Celebrating a Century:
Jones Foster Through the Years

Jones Foster traces its roots back to 1924 in West Palm Beach, and while life in South Florida may have changed dramatically over the past century, our values have not. From our humble beginnings, we have grown into a dynamic full-service law firm that continues to be inspired by the contributions of our attorneys, past and present, to the legal profession and the community through their leadership and dedication.

We are proud of our deep roots in Palm Beach County and are committed to carrying on the distinguished legacy of our predecessors. Our historical timeline below highlights some of the notable accomplishments and leadership of our attorneys and pivotal events along the way. We are grateful to our clients, colleagues, and community for sharing our journey.

Click images to enlarge

1920s - 1930s

1940s - 1950s

1960s - 1970s

1980s - 1990s

2000s - 2010s

2020s

1920s - 1930s

1924

(R.L. Earnest Photo Courtesy of Historical Society of Palm Beach County)

University of Florida law school graduates Robert L. Earnest and Roger K. Lewis begin practicing law in West Palm Beach during the land boom. The demand for real estate drew investors from all over the country and created new, planned developments resulting in incorporated towns and cities.

Harry A. Johnston, Sr., following his military service during World War I, enrolls at UF Law. Subsequently, Mr. Johnston moves to West Palm Beach and joins Mr. Bussey’s thriving one-man legal practice. Mr. Bussey held roles as city attorney for 10 years, county attorney, attorney for the School Board, state's attorney, and senator in the Florida Legislature.

(Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle)

Legendary New York Yankees baseball player Babe Ruth wins his only American League batting title (.378) and leads the league with 46 home runs.

1925

(State Archives of Florida/John Kunkel Small)

The Town of Jupiter incorporates during the land boom. The town’s limits expanded and bonds were issued for streets and improvements, including Indiantown Road and Center Street, major roads that still exist today.

1926

(State Archives of Florida)

The Miami Hurricane devastates South Florida, ending the land boom. Many banks are nearly bankrupt. Planned developments, including one by Mizner in Boca Raton, were never rebuilt.

1927

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R.L. Earnest, age 29, serves on the Greater Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the American Business Club, and as the vice president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association.

1928

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

Harry Johnston, Sr. serves as the third president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association.

(State Archives of Florida/Herrington Family)

Two years after the end of the land boom, an already faltering Florida economy falls into turmoil when the Okeechobee hurricane ravaged the East Coast, leaving an estimated 15,000 families homeless in Palm Beach County alone.

1929

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R.L. Earnest is appointed U.S. Commissioner of West Palm Beach’s district by Judge Halsted Ritter to help ease the federal caseload.

(State Archives of Florida)

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 starts the Great Depression. Bankruptcies and severe macroeconomic difficulties were widespread, including business closures, layoffs, and bank failures, causing the rise of mass unemployment.

1930

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R.K. Lewis is elected a state representative of Palm Beach County in 1930 and is reelected to the Florida Legislature to serve a second term in 1932. Mr. Lewis is one of the top trial lawyers in the state, representing major clients such as Florida Power & Light Co., Florida East Coast Railway, and other major corporations. The firm would go on to represent FPL and railroad interests through the ‘80s.

1932

R.L. Earnest and R.K. Lewis move into offices in the Guaranty Building. The two partners primarily handle insurance defense work and represent nearly every insurance company conducting business in Palm Beach County.

1933

(State Archives of Florida)

Florida’s first public junior college, known today as Palm Beach State College, is established in West Palm Beach. The first home of the college was in the storerooms adjacent to Palm Beach High School on Gardenia Street.

1935

(State Archives of Florida)

The Labor Day Hurricane causes catastrophic damage in the upper Florida Keys, obliterating the town of Islamorada and destroying portions of the Florida Overseas Railroad, the main transportation route of the Florida East Coast Railway linking the Keys to the mainland. During the 1930s, Earnest & Lewis was legal counsel for the railway.

1935 R L Earnest Special Master Thumbnail Collage

(Palm Beach Post Archives; State Archives of Florida)

R.L. Earnest acts as special master in the sale of the Everglades Club in Palm Beach.

