Shawn Goforth is a partner in the firm’s Tampa office.  He is a trial attorney who primarily handles first and third party personal injury litigation matters including premises liability, negligent security, motor vehicle and trucking accidents. Shawn is an experienced and skilled litigator whose ability to quickly analyze and evaluate cases has benefitted clients in obtaining favorable results. 

 Shawn began his career in the United States Air Force as an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet mechanic in Misawa, Japan.  He cross-trained to become a paralegal in The Judge Advocate General’s (TJAG) department handling criminal matters (courts martial, non-judicial punishment) and civil claims . In his final four years in the military, he was selected to train new paralegals at Maxwell Air Force Base.

After the military, Shawn was accepted into Stetson University College of Law where he completed his Juris Doctor Degree. He joined the 13th Judicial Circuit’s Public Defender’s Office. He tried felony and misdemeanor jury trials, along with numerous bench trials for over 120 jury trials. Shawn served as a division chief in the felony, juvenile, and misdemeanor divisions handling cases and supervising/training attorneys. He earned his Board Certification in Criminal Trial Law garnering recognition as an expert by the Florida Bar – an honor and distinction held by only a small fraction of attorneys.

Shawn expanded his litigation career from the military into the civil trial arena by transitioning into personal injury law in Bradenton, Florida. He handled civil defense cases for a major commercial heavy equipment/trucking client for several years and has tried civil cases to verdict for both Plaintiff and defendants alike.