JEAN MARIE DOWNING is a solo practitioner accepting cases in the areas of: family law (with a focus on father's rights), federal criminal law (felonies and misdemeanors), appeals, and civil rights/employment law.

She graduated from Stetson University College of Law in December 1999 in the top 5% of her class.  While at Stetson, Mrs. Downing won a third place award in the Carlton Fields appellate advocacy competition for the first year students.  Mrs. Downing was a tutor for Contracts, Real Property, and Civil Procedure.

She was a research assistant for then Professor Darby Dickerson (now Dean of the School), Professor Daryl Wilson, and Professor Roy Gardner.  As a research assistant, she assisted in Professor Gardner's article on wetland fee mitigation, "Money for Nothing?  The Rise of Wetland Fee Mitigation, 19 Va. Envtl. L.J. 1 (2000)" about the payment of money to "mitigation banks" by developers to develop environmentally protected areas.  Professor Gardner has continued to explore this practice in his many other publications.  As a tutor (for freaked-out first-year Real Property students trying to figure out remainders and the Rule Against Perpetuities) and as a research assistant, Mrs. Downing assisted Professor Wilson in his illustrative article entitled "Waltzing to R.A.P."  Mrs. Downing was a research assistant for Professor Dickerson who was the head of the Research & Writing program at Stetson.  Mrs. Downing created research and writing assignments for first year students.  As a Civil Procedure Teaching Fellow for Professor Finch, Mrs. Downing was responsible for teaching a group of students about the proper methods for filing documents compliant with the rules of procedure in Florida and Federal Court. 

Mrs. Downing has continued her desire to assist others in learning about the legal system by being an adjunct professor teaching first year students about research and writing at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida in 2001-2002.  Currently, Mrs. Downing teaches at Gulf Coast Community College in the  legal assistant program or in pre-law.  She teaches or has taught Real Property and Legal Research and Writing.

Mrs. Downing understands the unique inner workings of the federal court system.  While in law school, Mrs. Downing was a federal intern for the Honorable Mary S. Scriven, a United States Magistrate Judge in Tampa, Florida.  She was responsible for research and case preparation for a variety of civil cases and for social security disability review. 

After law school and a year of private practice, Mrs. Downing achieved a highly sought after position as a federal judicial law clerk.  While clerking,  Mrs. Downing worked on many cases for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division.  While employed as a law clerk, Mrs. Downing assisted in research and writing for several District Judges:  the Honorable Ralph W. Nimmons, the Honorable Harvey Schlesinger, and the Honorable Henry Adams.  She was also able to assist (then Magistrate now District Judge) the Honorable Timothy Corrigan. 

The experience of working "behind the scenes" for five different Federal Judges has given her a unique perspective on the Federal Court system.  Law clerks are an integral part of the federal system and make many important decisions in the cases before the Court that affect the litigants.

Since beginning private practice, Mrs. Downing has been a trial attorney and has handled hundreds of cases in these areas:

• State Criminal and Civil

• Federal Criminal and Civil

• Family Law:  Divorces, Child Custody, Modification, and Support

• Employment Law

• Real Property Law

• Election Law

• Contract Law