Fred Dudley is Senior Counsel with the international law firm of Holland & Knight, and is a Florida Bar Board Certified Construction Lawyer with almost 40 years of experience in real estate practice, emphasizing construction liens, licensing and disciplinary cases. He served 16 years in the Florida Legislature, retiring from the Florida Senate in 1998, where he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee.
As a legislator, Mr. Dudley chaired the study group that re-wrote Florida's Construction Lien laws (Chapter 713), and successfully sponsored every statutory change thereto from 1990 to 1998. As a legislative advocate since 2001, he has continued to draft most of the state laws governing contracting activities in Florida, representing such groups as Florida Home Builders Association, Aluminum Association of Florida and Florida Swimming Pool Association.
His construction law practice includes lien litigation, administrative proceedings for rule challenges and license discipline, lobbying the Florida Legislature on behalf of numerous clients, and serving as litigation consultant and expert witness. This practice also includes regular appearances before the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (Construction Industry Licensing Board, Electrical Contracting Licensing Board, Board of Architects and Interior Designers, and Board of Professional Engineers), as well as working with the Department of Health (water quality standards), Office of Insurance Regulation (title and workers' compensation issues), State Fire Marshall's Office (fire system contractors licensing and regulation), and Department of Transportation (construction certifications and contract bidding).
Mr. Dudley has been designated by the Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to work on revisions to that agency's licensing forms and procedures.
Mr. Dudley has served as an adjunct professor at Florida State University College of Law, publishing a textbook on real estate transactions and finance, and lectured extensively on behalf of The Florida Bar in many areas of construction law, such as licensing, discipline, unlicensed activities and representation in lien litigation.