1936

(Courtesy of Historical Society of Palm Beach County)

West Palm Beach gets its first modern airport known as Morrison Field.

1936 Harry Johnston PBC Attorney Thumbnail

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Harry Johnston, Sr. becomes Palm Beach County Attorney and serves until 1940 when he leaves to serve in World War II.

1939

(Sails/U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo)

World War II begins as Germany's aggressive expansionism and militarism led to the invasion of Poland and the subsequent declaration of war by Britain and France.

1940s - 1950s

1940

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R.L. Earnest and R.K. Lewis are reelected to serve as directors of the Pahokee Bank, with Lewis also reelected vice president. The firm would continue to have a presence on the bank’s board with Sidney A. Stubbs joining in 1967.

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

After five years as a trial attorney with the firm, Culver Smith becomes a partner in Earnest, Lewis & Smith. Two years later, he is elected president of the PBCBA.

1944

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R.K. Lewis is appointed as attorney for the Port of Palm Beach Commission after serving in the state Legislature and as special attorney for the Everglades Drainage District.

(Courtesy of HarperCollins)

Lt. Colonel R. Bruce Jones, commander of the 7th Armoured Division's 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion, plays a critical role in preventing one of two German breakout opportunities during the Battle of the Bulge's defense of St. Vith. He becomes a decorated Army officer who acquires notoriety from his namesake squadron “Task Force Jones.” After the war, he served as commanding officer of the local U.S. Army Reserve Unit in West Palm Beach for many years. His role in the historic battle is included in the book “A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge.”

1945

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Culver Smith returns from WWII after serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, rejoins the firm, and is reappointed judge ad litem in municipal court, a role he held before entering service in 1942.

1946

(U.S. Army Photo)

The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) is introduced at the University of Pennsylvania as the first programmable digital computer built for the U.S. government during WWII. Its first task was to work on calculations related to constructing hydrogen bombs.

1946 R Bruce Jones Joins Earnest Lewis Smith

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R. Bruce Jones joins Earnest, Lewis & Smith to handle federal tax matters after previously serving as assistant division counsel for the Eastern Division Bureau of Internal Revenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prior to his military service. Two years later, he becomes a name partner at Earnest, Lewis, Smith & Jones.

1949

(State Archives of Florida)

Florida's first television station WTVJ-TV (NBC), the 16th channel to sign on in the U.S., begins broadcasting.

1951

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

R.K. Lewis, and James C. Paine, who joined the firm one year earlier as an associate, are appointed officers of Singer Island’s newly-incorporated Town of Palm Beach Shores. A.O. Edwards, developer and the first mayor of Palm Beach Shores, was a client of the firm.

1952

William A. "Bill" Foster joins the firm as a trial lawyer and is mentored by Culver Smith.

1955

(State Archives of Florida)

The state Legislature passes the Florida Turnpike Act. The major highway would roll out in stages from 1957-1974 spanning approximately 309 miles along a northwest-southeast axis.

1956

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Bill Foster becomes a partner in the firm and later that year it is renamed to Earnest, Smith, Jones, Paine & Foster.

1957

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

D. Culver Smith is appointed as Palm Beach County’s fourth circuit judge by Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins. Local Bar Association members regard him as “one of the ablest trial lawyers in Pam Beach County.” He was assigned to sit on the appeals bench seven months later.

Samuel Adams joins as a partner and R.L. Earnest departs. The firm is subsequently renamed Jones, Adams, Paine & Foster and handles matters ranging from insurance defense and commercial litigation to real estate, tax, and probate law.

1958

(Historical Society of Palm Beach Gardens)

The Beeline Highway opens parallel to the CSX railroad track, linking West Palm Beach to Tampa.

(State Archives of Florida)

Pratt & Whitney opens a 7,000-acre aircraft engine plant west of West Palm Beach, after being lured to the site partially on the promise of the Beeline Highway. It would cut 25 to 30 miles from workers’ daily roundabout commute to the plant.

(Miami News Archives)

President Dwight D. Eisenhower establishes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to bolster U.S. technological research following the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, Earth’s first artificial satellite, which ignited the “Space Race.”

