Lara J. Tibbals

Hill Ward Henderson

Lara joined Hill Ward Henderson in 1997 and is Of Counsel in the firm’s litigation group. She has a broad range of litigation experience in state and federal court and is certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a circuit civil mediator.

From 2000 to 2001, Lara served as the first federal law clerk to the Honorable James S. Moody, Jr., upon his appointment to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Lara is a Trustee for the Florida Bar Foundation (2019-2022) and serves on its Executive Board. She also serves as Chair of a Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (2019-2021).

Lara serves on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Second District Court of Appeal, having been nominated by The Florida Bar and appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. She served on the JNC from 2011-2015 as an appointee of Governor Rick Scott, acting as Chair from 2014-2015. She is also a former two-term member of The Florida Bar’s Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee.

Lara is a former recipient of the James M. “Red” McEwen Award from the Hillsbrough County Bar Association. This award is presented to the individual who provided the most outstanding service to the bar and community during the prior year. Lara is also a past recipient of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.

Lara is a Fellow in Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society. Membership is by invitation and represents less than one-half of 1% of American lawyers.

Lara is a past member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Board of Directors, and past president of the Young Lawyers Division. She served as a Trustee for the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation for more than a decade and coordinated the Foundation’s approval as program manager for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit’s residential mortgage foreclosure mediation program.  She is also a past member of the Board of Directors for the Federal Bar Association’s Tampa Chapter.

Lara is also active in the Tampa Bay community. She was a Trustee for the Henry Mitchell Elementary Foundation, Inc., and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Inc. for many years. She is a member of the Federalist Society and the Athena Society.

Lara has been married to her husband, Wesley, for over twenty years. They have three children.