Rick Blystone
Partner
Rick is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Labor & Employment Law. He is adept at assisting clients with avoiding costly and time-consuming litigation. This includes review and preparation of employee policies, handbooks, and contracts, and development of employee/management training. Rick also assist clients with day-to-day employment law questions, including questions about hiring, discipline, internal investigations, terminations, reasonable accommodations, FMLA compliance, non-solicitation, confidentiality and non-compete matters.
In the event litigation cannot be avoided, or if it is time to take a stand, Rick zealously represents his clients in court, whether it be in state of federal court, or before any number of administrative agencies. His extensive litigation practice includes cases brought under Title VII, Section 1981, Section 1983, FLSA, ADA, PDA, ADEA, FMLA, FCRA, Section 440.205, Florida Statutes, and Florida’s Whistleblower statutes, just to name a few. Rick also represents clients in commercial litigation, including breach of contract claims, shareholder disputes, and trade secret and unfair and deceptive trade practice matters. Rick has served as the Chair of Florida Defense Lawyers Association’s (FDLA) Labor and Employment Law Committee. He is also a member of the Florida Bar, Labor and Employment Section, Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, Phi Theta Kappa, the Moot Court Honor Society, and the National Order of Barristers, a national honorary organization that recognizes excellence in written and oral advocacy.
Rick was recently named to the prestigious Fulbright Specialist Roster in the area of labor and employment law by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and World Learning. Fulbright alumni include 33 current or former heads of state or government, 54 Nobel Laureates, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners, 29 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors
- Cotney, Partner, April 2019 – Present
- Garganese, Weiss, D’Agresta & Salzman, P.A., Senior Attorney, March 2013 – April 2019
- Moran Kidd Lyons & Johnson, P.A., Attorney, November 2006 – August 2012
- “Staying Fair: Roofing Contractors Face Common Fair Labor Standard Act Challenges,” NRCA Professional Roofing, July 2020
- “Florida’s New Employment Verification Law for the Construction Industry,” Florida Roofing, November 2020
- “What Irrigation Contractors Need to Know About Medical Marijuana,” Pipeline, Vol. 16, Issue 1 (2017)
- “Legal Update – What You Need to Know About the Clean Water Act (CWA),” Pipeline, Vol. 15, Issue 4 (2017)
- Associated Builders and Contractors, Central Florida Chapter
- Florida Defense Lawyers Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee, Chair
- Psi Chi Fraternity
- International Honor Society, Psychology
- Phi Theta Kappa Moot Court Honor Society
- National Order of Barristers
- ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law, Editor-in-Chief
- Fienrider Moot Court Competition, Champion
- CALI Excellence for the Future Awards, International Human Rights & Interviewing, Negotiating and Counseling
- Labor & Employment
- The State of Florida
- Florida Bar Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
- Fulbright Specialist Roster, Labor and Employment Law
- Tampa Magazine, Top Lawyer, 2020
- University of Central Florida, B.S., Psychology
- Nova Southeastern University – Shepard Broad Law Center, J.D.