Richard J. Cole, III

Richard J. Cole, III

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Practice Areas

• Litigation
• Business law
• Bankruptcy
• Estate Planning & Probate

Admitted

• 2008, Florida
• 2009, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
• 2010, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
• 2010, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
• 2010, U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
• 2010, U.S. Tax Court

Education

• J.D., cum laude, University of Florida, 2008
• L.L.M., with merit, University College London, 2009
• B.A., summa cum laude, University of Florida, 2005

Professional association

• Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Federal Bar Association
• Sarasota County Bar Association
• Family Court Professional Collaborative

Biography

Richard J. Cole, III, is an ABC Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney in practice since 2008.  Richard is a Florida Super Lawyers Rising Star and is Martindale Hubble AV Preeminent Rated.  He attended the University of Florida’s Frederic G. Levin College of Law and received his Master of Laws in International Banking and Finance, with Merit, from University College London.  Richard’s practice includes consumer and business bankruptcy, creditor’s rights, commercial litigation, appellate law, and estate planning.  Richard is based in Sarasota, Florida, and is a shareholder at Cole & Cole Law, P.A.  He has been a speaker at the ABI’s 2017 Annual Spring Meeting and at the Graduate Insolvency Program, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi.  He provides mentoring to disadvantaged high school students through the Booker High School Law Academy Program, is the immediate past Co-Chair of the ABI’s Consumer Committee, and former Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s State and Local Government Relations Section, in addition to other volunteer work.  In 2015, Richard was an NCBJ Next Generation Program participant.

Publication

Thorny Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Cases, Second Addition, Contributing Author (Publication Pending)

The Federal Lawyer, Vol. 66 Issue 4, July/August 2019: Middle District of Florida Man: Where Bizarre Florida Memes Come From and More Fun Under the Sunshine Laws

American Bankruptcy Institute Consumer Bankruptcy Newsletter, Vol. 14, Num. 2, May 2016: The Unlisted Creditor and the Interplay of §§ 523(a)(3) and 726(a)(2): A Circuit Split Continues

The Cramdown, The Newsletter of the Tampa Bay Bankr. Bar Assoc., Summer 2015: Supreme Court Rejects Junior Mortgage Lien Avoidance in Chapter 7

American Bankruptcy Institute Consumer Bankruptcy Newsletter, Vol. 13, Num. 2, May 2015: Breaking News: Supreme Court Issues Ruling in Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank

The Cramdown, The Newsletter of the Tampa Bay Bankr. Bar Assoc., Winter 2015: Reviewing the View: View from the Bench 2014 (Tampa)

The Docket (Sarasota County Bar Association Newsletter), September 2013: Bankruptcy Complicates Divorce Settlement

The Docket (Sarasota County Bar Association Newsletter), August 2012: Stripping of Second Mortgages Now Possible in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Accolades and Miscellany

Board Certified – Consumer Bankruptcy Law – American Board of Certification (2018)

Florida SuperLawyers Rising Star (2018, 2019, 2020)

Martindale Hubbell® Peer Review Rated AV Preeminent™ in Bankruptcy (2015-2020)

National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Next Generation Program Participant (2015)

American Bankruptcy Institute, 2017 Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., Panelist: How to Litigate the Value of a Single Family Home

Speaker, Graduate Insolvency Program, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, November 14, 2019, Introducing U.S. Bankruptcy with a View to Learning Chapter 15

Speaker, Graduate Insolvency Program, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, November 3, 2020, Consumer Bankruptcy in the United States

American Bankruptcy Institute, Consumer Committee, Special Projects Manager (April 2015 – April 2017), Education Director (2017 – 2018), Co-Chair (2018 – 2020)

Federal Bar Association, State and Local Government Relations Section, Executive Board Member (2014 – 2015); Deputy Chairman (2015 – 2016); Chair (2016 – 2018)

Federal Bar Association, Access to Justice Task Force 2020 – 2021

Federal Bar Association – Young Lawyer Mentorship Program (2015)

Florida Bar Young Lawyer’s Division – Law Student Mentorship Program (2014 – 2015)

Judge John M. Scheb American Inn of Court – Barrister Member (2015 – Current)

FACES Mentoring – Booker High School Mentor, Law Academy Program, 2019-2020

Cases of Note

Access for the Disabled, Inc. v. AP Hotel Mgmt., LLC, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128611 (M.D.Fla. Nov. 7, 2011)

All Sorts of Servs. of Am. v. United States SBA, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202059 (M.D.Fla. July 31, 2020)

First Nat’l Bank of Oneida v. Brandt, 597 B.R. 663 (M.D.Fla. 2018)

First Nat’l Bank of Oneida v. Brandt, 887 F.3d 1255 (11^th Cir. 2018)

Fohrmeister v. Puckett, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106790 (M.D.Fla. July 11, 2017)

In re Cole, 559 B.R. 919 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2016)

In re Jimenez, 2019 Bankr. LEXIS 4112 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. Jan. 14, 2019)

Leadbetter v. Snyder (In re Snyder), 544 B.R. 905 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2016)

Ross v. Prospectsplus!, Inc., 182 So.3d 802 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)

T3 Welding & Mfg. v. 1^st Choice Fac. Servs. Corp., 2018 Fla. Cir. LEXIS 303 (Fla. Cir. Jan. 9, 2018)