1960s - 1970s

1960

(Courtesy of Historical Society of Palm Beach County)

The Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida forms in Belle Glade with the help of attorney R. Bruce Jones, who would serve as its general counsel for the next 25 years. The documents which he authored were later used by other agricultural co-ops throughout the country.

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

Bill Foster is elected PBCBA president after serving as president of the Junior Bar, now known as its Young Lawyers Section.

(State Archives of Florida)

The Kennedy family’s estate on North Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach became known as the Winter White House following the election of President John F. Kennedy. As tensions with Cuba and the U.S.S.R. increased, so did concerns about a missile attack. A 1,500-square-foot bunker complex was built on Peanut Island across from the Port of Palm Beach to protect the president in the event of a nuclear war.

1961

The U.S. Census Bureau ranks Florida ninth in population.

1962

(State Archives of Florida/MacLean)

Kennedy Space Center opens on Merritt Island, adjacent to Cape Canaveral, to accommodate rockets that needed assembling in a large hangar. The area was chosen because of its proximity to the equator, where Earth’s eastward velocity provides extra speed to help propel rockets into space.

1967

Sidney A. Stubbs, who would become arguably one of the most notable lawyers in Florida, joins the firm and concentrates his practice in commercial, corporate, and law firm litigation.

Harry Johnston, II is elected PBCBA president for the 1968 term, 40 years after his father served in the role.

Palm Beach County transitions its handling of legal responsibilities from a single attorney and staff to a full-service law firm, selecting Jones, Adams, Paine & Foster to assume all legal duties. Along with hiring George H. Bailey in 1964 for the purpose of developing a general practice, the move would begin to dramatically shift the firm’s services and establish important contacts, particularly with developers in what was fast becoming a booming county. As a result, the firm saw a tremendous increase in real estate and tax matters.

1968

('County Attorney' Clipping Courtesy of Palm Beach Post Archives)

R. Bruce Jones is appointed County Attorney, George Bailey is named Assistant County Attorney, and Paul C. Wolfe serves as attorney for the Zoning Board. Following his tenure with the county, Paul Wolfe, who joined the firm in 1960, became the “go-to” attorney at Jones Foster for clients needing help with Palm Beach County zoning and land use issues. The volume of work in real estate and land use increased significantly and eventually led to the insurance defense work being phased out.

1969

(State Archives of Florida)

Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

1971

Larry B. Alexander joins the firm following his graduation from the University of Florida Law School. He becomes a partner only three years later.

(Courtesy of Walt Disney World)

The Walt Disney World Resort opens with the unveiling of Magic Kingdom Park in what would become a major part of Florida’s billion-dollar tourism industry. In 2023, Disney disclosed that it brings over $1 billion in tax revenue to the state.

1972

Harry Johnston, II serves as president of the United Way of Palm Beach County, which is dedicated to ensuring residents have access to basic needs and care including quality education, a place to live, financial stability, and enough to eat.

(Courtesy of Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties)

George Bailey serves as board chair on the inaugural Board of Governors of the Palm Beach County Community Foundation, known today as the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, which was formed to facilitate and inspire philanthropy to solve challenges facing the community.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

George Bailey represents the Investment Corporation of Florida, a developer, in a joint venture with Alcoa Florida, Inc. in what would become the Village of Wellington. Gould Inc., a battery manufacturer that recently entered the real estate market, bought ICF and Alcoa’s interest in 10,000 acres of what would become Wellington land. In 1975, Larry Alexander was pivotal in land sales and the platting of properties.

1973

(State Archives of Florida)

The country sees its first oil crisis after the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) declares an oil embargo targeting nations that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The price of oil rose nearly 300% from $3 per barrel to nearly $12 per barrel by the end of the embargo in 1974, causing a shock in prices that would have long-term effects on global politics and the economy.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Appellate attorney John R. Beranek is appointed to serve as a Palm Beach County Circuit Judge by Florida Gov. Reubin Askew. At the time, Judge Beranek, age 33, is the youngest judicial appointee in state history. At age 37, Judge Beranek is elected by fellow circuit judges as the first judge in the criminal division to serve as chief judge of all county circuit courts. He would also serve on the bench of the Fourth District Court of Appeals and as special counsel to Gov. Bob Graham.

