MICHAEL G. TANNER

OF COUNSEL, GUNSTER, TALLAHASSEE

Founded in 1925, Gunster focuses primarily on the needs of business clients. It employs more than 330 attorneys and consultants and supports more than 500 community organizations, financially and through the work of its attorneys. Tanner served for 10 years on the Florida Board of Governors. He also was president of the Florida Bar in 2021-22, leading an effort emphasizing professionalism in the practice of law, “i.e., educating lawyers that it's always better to take the high road,” he says.

EDUCATION: Davidson College (BS), University of Florida (JD)

NOTABLE TREND: The ever-increasing number of licensed attorneys, which increases the difficulty of maintaining the collegiality our profession enjoyed in past years. Artificial intelligence is the innovation everyone is focused on today, but there is no consensus on how it will change our profession. I believe AI will shrink the legal profession to some extent by automating aspects of legal practice, but it won't replace the sound human judgment clients will always need to solve their complex legal problems.

NEXT BIG FOCUS
“I published my first novel in 2012 (available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble) and just finished my second. Starting my third later this year.”