'ADMINISTRATIVE LAWYERS: THE COOLEST PEOPLE' NOW AVAILABLE FROM THE NEVER CONTEMPLATED PODCAST

Judge Hetal Desai of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) says administrative law gets a bad rap for being boring and bureaucratic. But actually, it’s built for heroes because it is “essentially public service.”

Speaking with guest Elizabeth Fernandez, who is chair of the Administrative Law Section, deputy general counsel for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and an administrative law professor at the Stetson University College of Law, the two discuss the appeal of administrative law as a practice area on the Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism podcast “Never Contemplated.”

Administrative Law

Desai describes administrative law as “the practice of state agency action and the challenging of that action.” It falls under Florida Statutes Ch. 120, Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and, unlike federal administrative law, where each agency has its own rules, Florida provides a uniform framework applicable to most state agencies that governs agency rulemaking, licensing, enforcement, investigations, administrative hearings, mediation, and judicial review.

Florida administrative law attorneys represent agencies and those regulated by an agency in professional licensing disputes, environmental permitting, government benefits, and regulatory enforcement. Skills include research, litigation, statutory interpretation, and writing.

Because Ch. 120 applies to a variety of agencies, administrative lawyers can work in a variety of fields, but some administrative lawyers specialize in areas like health care law or environmental permitting. However, all section members share an “academic interest in exploring the relationship between the government and the regulated public, and how and why things work the way that they do,” said Desai.

Fernandez, a native Floridian, describes herself as a “waterbug” and says she was interested in science and the environment in school, which influenced her decision to work for the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).

“There’s a very particular mindset with scientific reasoning,” says Fernandez. “I think a lot of it is rather transferable to legal reasoning and a lot of my job is bridging the communication gap between people with scientific technical expertise and people with the legal technical expertise and finding a common language.”

Florida’s Water Management Districts

There are five regional water management districts that cover the state under the direction of the executive branch. Local stakeholders are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature to serve as representatives on each district’s governing board.

The districts share legislative directives, and collectively they operate as a state agency. However, because the districts are divided geographically by watershed basin, regional differences require each district to address its unique water resources in a slightly different way.

The districts work with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which helps them maintain alignment with the statewide mission as they work within their regions.

Notably, taxing authority is given to water management districts under F.S. Ch. 373, which lays out the districts’ legislatively delegated authority — an important difference from other entities governed by Ch. 120.

Fernandez is chair and a longtime member of the Bar’s Administrative Law Section, which she describes as a “very specific backbone for how lawyers in the field deal with government agencies.”

She says administrative law is unique in that it intersects with many different types of law and Bar sections.

A common factor among section members is academic and policy interests in how the government interacts with and impacts citizens, said Fernandez. She says administrative law deserves recognition for how impactful it is on people’s day-to-day lives.

Southwest Florida Water Management District

Fernandez offers an example of typical water management district work. Stormwater runoff from an area that is managed by a homeowner’s association can pollute a marine protection area. Regulators who cannot reach a resolution with the responsible party may use the processes laid out in Ch. 120 to protect that body of water.

The SWFWMD has approximately 14 attorneys, says Fernandez. Usually, new attorneys start out in enforcement work, where they encounter issues that bring them into contact with the district’s various divisions while they learn to navigate cooperative funding agreements, regulatory issues, and contractual agreements.

“Through the enforcement process you get to know so much about all of the other things the agency does, and a lot of people will come to love a particular area,” said Fernandez. Subject matter experts, whom she describes as “teachers at heart,” are happy to share their perspective on the regulatory, scientific, or local government aspect of the issue, creating a “happy and productive partnership.”

Technology-wise, the SWFWMD is set up well for remote work, although some work requires in-office hours, says Fernandez. To build team camaraderie and discourage silos, the whole office will get together when a project ends to learn about it from the project team. In addition to practical technical information, it allows colleagues to build community and understand the challenges of different business areas.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned in the last few years is managing the office culture is a job on its own,” says Fernandez. She says it’s important to solicit feedback from the team members, create opportunities for team members’ growth, reaffirm the office culture, and make sure people have the support they need.

For more of their conversation, listen to the “Administrative Lawyers: The Coolest People” episode of the Never Contemplated podcast (CLE credit course #260063). The episode has been approved for 1 hour of General and 0.5 hour of Professionalism CLE credit.

 

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