1974

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Harry Johnston, II announces run as Democrat seeking Florida Senate seat in March and ousts opponent Russell Sykes in the November election. He goes on to win reelection for 2 more terms.

Marjorie Gadarian Graham becomes the first female attorney at the firm. She goes on to become the first female shareholder in 1981.

1975

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

John B. McCracken, who joined the firm in 1970, and George Bailey represent the developer of Century Village, an extensive development with thousands of units in South Florida. In a case with national implications, the developer was sued over the validity of controversial recreational leases that are paid in perpetuity to cover the use of amenities. The case was resolved in favor of the developer.

1976

Margaret L. “Margie” Cooper, who became known as a “powerful advocate” in handling matters for the Town of Palm Beach, joins Jones, Paine & Foster. She was Florida Bar Board Certified in Civil Trial and focused her practice on commercial and business litigation as well as employment litigation. She is later admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar and sworn in by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

1978

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

Sid Stubbs is elected to serve as PBCBA president.

1979

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

The firm is renamed Jones & Foster, P.A. after James Paine is appointed a federal district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President Jimmy Carter and departs the firm. In addition to Judge Paine, Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge John Beranek, Circuit Court Judge Timothy Poulton, County Court Judge Don Adams, and Industrial Claims Commissioner Arthur Pumpian all began their legal careers with Jones & Foster.

(Courtesy of Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach)

Sid Stubbs is elected president of the Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach, establishing the firm’s long history of leadership contributions to the nonprofit. Over the years, shareholders Thornton M. "Tim" Henry and Rebecca G. Doane served as Club presidents and Larry Alexander served as a board member.

1979 John Skip Randolph Town Attorney Palm Beach

(Kim Sargent/Palm Beach Daily News Archives)

John C. "Skip" Randolph begins service as Town Attorney for the Town of Palm Beach.

1980s - 1990s

1980

Sid Stubbs is named to The Florida Bar Board of Governors, serving until 1984.

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

Litigation and real estate partner John McCracken serves as PBCBA president after serving as president of its Young Lawyers Section from 1974-1975.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

George Bailey is elected to the Palm Beach County School Board and serves until 1984, including as chairman.

1981

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

IBM unveils the personal computer at its Boca Raton facility and not only sets the standard for the PC industry but for the first time sells its product to outside retailers, such as Sears and ComputerLand. The birth of the IBM PC in Palm Beach County would bring more tech companies to the Boca Raton-Delray Beach area, increase employment, and spur overall economic growth as a result of booming sales. Jones & Foster is local counsel for IBM in the 1980s.

1982 George Bailey Community Foundation Board No Caption

(Courtesy of Community Foundation of PalmBeach and Martin Counties)

George Bailey serves a second term on the Community Foundation board for the next six years, and in 1982 serves alongside Harry Johnston, II. He is reappointed chair a second time from 1989 to 1991, ending his service in 1992. The board has helped establish policies, set priorities, and make final grant decisions that have impacted countless residents over the years.

1983

Sid Stubbs is appointed to serve as special counsel for Florida Gov. Bob Graham in Tallahassee.

1984

(State Archives of Florida)

Jones & Foster moves its offices to Flagler Center Tower at 505 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

1985

('Miamian' clipping courtesy of Palm Beach Post Archives)

Larry Alexander and Peter Holton represent Gould Inc. and its real estate subsidiary Gould Florida, Inc. in selling the last 1,600 acres and all of its other assets in what would become the Village of Wellington to Miami developer Corepoint Inc. The assets included the Wellington Club and its 18-hole golf course, swimming pool, and tennis facility. The Village of Wellington would incorporate in 1995.

1986

(Courtesy of Historical Society of Palm Beach County)

Harry Johnston, II, as Florida Senate president since 1984, pushes for taxpayer-funded essential services in support of children and families leading to the creation of Children’s Services Council Palm Beach County and additional chapters throughout the state. He went on to become the chapter’s founding chair.

