Free Wednesday Wisdom live Zoom webinar for Solo & Small Firm Section members* by Katherine R. English, Pavese Law Firm, Fort Myers. Moderator: Jennifer Kurykendall Griffin, Suwannee County Judge. Course number 8419 is approved for 1 CLE. REGISTER
*Registration will be approved when section membership is confirmed.
This CLE will give lawyers working with landowners tools to advise and support their clients in seeking and using conservation easements to support the landowners’ goals for themselves and their lands. In Florida, federal and state agencies, local governments, and non-government organizations have all embraced the purchase of conservation easements as an effective tool to protect Florida’s privately held wild lands and agricultural areas from further development. Conservation easement programs can be useful for landowners who want to retain ownership of their properties while liquidating some or most of the land’s equity for other investments, but they come with varying restrictions and management requirements that may or may not be compatible with the landowners’ goals. Knowledgeable landowners using conservation easement programs as part of their overall strategic plans for managing their property and funding other investments do very well. Unfortunately, there are traps for the unwary and underinformed which can foil the plans and expectations of those who proceed without an understanding of the limitations and requirements of the different conservation easement programs.
Katherine R. English joined Pavese Law Firm in 1994 and became a partner in the firm in 2000. Her practice concentrates on agricultural, environmental, and land use law with an emphasis on seeking and protecting entitlements for larger properties to maintain value and productivity. She has particular experience in working with companies involved in farming and land development. She practices before state and federal agencies in regard to environmental permits including water supply, water management and environmental compliance. She has worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest Florida Water Management District, South Florida Water Management District, the Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. She also represents land owners before local governments in Southwest Florida in regard to land use and development authorizations.
She is a native of Southwest Florida and her family has farmed here for more than 100 years. She is committed to the protection of private property rights and supporting the people who produce food and fiber and protecting the natural resources of the State of Florida through wise land management.
Ms. English has been selected to the list of Best Lawyers in America for 2021 for her practice area in land use and zoning. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For three decades, Best Lawyers® lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
She is a member of the American Bar Association and the Lee County Bar Association.
Her community activities include serving as chair for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences/SHARE Council; a member and past chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation Issue Advisory Committee on Water and Water Quality; chair of The Florida Farm Bureau Association’s Natural Resources Advisory Committee; a member of the board of directors for Redlands Christian Migrant Association; and, a member of the board of directors United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades Counties.
