By Raymond T. (Tom) Elligett Jr. and Amy S. Farrior
In February, Judge Samuel Salario took his place on the newly created 16th seat on the Second District Court of Appeal. Like Judge Matthew Lucas the month before, Judge Salario sat on his first oral argument panel the day after he officially arrived (again, Clerk Jim Birkhold had arranged to get him the files in advance).
Judge Salario was born in Tampa and has enjoyed returning to his hometown after college, law school, and a stint working in Washington, D.C. Judge Salario first migrated to Washington to attend American University, where he was a political science and philosophy major. From there, he graduated from the University of Florida School of Law with high honors and was on Law Review.
After clerking with Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (while sitting in Jacksonville), Judge Salario went into private practice in Washington, first with Holland & Knight and then with Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, now WilmerHale. Judge Salario and his family moved to Tampa in October 2002, when he joined Carlton Fields. Judge Salario concentrated his practice in securities litigation and enforcement and class-action litigation.
Judge Salario was a member of several Bar and securities associations and served on a Florida Bar Advertising Grievance Committee and the Florida Bar Rules of Judicial Administration Committee. He has also spoken and written on securities litigation and other topics.
One significant change Judge Salario experienced when moving from private practice to the appellate bench was how quiet it became. He notes his emails dropped from roughly 150 a day to maybe a couple dozen. He says he is also adjusting to reading everything ― from briefs to the record ― on computer screens, the standard practice in the Second District today.
When not engaged in the law, Judge Salario enjoys spending time with his family: his wife, an appellate lawyer with the United States Attorney’s Office, and their two sons. It was through his sons that he became involved in taekwondo, in which he holds a first dan black belt. His other interests include visiting “old landscapes” of Florida with his family: areas that have retained their old Florida ambiance. Recent outings have included stays in cabins in Cedar Key and Welaka (we didn’t know either ― it’s near Palatka).
The HCBA is pleased to welcome Judge Salario to the Second District Court of Appeal as he begins his service on the bench.
