VERO BEACH — Attorney John W. Frost II wasn’t the most expensive trial lawyer among the four applicants to represent the City of Vero Beach in its lawsuit over electric utility disputes with the Town of Indian River Shores, but he’s probably the most philanthropic.
The Bartow attorney chosen by the City Council on Tuesday is heralded as the one of the most supportive alumni of Florida State University School of Law, where Frost earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1968.
“Frost was the first alumnus to be a major donor to the school and has made four major gifts. Most recently, in 2013, Frost committed a $1,000,000 to the law school to supplement two existing endowments – the John W. Frost II Moot Court Endowment and the John W. and Ashley E. Frost Endowed Professorship,” an FSU announcement states, adding that the school named a courtroom after Frost.
“The courtroom in Frost’s Bartow office was a model the law school used to design the four trial courtrooms in the new Advocacy Center,” the school says.
Local trial attorney Louis B. “Buck” Vocelle, who has worked with Frost at the state level in the Florida Bar as well as in the leadership of FSU law school, said Frost Van den Boom is one of only a handful firms that has an in-house courtroom for trial preparation.
“I’ve known John for over 20 years. He’s probably one of the most talented lawyers in the state of Florida,” Vocelle said, adding that no one should underestimate the man from the small town of Bartow. “John is one of the most intelligent, articulate, prepared people I’ve ever met. He’s just one of those rare individuals – Vero couldn’t have done any better. I can guarantee you that he’ll be the best-prepared person in that courtroom.”
During the discussion on Tuesday, officials speculated that Frost would be “very aggressive” in defending the city.
Mayor Dick Winger added his own vote of confidence, saying “Mr. Frost has a long history of winning cases in the state of Florida. He’s an old pro.”
Frost, who quoted Vero a price of $385 per hour, has been a trial attorney for 45 years, and apparently, a very successful one.
That courtroom experience at both the circuit and appellate court levels is what swayed the selection committee to vote 3-0 for the firm of Frost Van den Boom.
“It’s a small litigatory team, all the attorneys are litigators,” Vero City Manager Jim O’Connor said of the 10-lawyer firm.
O’Connor said he got to know Frost personally during O’Connor’s 14-year tenure as Bartow’s city manager.
The City Council on Tuesday directed the staff to negotiate an engagement agreement with Frost, relying upon the unanimous opinion of O’Connor, City Attorney Wayne Coment and the city’s lead utility attorney, Robert Scheffel “Schef” Wright, who traveled from Tallahassee for the meetings.
Frost is scheduled to appear before the council on Jan. 20 to speak to his qualifications and answer questions.
Coment initially recommended the Orlando firm of Gray Robinson at a mere $250 per hour, mainly because that firm’s attorneys have extensive utility experience.
“I actually rate Gray Robinson No. 1 because they have greater local government and utilities experience,” Coment said.
But O’Connor said Wright is now going to “be the guy who’s going to be guiding this whole process.”
What Vero needs now, O’Connor said, is not another utility attorney, but a crack trial attorney who can win over a jury.