Jones Foster Attorney Lainey W. Francisco Installed as President of the Federal Bar Association Palm Beach County Chapter

Jones Foster, a commercial and private client law firm with offices in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, and Jupiter, Florida, is proud to announce that land use and litigation attorney Lainey W. Francisco has been installed as president of the Federal Bar Association Palm Beach County Chapter (FBA PBC) for the 2026–2027 term.

The chapter’s Annual Induction of Officers was held on September 16, 2026, at Jones Foster’s West Palm Beach office. U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida administered the oath of office to the incoming board, which also includes Alexandra Chase as vice president/president-elect, Ismail Ercan as treasurer, Jones Foster attorney Michael B. Habib as secretary, and Christine Pangborn as national delegate. The ceremony also introduced Jones Foster attorney Natalie C. Nash as civics liaison for the chapter’s nationally recognized Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions (CD3) program.

As president, Ms. Francisco will lead the chapter’s programming and initiatives, with a focus on expanding opportunities for in-person interaction among federal practitioners and judges throughout the Southern District of Florida, from Broward and Miami-Dade counties north to Fort Pierce. An active member of the organization, she previously served as chapter vice president, treasurer, and as co-chair of the Civil Service and Outreach Committee.

"The Federal Bar Association gives lawyers a place to connect with the federal bench outside the courtroom, learn from one another, and give back to the community," said Ms. Francisco. "I am honored to lead a chapter with such a strong tradition of professionalism, and I look forward to building on the work of the presidents who came before me."

Jones Foster Chairman Scott G. Hawkins offered remarks recognizing FBA PBC’s commitment to ethics and professionalism, as well as the firm’s longstanding involvement with the federal court system through its attorneys’ judicial internships and clerkships. During law school, Ms. Francisco served as a legal extern to U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart of the Southern District of Florida.

The event was attended by local attorneys, members of the judiciary, including Judge Reinhart and Circuit Judge Bradley Harper of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, and firm leadership, including Joanne M. O'Connor, a past president of FBA PBC (2019–2020).

Lainey Francisco is a member of Jones Foster’s Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Land Use & Governmental practice groups. She represents clients in real estate and business litigation in Florida state and federal courts and advises local governments, real estate developers, agricultural businesses, and private landowners on zoning, permitting, and land use matters in Palm Beach County, St. Lucie County, and throughout the Treasure Coast. She also provides counsel to the Towns of Gulf Stream, Jupiter, Lake Park, and Palm Beach on planning and zoning, public records and Sunshine Law compliance, and other governmental matters. Her broader litigation practice includes disputes involving contracts, title and boundary claims, easements, riparian rights, business torts and fiduciary duties, constitutional property rights, and development approval claims.

A lifelong resident of St. Lucie County, Lainey also represents businesses and landowners in Florida’s agricultural sector. She was selected for the Florida Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Class 11, representing District 7, where she works alongside industry leaders on regulatory and economic issues affecting Florida agriculture.

Lainey is Immediate Past President of the St. Lucie Bar Association and a graduate of Leadership St. Lucie, a program of the St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit’s Professionalism Panel Executive Board and the Board of Trustees of the Rupert J. Smith Law Library of St. Lucie County. Her work has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America and Palm Beach Illustrated’s “Top Lawyers” lists.

Lainey earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.