As a partner in the Product Liability Litigation as well as the Class Action and Complex Litigation practice groups, Anitra has a national practice that spans various industries including automotive, consumer goods, distribution, insurance, pharmaceutical, and technology. Dedicated to understanding long-term business goals, she keeps client values top of mind while solving problems creatively and efficiently in individual, class action and multi-district litigation lawsuits.
Anitra’s experiences include defending consumer protection, contract, personal injury, product liability, tort, trade secrets, unfair trade practice, warranty and wrongful death disputes. She also prosecutes non-compete agreements, resolves pre-litigation disputes and counsels clients on special non-litigation business projects. She leads small teams that manage individual cases and co-leads large teams that manage dockets. She has been peer-recognized through Best Lawyers, Florida Super Lawyers, and Florida Trend listings.
In addition to practicing in Florida state courts, Anitra practices regularly in federal courts, as both lead and local counsel, drawing upon her experiences as a federal judicial law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
In her national class action and class opt out litigation practice, she has secured successful results coast to coast. For example, she recently developed and led the litigation strategy and argued the winning motion that disposed of a high exposure automotive class action in Florida, and an insurance class action in California. At the same time, Anitra also serves as part of the national counsel leadership team in defending aggregated class action opt out matters, where she has helped secure a string of wins in disposing of fraud-based claims and in helping pioneer creative arbitration strategies that have led to favorable disposition of large numbers of cases.
Anitra is also passionate about serving her community. Currently, Anitra is the president-elect of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, a member of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida’s Bench Bar Fund Committee, the parliamentarian of the George Edgecomb Bar Association, a member of the University of Florida’s Law Alumni Council, and a loyal volunteer with Meals on Wheels of Tampa. Anitra devotes a portion of her practice to pro bono service especially for the interest of children and families. Her pro bono service has earned her awards such as Shook’s 2017 William G. Zimmerman Pro Bono Award.
Representative Matters
Lead counsel in defending class actions alleging unfair business practices by insurance companies in relation to premiums charged.
Co-lead counsel on behalf of an automobile company in two national class actions (in Florida and California) alleging consumer fraud in relation to vehicle autonomous technology feature disclosures.
Local counsel in multiple pharmaceutical cases alleging product defects in the Middle District of Florida.
Part of the national leadership team in defending a docket of automotive class action opt out cases, primarily in California federal and state courts.
Defense for a multi-state automotive class action alleging transmission performance defects in the Northern District of California.
Part of the team, including on trial teams, that defends personal injury and wrongful death Engle-progeny cases.
Lead counsel in defending a local business in unjust enrichment and contract disputes in Florida state courts.
Defense for Fortune 50 corporation in an unjust enrichment lawsuit in Florida state court.
Lead and local counsel in various prosecutions of non-compete agreements in Florida state and federal courts for insurance companies and product manufacturers.
Defense for a large company in a catastrophic wrongful death trucking accident in Florida federal court.
Presentations
Presenter, Witness Ethics: Avoiding the Minefields, American Bar Association, December 14, 2022.
Moderator, Federal Practice Seminar Judicial Panel, Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, November 3, 2022.
Panelist, Finding Your Niche in the Florida Bar, Florida Bar's Leadership Academy Class X, October 21, 2022.
Speaker, PACE Center for Girls Street Law Graduation, ACC Tampa Bay, October 18, 2022.
Panelist, Leveraging Your Seat: Maximizing Access and Cultivating Success, Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Diversity Symposium, March 4, 2022.
Panelist, Hot Topics in Litigation, National Bar Association’s 35th Annual Corporate Counsel Conference, February 25, 2022.
Panelist, The COVID-19 Experience: Lessons Learned and Changes Made, 21st Annual Chartering Your Own Course Conference, December 6, 2021.
Guest Speaker, 1L Introduction to Lawyering Class: Making the Most of Your Law School Career and Beyond, University of Florida Levin College of Law, October 6, 2021.
Moderator, Path to the Bench: District, Magistrate, and Bankruptcy Judges, U.S. Middle District of Florida Tampa Division Summer Internship Program, May 27, 2021.
Panelist, So You Want to Clerk? An Overview of the Application Process for the Federal Judiciary, Southern Black Law Students Association, March 10, 2021.
Moderator, Federal State of the Courts COVID Edition, CLE Webinar, Florida Bar Federal Court Practice Committee, February 11, 2021.
Moderator, Path to the Bench: District, Magistrate, and Bankruptcy Judges, U.S. Middle District of Florida Tampa Division Summer Internship Program, July 1, 2020.
Speaker, I Don't Have a Sponsor Yet. What Do I Do?, Corporate Counsel Women of Color Fifteenth Annual Career Strategies Conference, September 25, 2019.
Speaker, "What? Like, It's Hard?" The Millennial Perspective on Securing a Civil Protective Order, National Federal Bar Association Annual Meeting & Convention, September 5, 2019.
Keynote Speaker, Black Law Students Association Annual Virgil Hawkins Gala, University of Florida Levin College of Law, April 13, 2019.
Panelist, Admitted Students Day Alumni Panel, University of Florida Levin College of Law, March 15, 2019.
Panelist, The Law Clerk Experience: From Applying to Clerking for a Federal Judge, Tampa Bay Federal Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, July 10, 2018.
Panelist, Survival of the Fittest, Black Law Students Association at Stetson University College of Law, September 28, 2017.
Speaker, Clerkships and Big Law, Stetson University College of Law, October 25, 2016.
Panelist, Balancing Life and Law, Florida Bar Practices with Professionalism and Law Students Division, September 16, 2014.
Panelist, Diverse Careers in the Legal Field, Lee County Association for Women Lawyers, January 23, 2014.
Panelist, The Places You Will Go: Diverse Careers in the Legal Field, Southern Region Black Law Students Association Academic Retreat, September 28, 2013.
Panelist, Sister to Sister, Southern Region Black Law Students Association Academic Retreat, September 28, 2013.
Media coverage
“People to Know in Law," Tampa Bay Business Journal, April 16, 2021.