EUGENE K. PETTIS

CO-FOUNDER & SENIOR PARTNER, HALICZER PETTIS & SCHWAMM, FORT LAUDERDALE

The youngest of seven children in a Fort Lauderdale family, Pettis is no stranger to adversity. In sixth grade, two teachers brutally beat him for horseplaying, he told Florida Bar Journal in 2013. The incident sent him into a disciplinary tailspin. But, at the brink of suspension, he turned his tale around. Pettis attended the University of Florida, where he was president of the Black Student Union, and earned his JD In 1996, he co-founded what’s now the Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm law firm. He became the first African-American president of The Florida Bar in 2013. Under his leadership, the organization created the Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Leadership Academy, a one-year training program that has since helped 350-plus lawyers become better leaders. Pettis now hosts the Can We Talk? 360° podcast, in which he shares motivational moments and conversations with a variety of subject experts.