Phelps Dunbar LLP announces today that Michael S. Hooker has joined the firm as a partner in the Tampa office. Hooker, formerly a name shareholder at Glenn Rasmussen Fogarty & Hooker, has joined the firm’s commercial litigation practice. He brings more than 30 years of experience representing clients in the areas of complex commercial and business tort litigation. Joining Mr. Hooker is Guy P. McConnell, also formerly with Glenn Rasmussen, who joins the firm as counsel. Their experience handling complex business disputes strengthens the firm’s services in the commercial litigation area for companies in Tampa and across the South. This is the second lateral group that has joined Phelps in the last month. In late March, Michael Brundage and Patrick Mosley moved to Phelps from Hill Ward Henderson and added new capabilities to the Tampa office in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.
“Mike is one of Tampa Bay’s leading litigators and we are fortunate that he has joined the firm,” said Michael D. Hunt, Firm Managing Partner. “His depth of experience and litigation skills as well as his commitment to the Tampa community make him a quality asset to Phelps.”
“I have known several Phelps attorneys for a very long time and have always been impressed by their legal acumen and professionalism,” said Hooker. “Joining Phelps Dunbar provides me with an excellent platform to handle sophisticated litigation matters for companies across the state of Florida and also will provide my existing clients with a full range of legal services.”
Hooker has extensive experience representing clients in the areas of business torts, products liability, real estate disputes, unfair trade practices, RICO and fraud, consumer protection, bank litigation, and class actions. He represents both large national companies and businesses with a more regional footprint. Hooker received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1981.
Hooker has been designated on numerous occasions as one of The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation, has been named a “Super Lawyer” for Business Litigation, and also has been recognized by Florida Trend magazine’s “Legal Elite” in the Commercial Litigation area. He has received the James “Red” McEwen Memorial Award for outstanding service to the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Judge George C. Carr Memorial Award for excellence in federal practice from the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Michael A. Fogarty “In the Trenches” Memorial Award for excellence in civil litigation. Among other activities, Hooker is a Past President of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, Past President of the Federal Bar Association’s Tampa Bay Chapter and Immediate Past President of the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation. He is currently President of the Henry B. Plant Museum.
Guy McConnell practices in the areas of civil trial and commercial litigation and has been involved in a wide variety of complex business disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secrets, business torts, trade regulation, and securities laws. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
