EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

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Lara Tibbals is an accomplished attorney specializing in alternative dispute resolution, serving as a mediator and arbitrator. She has completed a Master-level course in negotiation with Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation. Lara also holds a B.A. in Communications from Florida State University (1994) and a J.D. with honors from the University of Florida College of Law (1997). Certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a circuit-civil mediator since 2012 and a family law mediator since 2023, Lara is also a Panel member of the American Arbitration Association and a Florida Supreme Court approved arbitrator.

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Before founding Tibbals Mediation, LLC, Lara practiced law at a leading Tampa firm, handling diverse litigation cases for both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court. She served as the first federal law clerk to Judge James S. Moody, Jr. in the Middle District of Florida from 2000 to 2001.

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Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, various federal courts, and all Florida state courts, Lara is an approved mediator and arbitrator in multiple Florida judicial circuits. She serves on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Second District Court of Appeal and previously chaired the same commission.

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Recognized for her contributions, 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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Actively involved in the legal community, Lara co-chairs the Hillsborough County Bar Association's Mediation and Arbitration Section and has held various leadership roles in legal organizations. 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.

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In the Tampa Bay community, Lara has been a Trustee for the Henry Mitchell Elementary Foundation, Inc., and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Inc. She is a member of the Federalist Society and the Athena Society.

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