Scott G. Hawkins joins the firm as an associate after earning his J.D. degree from UF and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he was a Rotary Foundation International Scholar.

Name partners R. Bruce Jones and William Foster retire from the firm.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

As the demand for high-end residential developments and golf and country clubs increases, Jones & Foster represents numerous developers throughout the subsequent decades in the planning, zoning, and sales of the properties. Developments include Old Marsh Golf Club, the Medalist Golf Club, Quail Valley Golf and River Club, Jonathan’s Landing, and Grove XXIII Golf Club.

1987

(Palm Beach Review Photo)

Sid Stubbs is installed as president of the firm and would serve as its leader for almost 20 years.

Litigators L. Martin Flanagan and Steven J. Rothman represent automotive giants General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., American Motors Corp., Goodyear Tire Co., and Avis Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc. in product liability cases over many years.

Jones & Foster begins to take on more condemnation cases and secures a favorable outcome for a Martin County family who obtained a $1.8 million settlement from the Florida Department of Transportation after the agency's initial offer of $100,000.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Florida transportation infrastructure continues to develop with the opening of the last remaining stretch of Interstate 95 from Jupiter to northern Martin County. This "missing link" completes the connection from Miami to Maine. Two years later, the FDOT opens the Tri-Rail train to provide temporary commuter rail service while construction crews work on widening projects for I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike. Tri-Rail became permanent after high demand and population growth in South Florida, serving as essential and affordable transportation for commuters traveling between Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Litigation Shareholder Margie Cooper leads the Florida team to a national victory in the U.S. Tennis Association’s first inter-sectional competition for senior women. Margie played on the Virginia Slims (WTA) Tour and competed at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the French Open prior to her legal career.

1988

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Many blue chip corporations in the Fortune 500 designated the firm as their local counsel, including major banking institutions such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Barnett Bank, and National Bank of Florida as well as retail giants Costco Wholesale Corp. and Sears, Roebuck & Co.

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

George Bailey and Sid Stubbs represent Amerifirst Federal Saving and Loan Association, later renamed Amerifirst Bank, in a multiyear dispute involving the collapsed sale of Amerifirst Development Company, which held real property interests throughout Florida. The assets at issue were valued in excess of $500 million. After years of discovery, the firm was successful in obtaining a summary judgment which was sustained by the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

(Melanie Bell/Miami Review)

Future partner David E. Bowers, serves as legal counsel to Jones & Foster in a corporate reorganization that resulted in the creation of two new insurance defense firms. Jones & Foster discontinues its insurance defense practice to focus on a general practice with a growing concentration in complex corporate and commercial litigation.

(Palm Beach Review)

Skip Randolph, Adams Weaver, and Harry Johnston, II, of Johnston, Randolph & Weaver join Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A. David Bowers serves as outside counsel to the firm during this time, facilitating the joinder that results in a 29-attorney full-service law firm handling complex commercial litigation, real estate, tax, trusts and estate administration, probate and estate litigation, and products liability, and expands the firm's eminent domain, land use and zoning, and municipal law practices.

1989

(Images Courtesy of Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties)

The R. Bruce Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund is created with an initial contribution of $100,000 from the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida through the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The interest from the endowment fund provides four-year scholarships to graduating seniors in Palm Beach County or Clewiston.

(Courtesy of The New York Times)

Harry Johnston, II is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Johnston served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he developed expertise in African diplomacy, traveling frequently to the continent and ultimately chairing the committee’s subcommittee on African Affairs.

1992

(Top Photos and Bottom Right Photo: State Archives of Florida; Bottom Left Photo: State Archives of Florida/Florida - Dade County Public Health Unit)

Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, devastates Homestead and neighboring South Florida communities before making a second landfall in Louisiana. It proved to be the costliest and most damaging hurricane to hit the U.S., requiring billions in aid. At the time, there were more than 400 building codes in the state, but following Andrew’s destruction, Florida adopted one uniform code that would require new structures to be built to withstand hurricane-force winds and have shutters or impact-resistant windows.

