The list features the state’s most influential business leaders across major industries. According to Florida Trend Publisher David Denor, the honorees “are assets for Florida, providing ideas and solutions to the issues that accompany rapid growth.”
Sasso, who has served as president and CEO of Carlton Fields for 13 years, is a visionary leader providing the national law firm with a clear strategic plan and commitment to extraordinary client service. Under his leadership, the firm consistently ranks as a top firm for diversity and client service. He is also heavily committed to the practice of law, and state and local initiatives. He serves in leadership positions to many professional, business, and community organizations such as Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Florida Bar Gender Diversity Task Force, American Law Institute, The Florida Council, Straz Performing Arts Center, and the Tampa Bay Partnership.
Walbolt co-chairs the firm’s Appellate Practice and Trial Support group. She was the 12th lawyer to join Carlton Fields, which now has more than 300 attorneys in 11 offices. Board certified in Appellate Law by The Florida Bar, Walbolt is a former chair of its Appellate Practice Committee. She is an elected life member of the American Law Institute and currently serves as the American Bar Association’s representative on the Appellate Judges Education Institute Board of Directors. She is especially active in pro bono matters and has received honors for such work at both the state and national level. Walbolt was the 2016 recipient of the John Paul Stevens Guiding Hand of Counsel Award from the American Bar Association's Death Penalty Representation Project. As Carlton Fields’ first-ever female lawyer, Walbolt has long been a champion for diversity.
According to Florida Trend, the Florida 500 honorees were selected based on extensive contacts in regional business circles, hundreds of interviews and months of research, culminating in a highly selective biographical guide to the people who really run Florida. A variety of sources were used to produce the lists, including input from executives of economic development organizations, professional associations and others who know their communities, industries and the state well.
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