Areas of Expertise
A full spectrum of alternative dispute resolution services designed to help you resolve your most challenging disputes efficiently, cost-effectively, and with lasting results.
A full spectrum of alternative dispute resolution services designed to help you resolve your most challenging disputes efficiently, cost-effectively, and with lasting results.
For more than four decades, Cliff Shepard has stood at the intersection of complex legal disputes and practical resolution. As a Board-Certified specialist in City, County, and Local Government Law, a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit and Appellate Mediator, and a Certified Arbitrator, Cliff brings a rare combination of substantive legal knowledge and advanced dispute resolution skill to every matter he handles.
Mediation is a confidential dispute-resolution process in which a neutral third party helps parties engage in focused, structured negotiations. Unlike litigation, where the outcome is decided by a judge, jury, or arbitrator, mediation allows the parties to remain in control of the result and to develop practical solutions that account for legal risk, business realities, public-sector concerns, and long-term objectives. The practice focuses on civil disputes involving real property, land use, local government, redevelopment, commercial contracts, construction-related matters, partnership or business separation issues, and intergovernmental or public-private disagreements.
The Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act, commonly known as FLUEDRA, is a statutory dispute-resolution process under § 70.51, Florida Statutes, designed for certain land use and environmental disputes involving governmental development orders or enforcement actions. The process gives property owners and governmental entities an opportunity to address disputed decisions through a structured, specialized forum before, or in some cases alongside, traditional litigation remedies. Cliff Shepard is particularly well suited to serve in FLUEDRA matters because he combines Board Certification in City, County, and Local Government Law with certification as a Florida Supreme Court Circuit and Appellate Mediator. That combination allows him to bring both dispute-resolution training and substantial experience with comprehensive planning, zoning, development regulation, public hearings, quasi-judicial decision-making, and the statutory framework governing Florida local governments into the FLUEDRA process.
Arbitration gives parties a private forum to present evidence and legal arguments to a neutral decision-maker outside the traditional courtroom setting. Unlike mediation, where the parties control whether a settlement is reached, arbitration places the decision in the hands of the arbitrator, whose ruling may be binding or nonbinding depending on the parties’ agreement, applicable rules, or court order. Cliff Shepard is available to serve as an arbitrator in complex civil disputes throughout Florida, drawing on decades of litigation experience and substantial knowledge of local government, real property, land use, insurance-related, and commercial matters. His approach combines careful legal analysis, practical judgment, and the impartiality required of a neutral.
Voluntary binding arbitration allows parties to choose a private decision-maker and agree in advance that the arbitrator’s award will be final and binding. The principal advantage is finality. Unlike traditional litigation, where a trial court judgment may be followed by post-trial motions, appeals, and possible remand proceedings, binding arbitration generally provides a more streamlined path to resolution with only limited grounds for later challenge. For businesses, municipalities, insurers, and other parties seeking to manage risk, control costs, and allocate resources efficiently, that finality can have significant practical and financial value.
Voluntary trial resolution, authorized by § 44.104, Florida Statutes, allows parties to submit their dispute to a qualified attorney serving as a trial resolution judge. The process closely resembles a traditional trial, with evidence, witness testimony, legal argument, subpoenas, and application of the Florida Evidence Code, but it gives the parties greater control over scheduling, selection of the decision-maker, and the pace of the proceeding. The trial resolution judge’s decision may be enforced through entry of a final judgment by the circuit court and appealed to the appropriate appellate court, subject to statutory limits on appellate review of factual findings. For parties seeking a private, efficient, trial-like process without abandoning the protections of Florida law, voluntary trial resolution can be a valuable alternative to conventional litigation.
