EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

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Lara J. Tibbals is a full-time mediator and arbitrator and the founder of Tibbals Mediation LLC in Tampa, Florida. With decades of experience as an advocate in complex business litigation, she now focuses her practice on circuit civil and federal court mediation, resolving a wide range of business, commercial, and personal injury disputes, as well as select family law matters, throughout Florida. She is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil and Family Law Mediator, Certified Mediator for the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, and a Panel Member of the American Arbitration Association.

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Prior to opening Tibbals Mediation, Ms. Tibbals was an equity partner at a leading Tampa law firm, where she represented clients in high-stakes business litigation in state and federal courts. She served as the first federal law clerk to Judge James S. Moody, Jr. in the Middle District of Florida from 2000 to 2001. Lara is known for her thorough preparation, strategic negotiation skills, and ability to create practical, durable resolutions across a wide range of disputes.

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Ms. Tibbals earned her B.A. in Communications from Florida State University and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. She also completed advanced negotiation training through Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.

 

She is recognized by SuperLawyers in both Business Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution and remains active in the legal community, including serving as Co-Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Mediation and Arbitration Section. She is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and serves as a Florida Bar nominee and gubernatorial appointee to the Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission.

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Recognized for her contributions to the legal profession, Lara has received awards including the James M. “Red” McEwen Award and the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. She is a Senior Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society, and a member of the International Academy of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Complex Commercial Litigation Institute.

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Lara is a frequent speaker on alternative dispute resolution. She has also served as a Trustee for the Florida Bar Foundation, the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, and the Federal Bar Association’s Tampa Chapter. Lara is a member of the Federalist Society and the Athena Society.

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Lara and her husband Wesley have been married for over twenty-five years and have three children.