Joseph H. Varner III

Joseph H. Varner III is a partner in Holland & Knight's Tampa office. He is the Practice Group Leader for the Tampa Litigation Group and serves on the firm's Directors Committee.

Mr. Varner is an accomplished trial lawyer who has focused on civil trial practice in Florida for his entire career. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, has been named one of the Top 10 lawyers in Florida by Super Lawyers, has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law for more than 30 years, and has received numerous other honors and accolades for his professional achievements.

Mr. Varner is experienced in complex commercial litigation, business torts, securities litigation, professional negligence, and personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He has obtained significant jury verdicts and settlements in commercial and personal injury litigation, and has conducted numerous jury trials in state and federal court. Mr. Varner is also a certified mediator in state and federal court, and is a member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals.

Mr. Varner has held numerous positions of bar leadership, including President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and President of the J. Clifford Cheatwood American Inn of Court. He has also been appointed to several positions of service to the courts, including chair of the Middle District of Florida Local Rules Advisory Committee, the Merit Selection Panel for U.S. Magistrates, the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group for the Middle District of Florida and Special Counsel for the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission.

In addition to his trial practice and professional activities, Mr. Varner has been active in community and charitable activities his entire career, including Visit Tampa Bay, Copperhead Charities, Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, the United Way Keel Club, Voices for Children, Metropolitan Ministries, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Leadership Tampa, Leukemia Society/Brooks Brothers Man of the Year, the University of Tampa Board of Counselors, and The Tampa Connection.