Areas Of Practice

• Appeals
• General Civil Litigation & Insurance Defense
• Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith

Kansas R. Gooden, a Board Certified Appellate Specialist and AV Rated attorney, serves as the firm’s Appellate Practice Group Leader. Ms. Gooden currently works remotely for the firm in Miami. Through her remote work, she is able to efficiently and more cost-effectively serve her client’s needs.

Ms. Gooden has extensive experience handling all types of civil appellate proceedings in the Florida Supreme Court, all Florida District Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She is one of the only attorneys who has argued back-to-back cases on the same day before the Florida Supreme Court. Ms. Gooden often handles cases of first impression, and those involving insurance coverage and bad faith issues.

In addition to handling appeals, she also provides litigation and trial support to attorneys throughout the state. She is often called upon to attend trials and hearing to assist in preserving the error for later appeal.

Ms. Gooden is highly involved in the state and local bar associations and has served in many leadership roles. Currently, Ms. Gooden is the President of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, the statewide civil defense bar. She also chairs the organization’s Amicus Committee and has since 2017. On behalf of the organization, she authors and co-authors amicus briefs in important cases impacting tort, litigation, and insurance issues.

Ms. Gooden will become the Chair-Elect of the Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section in June 2022. She has been actively in the Appellate Practice Section for over a decade. She has served on the Executive Council and previously chaired the CLE Committee for several years.

Ms. Gooden also currently serves on the Florida Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization and Education. This committee oversees the certification committees and CLE accreditation for the bar. She previously served on and chaired the Florida Bar’s Appellate Board Certification Committee, which writes and grades the appellate board certification test. The examination tests an applicant’s knowledge of state and federal appeals in the areas of civil, criminal, administrative, worker’s compensation, probate, and family law. The committee also examines the fitness of the candidates for board certification and those applying for recertification.

While in law school, Ms. Gooden interned for the Third District Court of Appeal Chief Judge David Gersten. It was there that she developed her passion for appellate practice.

Lastly, Ms. Gooden played nationally competitive junior, amateur, and collegiate golf. She was the Virginia State Girls Golf Champion in 1997 and 1999 and was awarded the Marion Miley Bracelet by the Western Women’s Golf Association in 1997.

Admissions

• Florida, 2008
  • Board Certified Appellate Practice, 2015-present
• United States District Court
  • Northern District of Florida, 2009
  • Middle District of Florida, 2009
  • Southern District of Florida, 2009
• United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 2012

Awards & Recognition

• Board Certified in Appellate Practice by The Florida Bar, 2015-present
• AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, 2018
• Featured in Attorney at Law Magazine, Jacksonville, as a Rising Star, 2016
• Listed in Attorney at Law Magazine, Jacksonville, in Top Ten Under 40, 2016-2017
• Listed in Attorney at Law Magazine, Jacksonville, Women of the Law Edition, 2017
• Featured in Attorney at Law Magazine, Miami, 2019 Super Star, 2019
• Listed in Florida Super Lawyers in Appellate Practice, 2022
• Listed in Florida Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in Appellate Practice, 2011-2021
• Recognized in Florida Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite, Up-and-Comers List, 2021
• Recipient of Amicus Award from the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 2015. This award is bestowed upon an appellate attorney with significant contributions to the defense bar through Amicus, or “Friend of the Court,” briefs.
• Recipient of the James A. Dixon Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 2017. The award is given annually to a young lawyer who exceeds the standards of excellence, dedication and commitment to the FDLA and its goals.
• Recipient of the Children’s Champion Award from The Florida Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office, 2019. The award is for her dedication to pro bono representation.
• Recipient of the Joseph P. Metzger Outstanding Achievement Award from The Florida Defense Lawyers Association. This award is bestowed on the member who goes above and beyond over the course of his or her tenure as a member of the organization.

Memberships

• The Florida Bar, 2008-present
  • Appellate Practice Board Certification Committee, 2017-2020
    • Chair, 2019-2020
  • Appellate Practice Section
    • Chair-Elect, 2022-2023
    • Treasurer, 2021-2022
    • Secretary, 2020-2021
    • Executive Council, 2015-2018, 2019-2020
    • Appellate Practice Section, CLE Committee, 2013-2020
      • Chair, 2018-2020
      • Co-Chair of Monthly Webinar CLE series, 2015-2018
      • Chair, Hidden Essentials of Appellate Practice Seminar, 2017
      • Chair, Hot Topics in Appellate Law Seminar, 2013
    • Appellate Practice Section, Finance Committee, 2019-present
      • Chair, 2021-2022
    • Appellate Practice Section, Outreach Committee, 2014-2017
      • Liaison to the Jacksonville Bar Association, 2014-2017
    • Appellate Practice Section, Publications Committee, 2014-2016
      • Florida Bar Journal, APS Assistant Editor, 2014-2016
    • Appellate Practice Section, Legislative Committee, 2013-2015
  • Board of Legal Specialization & Education, 2020-present
    • Chair, Communications Subcommittee, 2021-2022
• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, 2021-present
• Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 2010-present
  • President, 2021-2022
  • President-Elect, 2020-2021
  • Secretary/Treasurer, 2019-2020
  • Board Member, Third District Representative, 2018-2019
  • Board Member, First District Representative, 2016-2018
  • Amicus Committee, 2010-present
    • Chair, 2017-present
• Third District Court of Appeal Historical Society, 2017-present
  • Board of Directors, 2020-present
• Florida Supreme Court Historical Society, 2018-present
• Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, 2015-present
  • Miami Lawyers Chapter, 2017-present
  • Jacksonville Lawyers Chapter, 2015-2017
• Dade County Bar Association, 2018-present
  • Appellate Court Committee, 2018-present
• Florida Association of Women Lawyers, 2018-2021
  • Miami-Dade Chapter, 2018-2021
• DRI, Inc. (formerly Defense Research Institute), 2010-2011, 2019-2022
  • Amicus Committee, 2020-2022
• First District Appellate American Inn of Court, 2011-2022
  • Emeritus Member, 2017-2022
  • Barrister Member, 2011-2017
• Jacksonville Association of Defense Counsel
  • President, 2015
  • Vice President, 2014
  • Secretary, 2013
• Jacksonville Bar Association, 2008-2017
  • Appellate Section, Chair, 2013-2014
  • Appellate Section, Vice Chair, 2012-2013
• Fourth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Large Firm Subcommittee, 2011-2012
  • Chair, Specialization and Skill Set Committee, 2011-2012
• Jacksonville Claims Association, 2009-2010
• Ronald McDonald House’s Inaugural Golf Tournament Committee, Member, 2014