We are pleased to announce that

AMIT AGARWAL

has joined as a partner in our Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., offices.

Mr. Agarwal focuses his practice on federal and state appellate litigation, complex and high-stakes issues, and federal, state and internal investigations.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Agarwal served as the solicitor general of Florida for five years. As the state's chief appellate litigator, Mr. Agarwal represented Florida in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court, and supervised civil and criminal appeals in all lower courts.

Before that, Mr. Agarwal served as deputy chief of the Appellate Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. In this role, he supervised 20 appellate attorneys. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Crimes Section and the Appellate Division, where he briefed and argued civil and criminal appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also prosecuted a broad range of federal crimes, including firearms, healthcare fraud, identity theft, bank robbery and narcotics offenses.

Mr. Agarwal also previously served as an attorney advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he regularly provided legal advice to the White House Counsel's Office, the Attorney General and other high-ranking officers serving in the DOJ. He served in this role under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

"Amit is a brilliant lawyer and advocate whose impressive achievements in the public sector bode well for success in private practice at Holland & Knight," said Christopher G. Kelly, leader of Holland & Knight's Litigation Section. "He will, without question, be an incredible asset to Holland & Knight's Litigation Section and clients, as well as the firm's regulatory and government affairs practices, which are well known in Washington, D.C., and across the country."

In addition, Mr. Agarwal was a law clerk to two current justices of the U.S. Supreme Court: the Honorable Samuel Alito Jr. and the Honorable Brett Kavanaugh, who was then a judge sitting on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Mr. Agarwal earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. degree from Duke University.