. In 2000, the home of the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival in Loch Haven Park was given tremendous financial backing by the firm's founder and was renamed the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center. For many years, the firm's employees contributed an aggregate of more than $100,000 to the United Way Campaign, just one of many organizations the firm and its employees support. Last year, the firm was named among the Top 25 Giving Organizations for the 2011-2012 HFUW campaign and it has also led the professional division for over 20 years. The firm also raised $63,173 during its 2013 spring campaign for the United Arts of Central Florida, a non-profit organization that supports more than 50 cultural organizations in Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties. The hallmarks of the firm's commitment to the community go well beyond financial commitments. Many firm members have leadership roles in over 100 not-for-profit, educational, and charitable organizations, and provide hours of volunteer time to community events.

The leadership of the firm has changed only three times in 45 years-John Lowndes handed the reins to Nick Pope in 1998, and Bill Dymond became the Managing Partner in 2008 but the overriding philosophy of the firm has not.

"As we look to the future," said Dymond, "our focus will remain on continually strengthening relationships with customers, employees, and the community, and on providing the highest caliber of legal services to the firm's clients for the next 45 years and beyond."