Rebecca Creed

Rebecca Bowen Creed

Rebecca Creed is a Florida Bar board-certified appellate specialist who has handled many appeals before the state and federal courts. She is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed as a " Legal Elite" in Florida by Florida Trend magazine and as a " Super Lawyer" in the top 5% of Florida lawyers by Law and Politics magazine for 13 years running.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Rebecca earned her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Virginia. She received her law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a staff member of the North Carolina Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

After law school, Rebecca joined a Greensboro, North Carolina law firm, where she first developed an interest in civil litigation and appeals. Following her marriage to a coastal engineer, she moved to Florida and joined the Jacksonville law firm of Baumer, Bradford & Walters, P.A., where she focused on commercial and appellate litigation in the state and federal courts. She became a shareholder of Baumer, Bradford & Walters in 1998.

In the fall of 2000, Baumer, Bradford merged with the established Atlanta law firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. While a partner with Smith Gambrell, Rebecca handled appeals in the state and federal courts on civil and commercial matters.

Rebecca joined the firm in January 2003 to focus exclusively on appellate litigation. Since then, her practice has included civil, commercial, criminal, and family law appellate matters, together with medical malpractice and personal injury appeals. She became an equal shareholder in the firm effective January 2007.

Rebecca has served as the chair of the appellate law section of the Jacksonville Bar Association and is an alumnus of the Chester Bedell Inn of Court, where she was a barrister. She serves as the chair of the Appellate Practice Guide, a publication of the Florida Bar's Appellate Practice Section.

Notable Cases:

• Bennett v. St. Vincent's Medical Center, Inc. Ms. Creed represented parents of a severely brain-damaged infant. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Florida, the parents successfully challenged an overly broad statutory interpretation of Florida's Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan (NICA).  
• Anderson v. Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital Foundation, Inc.  Ms. Creed's clients were the parents of a brain-damaged child. The Second District Court of Appeal enforced the parents' right to elect and pursue their civil remedies against the hospital in circuit court.
• Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Harrell. Ms. Creed represented a privately-insured plaintiff injured in an automobile accident by an underinsured motorist.  The First District Court of Appeal ruled that the plaintiff had the right to present evidence to the jury of the gross amount of her total medical bills - rather than the lesser amount actually paid by the private health insurer.

Recent Publications:

• Overview and Analysis of Recent Changes to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, Florida Justice Association Journal, January/February 2016.
• Discussion with the Florida Supreme Court: A Reminder of Our Responsibilities as Florida Lawyers, The Record (Fall 2012).
• New Appellate Rule for Probate and Guardianship Proceedings, Fla. Bar Journal, Sept.-Oct. 2012, at 58, co-authored with Jennifer Shoaf Richardson.

Recent Speaking Engagements:

• "The Record-Perspectives on Preservation from the Bench and Bar," Jacksonville Bar Association's Raymond Ehrlich Trial Advocacy Seminar (Feb. 25, 2016)
• "Offers of Judgment: Proposals for Settlement,"  Florida Justice Association CLE Webinar (Oct. 30, 2015)
• "The Right and Wrong Way to Select a Jury: Tips from an Appellate Practitioner,"  Florida Justice Association Jury Selection Seminar (Sept. 19, 2013)
• Oral Argument Skit, American Board of Trial Advocates, Pajcic Seminar, Jacksonville, FL (Oct. 25, 2012)
• "Offensive and Defensive Strategies for the Proposal for Settlement: Recent Case Law," Florida Justice Association Workhorse Seminar, Orlando, FL (March 21, 2012)
• "Preservation of Error at Trial," Raymond Ehrlich Trial Advocacy Seminar, Jacksonville Bar Association, Jacksonville, FL (June 2011)