1993

(State Archives of Florida)

Sid Stubbs represents movie star and longtime Jupiter resident Burt Reynolds, the same year he was inducted in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Reynolds’ 153-acre ranch was built by gangster Al Capone in 1923 and it was rumored to be a gangster hideout in the 1920s. Burt Reynolds’ history in Palm Beach County goes back to the 1940s when his family lived in Riviera Beach. He later attended Florida State University.

1994

Skip Randolph is named chairman of the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews, an organization seeking to bring people of different faiths and cultures together. He is a founding member of the group, which was established in 1993.

1995

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

The dawn of the Internet age and the introduction of the World Wide Web leads to a period of rapid growth in the investment of dot-com startups funded by overconfident venture capitalists and a stock market bubble. As technology spending grew volatile and companies prepared for the Year 2000 problem, the NASDAQ saw an almost 77% drop, resulting in the loss of billions and busted Internet companies.

H. Adams Weaver and Sid Stubbs successfully represent a private Florida utility in a government taking of land, water, and sewer by Charlotte County and a secure $110 million award, one of the largest condemnation awards in Florida state history. Mr. Weaver has previously served as Assistant County Attorney overseeing all eminent domain matters for the county and served as trial counsel for the Florida Department of Transportation handling eminent domain litigation throughout the state.

1997

Larry Alexander serves as president of the Rosarian Academy's Advisory Board, and will continue as Trustee of the Rosarian Charitable Trust in the 2020s. The Rosarian Academy has been a West Palm Beach institution nearly as long as the firm, serving the community since its founding in 1925.

1998

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

Michael Kranz, a commercial and probate litigation shareholder with the firm since 1987, is installed as PBCBA president after serving as secretary and treasurer as well as president of its Young Lawyers Section in 1991.

(Photos Courtesy of Napnet and Rllaque via Wikimedia Commons)

Theme park tourism expands in Central Florida with the addition of the Walt Disney World Resort's fourth park, Disney's Animal Kingdom. One year later, the unveiling of Universal Studio's sister park, Islands of Adventure, and shopping and dining district, CityWalk bridges together the two attractions marking the birth of the Universal Orlando Resort and upping the competition to neighboring Walt Disney World.

1999

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

President Bill Clinton names Harry Johnston, II a special envoy to Sudan, with the task of focusing international attention on "the devastating humanitarian consequences of Sudan's 16-year civil war.”

2000s - 2010s

2000

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Scott Hawkins and Roberto M. Vargas join the multi-law firm legal team representing Qtera and Nortel and lead efforts in helping to defend Qtera and its founders in a lawsuit contesting a merger of high-tech interests valued in excess of $3 billion dollars.

(Palm Beach County Bar Association)

Scott Hawkins is installed as PBCBA president after serving as president of the local Bar’s Young Lawyers Section.

2000 Mike Kranz Florida Bar Board of Governors

Mike Kranz is elected to The Florida Bar Board of Governors after previously serving on the Bar’s Young Lawyers Division board for six years. He serves in the post until 2004.

2001

(National Park Service)

On Sept. 11, four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States, destroying the Twin Towers in New York City and causing a partial collapse of the Pentagon. This led to the invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent Iraq War (2003-2011).

Thomas J. Baird, Town Attorney for Jupiter and several other Palm Beach County and Martin County municipalities, serves as president of the American Planning Association Treasure Coast Section.

2001 Sid Stubbs Economic Council Thumbnail

Sid Stubbs is elected to serve as chair of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County.

2001 Skip Randolph Atty of Year Thumbnail

Skip Randolph serves as president of the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association. The organization later recognized him as Attorney of the Year with the Paul S. Buchman Award in 2006 for 30 years of dedicated service as Palm Beach's Town Attorney.

2003

David Bowers joins the firm and serves as a board member for the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation through 2006.

2004

(Palm Beach Daily News Archives)

Skip Randolph, who has served as chairman of the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians & Jews for the past 9 years, is honored for his service to the community and to the fellowship with an inaugural award that bears his name, the John C. Randolph Award.

