Jeffrey L. Hinds

For over 20 years, Jeff Hinds has focused his practice on eminent domain, condemnation, and related issues.

Mr. Hinds has been lead counsel on hundreds of eminent domain matters on a wide array of projects and has extensive experience litigating inverse condemnation actions as well. He has acted as special condemnation counsel to several Florida counties, municipalities and school boards and has also represented a variety of natural gas and petroleum products transmission companies. His experience includes pre-condemnation planning, negotiation, mediation, settlement, trial and appeal on behalf of condemning authorities, private property owners, and business owners. He has lectured and been published in the field of condemnation law and has been profiled in the “Career Spotlight” section of the University of Florida College of Law’s FlaLaw Magazine. Mr. Hinds has been selected as an Eminent Domain Super Lawyer by Florida Super Lawyers Magazine since 2011 and has been included in US News & World Report’s The Best Lawyers in America for the past 11 years. Mr. Hinds was recently reappointed to serve on the Eminent Domain Committee of the Florida Bar.

Mr. Hinds received his B.A., M.A., and J.D. Degrees from the University of Florida. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1994, and also maintains licensure in the District of Columbia and Texas.

Education

University of Florida College of Law, J.D.  (awarded concurrent with Master of Arts), 1994
University of Florida, M.A., 1994
University of Florida, B.A.,1990

Bar + Court Admissions

Florida
Texas
District of Columbia
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, 11th Circuit and 9th Circuit

Awards + Recognitions

• Selected by US News & World Report for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
• Selected as an Eminent Domain Super Lawyer by Florida Super Lawyers Magazine, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
• Selected as one of Tampa Bay’s Top Lawyers by Tampa Bay Magazine since 2013.
• Received 2016 Florida Planning and Zoning Association Outstanding Study/Plan Award for contribution to the Lee County Greater Pine Island Community Plan Update.
• Profiled in the “Career Spotlight” section of the University of Florida College of Law’s FlaLaw Magazine, Fall 2007.
• Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Team, Vice Chairman.
• ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Team Coach.
• J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Moot Court Competition, Team Coach.
• Zimmerman, Shuffield, Kiser & Sutcliffe Moot Court Cup Competition, Finalist.
• Research Assistant, Professor Joseph W. Little.
• Phi Beta Kappa.
• University of Florida, College of Law, President’s Honor Roll (4.0 GPA) & Dean’s List.
• Phi Kappa Phi.
• Alpha Lambda Chi (Criminology and Law Honor Society), President.
• Golden Key National Honor Society.
• University of Florida Speech & Debate Team (NDT Policy Squad).

Publication + Speeches

• More Than a Thump, a Sniff and a Squeeze: If You Think Choosing A Melon is Difficult, Try Sussing Out Whether A Regulatory Takings Claim Is Ripe. Florida Association of County Attorneys 2018 Continuing Legal Education Program (November 2018)
• The Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act: The Statute that Ate My Budget. Florida Association of County Attorneys 2018 Continuing Legal Education Program (June 2018)
• The 2014 Inverse Condemnation Avoidance and Defense Notebook: An Updated Field Guide to Identification and Amelioration of Physical Invasion Inverse Condemnation Claims, Florida Association of County Attorneys 2014 Continuing Legal Education Program (June 2014)
• The Ins and Outs of Access Law: A Case Study of the Green Tree Shopping Center in Sunshine County, Florida, Association of Eminent Domain Professionals General Meeting (September 2012)
• The Inverse Condemnation Avoidance and Defence Notebook: A Field Guide to Identification and Amelioration of Physical Invasion Inverse Condemnation Claims, Florida Municipal Attorneys’ Association 30th Annual Seminar (July 2011)
• Inverse Condemnation Boot Camp. Hillsborough County Bar Association Eminent Domain Committee CLE Lecture Series (February 2011)
• Emergent Issues in Inverse Condemnation –  Careless Contractors, Abolishing Access and Periodic Ponding, CLE International Eminent Domain Institute, 14th Annual Conference (October 2010)
• “Make thee an Ark…” and Other Sure Signs Your Property Has Been Condemned by Inundation, CLE International Eminent Domain Institute, 14th Annual Conference (October 2010)
• Can Contractors’ Carelessness Constitute Condemnation?, CLE International Eminent Domain Institute, 14th Annual Conference (October 2010)
• A Patriot’s Dilemma: Homeland Security, Pipeline Safety, and a Land Owner’s “Right to Know’, Florida Energy Pipeline Association Summer Conference (July 2010)
• Does Florida’s Inverse Condemnation Jurisprudence Leave Flooded Property Owners High and Dry?, Hillsborough Lawyer Magazine (June 2010)
• Corridor Valuation: The Long and Short of It, Florida Energy Pipeline Association Summer Conference (July 2009)
• You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Written Offer, Hillsborough County Bar Association Lawyer Magazine (March 2009)
• Once a Highway, Always a Highway?, The Curious Case of Pasco v. City of Oldsmar, Hillsborough County Bar Association Lawyer Magazine (October 2007)
• Appraisal Testimony After Armadillo: Out of the Frye Pan?, Hillsborough County Bar Association Lawyer Magazine (December 2005)
• Cutting Edge Jurisprudence: When a Structure Encroaches Upon Property Proposed to be Taken by Eminent Domain, Hillsborough – County Bar Association Lawyer Magazine (April 2002)

Professional + Community Involvement

Florida Bar Eminent Domain Committee
Hillsborough County Bar Association
Clearwater Bar Association
Florida Law Week, Volunteer
Florida Municipal Attorneys Association