J.
Thomas Cardwell was appointed on August 11, 2009 as
Florida’s Commissioner for the Office of Financial
Regulation.
Prior to government service, Mr. Cardwell
practiced law and was a leader in the development of
financial institutions legislation and regulation in
Florida. He began his legal career with Akerman
Senterfitt, one of the largest law firms in Florida.
During his time at the firm, he served as Chairman and
CEO, and headed the Financial Institutions Practice
Section. He was General Counsel to the Florida Bankers
Association from 1982-2009.
The Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme
Court appointed Mr. Cardwell to its Mortgage Foreclosure
Task Force, which made recommendations in 2009 for the
court system to deal with the mortgage foreclosure
crisis in Florida.
Mr. Cardwell has been rated number one in
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business
for Florida Banking and Finance and has been listed in
the Best Lawyers in America in both Banking Law
and Commercial Litigation for many years. He is a
member of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Mr. Cardwell received his B.A. from Duke
University in 1964 and his J.D. (with honors) from the
University of Florida, College of Law, in 1966 where he
was an executive editor of the law review.
