Anitra is an experienced litigator who partners closely with clients at every stage of complex state and federal litigation nationally. She regularly leads trial teams and co-manages large dockets, handling individual actions, multidistrict litigation and class actions. Her practice encompasses all aspects of litigation, including serving as trial counsel.
Anitra works with a diverse client base that includes local Florida businesses, Fortune 50 companies, and foreign enterprises across industries such as automotive, consumer goods, distribution, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and technology. She provides timely, practical and strategic counsel aligned with clients’ long-term business objectives.
Anitra is actively involved in the legal community and currently serves as a trustee of the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation and University of Florida’s Law Center Association. She is a former president of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and a recipient of the Federal Bar Association’s 2025 Robyn J. Spalter Outstanding Achievement Award. Anitra also dedicates a portion of her practice to pro bono work, with an emphasis on assisting children and families, and has been recognized with honors including Shook’s 2017 William G. Zimmerman Pro Bono Award.
Representative Matters
Obtained summary judgment in a certified class action against an insurance company in California federal court, where policyholders alleged overcharges during COVID-19–related state closures.Defended an automotive company in two national class actions alleging consumer fraud related to autonomous vehicle feature disclosures in Florida and California.
Defended a blender manufacturer in a product liability dispute in the Middle District of Florida.
Served as local counsel in multiple pharmaceutical product defect cases in the Middle District of Florida.
Defended a retailer in a premises liability case involving catastrophic damages in Florida state court.
Part of the national leadership team defending a docket of automotive class action opt-out cases in California federal and state courts, including drafting successful summary judgment, Daubert, and arbitration motions to dispose of fraud-based claims.
Served as lead and local counsel in non-compete and non-solicitation disputes in Florida state and federal courts for insurance companies, local businesses and product manufacturers.
Defended a multi-state automotive class action alleging transmission defects in the Northern District of California.
Defended docket of personal injury and wrongful death Engle-progeny cases.
Defended a Fortune 50 corporation in business dispute with unjust enrichment and breach of contract claims in Florida state courts.
Secured early dismissal for a Fortune 500 company in a catastrophic wrongful death trucking accident in Florida federal court.
Secured early dismissal for a local business in a Florida Telephone Solicitation Act class action.
Secured dismissal for a Fortune 50 company in tortious interference, contract, and defamation litigation in the District Court of Maryland.
Secured early dismissal of insurance premium class action pending in California federal court.
Defended docket of personal injury cases in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina for Fortune 200 company.
Defended parts manufacturer in business dispute alleging contract, tort, fraud, and product liability claims in the Middle District of Florida.
Presentations and Publications
Panelist, Top of Your Game: How to Grow Your Firm, Acquire Corporate Clients, or Ascend the Corporate Ladder, George Edgecomb Bar Association, April 15, 2025.
Panelist, Mastering the Associate Path: Essential Tools for Success in a Law Firm, Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter National Bar Association, February 8, 2025.
Panelist, Nuclear Verdicts: How Outside and Inside Counsel Should Collaborate to Defeat Them, National Bar Association Commercial Law Section, October 16, 2024.
Panelist, Best Trial Practices, National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s International Leadership Conference, April 12, 2024.
Co-Editor, Florida Mediation Best Practices Handbook, Third Edition, September 1, 2023.
Panelist, “True Confessions Part 1” – What Trial Lawyers and their Clients Really Want from Mediators, The 31st Annual Florida Dispute Resolution Center Conference, August 4, 2023.
Co-Author, Adoption By the Numbers: Two Years Later, How Should the Florida Courts Navigate the “Not-So-New” Florida Summary Judgment Rule?, The Florida Bar Journal, September 2023.
Moderator, Civil Ligation – Best Practices, U.S. Middle District of Florida Tampa Division Summer Internship Program, May 25, 2023.
Panelist, Third Annual Litigator Mediator Decision Maker Forum, Hillsborough County Bar Association, April 5, 2023.
Co-Author, The Early Bird Gets the Worm: How the First-to-File Rule Can Determine Venue for Similar Subsequently Filed Cases, and Recommendations for Motion Practice, Perspectives, Younger Lawyers Division, Federal Bar Association, pages 5-8, Winter 2023 (with Sarah O'Rourke).
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, Hot Topics in Litigation, National Bar Association’s 35th Annual Corporate Counsel Conference, February 25, 2022.
Moderator, Path to the Bench: District, Magistrate, and Bankruptcy Judges, U.S. Middle District of Florida Tampa Division Summer Internship Program, May 27, 2021.
Moderator, Federal State of the Courts COVID Edition, CLE Webinar, Florida Bar Federal Court Practice Committee, February 11, 2021.
Media Coverage
“People to Know in Law," Tampa Bay Business Journal, April 16, 2021.