Daniel Mahfood
Associate
Daniel Mahfood
+1.904.798.5461
Overview
Daniel Mahfood is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Jacksonville office who focuses on complex commercial disputes and appeals.
Mr. Mahfood applies his litigation skills across a variety of sectors, including financial services, transportation, insurance, healthcare and franchising, to proactively resolve disputes and advocate for his clients. He has handled matters involving class actions, product liability, arbitration, trade secrets and intellectual property, fiduciary duties, contract claims and torts.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Mahfood was an attorney at a boutique appellate firm, as well as a large, international law firm. In those roles, he gained comprehensive experience handling appeals, delivering oral arguments and providing strategic trial support on a variety of matters. He also represented and counseled clients in federal and state trial courts, as well as in arbitration and administrative proceedings. Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Susan H. Black of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Honorable Daniel T.K. Hurley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In law school, Mr. Mahfood graduated fourth in his class and served as a managing editor of the Florida Law Review.
Representative Experience
- Obtained summary judgment on First Amendment claims on behalf of a state actor, successfully defended the judgment before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and defeated a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court that was supported by state and U.S. attorneys general, members of Congress and other high-profile amicus briefs
- Obtained summary judgment for a residential housing development on claims by environmental activists and successfully defended the judgment before Florida's Sixth District Court of Appeal
- Obtained a reversal of a grant of summary judgment to an insurer and denial of summary judgment to a general contractor in a coverage dispute before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- Defeated patent infringement claims in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and successfully defended the judgment before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Obtained reversal of an order excluding an expert witness and granting summary judgment to a manufacturer of electronic surgical equipment before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Obtained enforcement of a franchise agreement's arbitration clause against a non-signatory and successfully defended the ruling before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Persuaded the Florida Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal on jurisdictional grounds in a case involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duty by the trustees of a multibillion-dollar charitable trust
- Obtained affirmance of a jury verdict in favor of a private university in a case alleging gender discrimination and retaliation before Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal
- Defeated efforts on numerous occasions to use petitions for the common law writ of certiorari to obtain interlocutory review and stay trial proceedings in Florida
- Provided pro bono representation to a juvenile previously sentenced to life in prison after his sentence was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court
- Defeated multiple putative national and statewide class actions alleging employees at a national bank opened accounts and applied for products without customers' consent
- Obtained class certification of claims under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA) in state and federal courts
- Defeated class certification of claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- Defeated a petition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) for interlocutory review of an order granting class certification before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Defeated multimillion-dollar trade secret claims arising from a client's transition to a new customer relationship management (CRM) platform for its health management business
- Obtained a preliminary injunction enforcing a noncompetition agreement in connection with a $250 million business acquisition in the Delaware Court of Chancery
- Protected a national railroad from interference by utilities and underlying property owners using principles of state law and federal preemption under the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA)
- Procured injunctive relief to halt defamatory radio advertisements by a disgruntled former franchisee and obtained an award of more than $400,000 in attorney's fees
- Defeated a motion for summary judgment and obtained a favorable settlement for an individual harmed by a negligent, experimental use of a medical device
Credentials
Education
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
- University of Florida, B.S., Neurobiological Sciences, summa cum laude
- University of Florida, B.A., Economics, cum laude
Bar Admissions/Licenses
- Florida
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Memberships
- Federal Bar Association
- American Bar Association (ABA), Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), Appellate Advocacy Committee, Chair, 2025-2026
- Chester Bedell American Inn of Court, Associate, 2015-2016; Barrister, 2018-2021
- First District Appellate American Inn of Court
- The Florida Bar, Appellate Practice Section
- Jacksonville Bar Association, Appellate Law Committee
Honors & Awards
- Rising Star, Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2017-2025
- Legal Elite Up & Comer, Florida Trend, 2016, 2019
- Order of the Coif
- Irving Cypen Scholastic Achievement Award, University of Florida Levin College of Law, 2009
- Book Award, Contracts, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- Book Award, Corporations, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- Book Award, Securities Regulation, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- Book Award, Legal Drafting, University of Florida Levin College of Law