TRADE ASSOCIATE UPDATE

CAROLANN SWANSON OF SANTOS STOKES LLP

One of Carolann Swanson’s goals is to do her part to keep Florida agriculture alive and well. “We are involved in the agricultural community and hope that our involvement can help our clients and the industry keep farming,” she says.

Swanson is a partner in the law firm Santos Stokes LLP, which has offices in Coral Gables and San Antonio. The firm focuses on complex commercial transactions and litigation, international business and corporate law, agricultural trade, and technology and telecommunications law.

Carolann Swanson and her partner, Craig Stokes, take care of the legal needs of ag industry clients as well as those in other fields.

Swanson is a senior litigation partner who has practiced in the area of commercial and agricultural litigation for 15 years, the last year with Santos Stokes. Before signing on with the firm, Swanson served as general counsel for South Florida’s Brooks Tropicals, Inc. She and her partner, Craig Stokes, take care of a myriad of ag industry clients as well as clients in other fields. Stokes is based in San Antonio, but is a member of the Florida Bar and spends much of his time in Miami.

“Our clients in the agricultural trade area include growers, shippers and handlers of perishable agricultural commodities in the U.S., Canada and Central America,” Swanson said. “We represent them in PACA, including trust enforcement, and in contractual matters.” PACA, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, fosters trading practices in the marketing of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables in interstate and foreign commerce. It prohibits unfair and fraudulent practices and provides a means of enforcing contracts. Under the PACA, anyone buying or selling commercial quantities of fruit and vegetables must be licensed by USDA.

In addition to assisting clients with PACA and other contractual matters, the firm helps clients comply with USDA administrative actions and the Florida License and Bond Law and provides commercial litigation. “We offer a wide variety of services to agricultural clients to serve their legal needs,” said Swanson, who also serves as an arbitrator for the Dispute Resolution Corp.

One important way Swanson and Stokes serve their clients is to get involved in industry and civic organizations. Swanson serves on the board of directors of the Dade County Farm Bureau as chair of the Women’s Committee, and she is the former chair of the Florida Bar’s Agricultural Law Committee. “We are involved in these organizations so we can learn how to better address the various pressures our clients face like governmental regulations, trade pressures and tax implications,” Swanson said. “For example, we’re very concerned about any attempt to change the Greenbelt law in Florida,” she said. “We see any changes to the Greenbelt law as creating greater economic disincentives that may lead our clients not to farm.”

Another concern in Miami-Dade County is expanded enforcement of wetlands jurisdiction by that county’s Department of Environmental Resource Management. “We’ve been working with our clients and the department for over a year to try and resolve issues that stem from the various wetlands regulations. The mitigation costs are exceedingly high.  These regulations create economic burdens for farmers and make it more difficult for them to compete in the international marketplace,” she said.

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

Swanson has seen many changes in the Florida ag industry, the legal profession and the courts system at all levels. “There are things that change and things that stay the same,” she said. “But I think the legal profession has changed in that years ago, areas of specialization were more static. Business transactions – including those in agriculture-  are becoming more and more complex.”

And the courts are embracing technology, she said. “The federal courts are now requiring us to file most documents electronically. The court system is definitely changing with the times, and the legal profession has to be on top of that,” she said.

You can reach Carolann Swanson at Santos Stokes, LLP, La Puerta del Sol Building, 800 Douglas Road, Suite 105, Coral Gables, FL 33134. Phone:(305) 447.6655. Fax: (305) 447.8855. E-mail: cswanson@santosstokes.com.

Learn more about the firm at http://www.santosstokes.com