Jim Davis

Jim Davis, a member of Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group, draws upon his 18 years of experience in the public sector as an elected official and 14 years in the private sector as a commercial litigator to provide strategic legal, legislative and regulatory counsel to clients in Florida, the District of Columbia, nationally and internationally. The Best Lawyers in America guide has recognized Mr. Davis as a top professional in Government Relations from 2014 to 2026. Mr. Davis maintains offices in Washington, D.C., and Tampa.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Davis served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 10 years, representing the city of Tampa and portions of St. Petersburg, Bradenton and Hillsborough County, Florida. In 2006, Mr. Davis was the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida.

In Washington circles, Mr. Davis has earned a reputation as a problem solver and a peacemaker. While in Congress, he served on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he passed legislation to protect Medicaid beneficiaries from wrongful eviction from nursing homes and led opposition to congressional interference in personal end-of-life decisions of terminal patients. Also on the Committee, he helped develop legislation modifying Federal Communications Commission (FCC) obscenity and indecency standards and pass bipartisan legislation protecting the Florida Gulf Coast from offshore oil spills. As a member of the Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Mr. Davis actively investigated healthcare fraud and major consumer issues. Mr. Davis continues his work on healthcare, energy and environment, and technology issues at Holland & Knight.

In addition, Mr. Davis served on the House Committee on International Relations, where he advanced U.S. foreign relations in Central and South America, the Middle East and East Asia. Mr. Davis was a leader in the development and passage of several major trade agreements, including modernizing U.S. trade relations with China and South America, as well as implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. He also served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the country. Mr. Davis continues his foreign relations and international trade focus at Holland & Knight.

Mr. Davis was elected by his peers as president of the Democratic Freshman Class in 1997 and, with his class colleagues, helped pass bipartisan landmark campaign finance reform. He also served as co-chair of the House New Democratic Coalition, a group of centrist Democrats focused on economic growth and opportunity and a strong and smart national defense.

Before entering Congress, Mr. Davis was a state representative in the Florida House of Representatives from 1988 to 1996 and served as the House Majority Leader in 1995 and 1996. In the Florida Legislature, as chairman of the Public Utility Subcommittee, he wrote legislation to promote renewable energy and energy conservation and helped pass legislation increasing competition in the natural gas, telecommunications and cable television industries.

Prior to his political experience, Mr. Davis worked in private practice in Tampa as a commercial litigator for 14 years with two major Tampa law firms.

In addition to his legal and public policy work, Mr. Davis provides political commentary through Tampa Bay area, state and national media. He also serves as executive producer of "When the Righteous Triumph," a critically acclaimed stage play dramatizing Tampa's historic 1960 lunch counter sit-ins. The production, performed in 2025 at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, has been praised for its powerful portrayal of peaceful protest and civic unity and was featured in the Florida WEDU documentary, "Triumph," airing on PBS affiliates nationally.