(Courtesy of Edouard Zak Photography via the Sailfish Club of Florida)

Larry Alexander is named president of the Sailfish Club of Florida and serves until 2006. Established in 1914, the Sailfish Club is a staple of Palm Beach history, serving as the town’s oldest continuously operating private club and only fishing and boating club.

2006

Larry Alexander, left, is installed as chairman of the firm, succeeding Sid Stubbs, and Scott Hawkins is installed as vice chair, succeeding Mr. Alexander.

Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs expands with the merger of Berrocal & Wilkins and establishes a presence in northern Palm Beach County with the opening of a Jupiter office. Robert W. Wilkins, second from left, would later become chair of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group in West Palm Beach.

2007

Sid Stubbs, fifth from left, becomes chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers Florida Chapter.

2008

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

The global financial crisis begins with the worst stock market crash since the Great Depression. The crash was largely caused by the failure of the two largest investment banks in the U.S. — the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merill Lynch to Bank of America — due to their involvement in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Sid Stubbs is appointed to the Board of Directors of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches and serves until 2010. He received the Forum Club’s Outstanding Public Service Award in 2014.

2009

Theodore S. Kypreos, a probate and trust litigation attorney, is elected president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.

2010

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Sid Stubbs becomes a founding board member of the Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches. He goes on to be elected chairman of the board in 2013.

2011

Larry Alexander assumes the role of general counsel to the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative following John McCracken, who succeeded R. Bruce Jones, the attorney who worked on the formation of the group. He also becomes a director and general counsel of the Mary Alice Fortin Foundation, handling general corporate matters.

2011 Scott Hawkins Florida Bar President Thumbnail

(Palm Beach Post Archives)

Scott Hawkins becomes president of The Florida Bar, making him the top officer of the country’s second-largest state bar organization, with nearly 100,000 members at the time. He had served on the Bar’s Board of Governors since 2004.

2013

Scott Hawkins is named chair of Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Board of Trustees after being a member on the board since 1994. He was honored in 2004 by PBA with a companion medal for his work and achievements that exemplify the best of the American free enterprise system.

(Palm Beach Daily News Archives)

Larry Alexander and son, L. Benton “Ben” Alexander, Jr. are featured in the Palm Beach Daily News’ Business Section for their recognition in The Best Lawyers of America as father-son real estate law honorees. Larry Alexander is also named the 2014 real estate “Lawyer of the Year” for the West Palm Beach metro.

2014

Florida becomes the United States’ third most populous state.

(Palm Beach Daily News Archives)

Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs opens its Palm Beach office at 350 Royal Palm Way, headed by L. Benton “Ben” Alexander, Jr. who holds leadership roles with Palm Beach’s Royal Poinciana Chapel, The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce.

The Palm Beach County Bar Association renames its annual professionalism award the “Sidney A. Stubbs Professionalism Award” in honor of Sid Stubbs and his outstanding leadership in the legal community for nearly 50 years. The first-ever recipient is Vice Chair Scott Hawkins.

Theo Kypreos, bottom right, is sworn in as the 92nd president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association.

2014 Bill Smith Kiwanis Club of WPB President

(Courtesy of Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach)

William G. "Bill" Smith, left, is elected president of the Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach, continuing a legacy of Jones Foster leadership in the organization that dates back 35 years.

2015

On April 12, the U.S. Supreme Court cited Scott Hawkins’ University of Florida Law Review article entitled "Perspective on Judicial Merit Retention in Florida," in its opinion of Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar.

2016

David Bowers, second from left, receives the Gerald T. Hart Outstanding Tax Attorney of the Year Award from The Florida Bar Tax Section in recognition of his contributions to the practice and advancement of tax law and high standards of competence and integrity. David served as chair of the Section from 1999-2000.

Larry Alexander becomes secretary and general counsel of the William H. Pitt Foundation, a private foundation based in Palm Beach dedicated to supporting children and teens and their education through charitable donations.

2017

Scott Hawkins is named to the Board of Directors for the Economic Council of Palm Beach County.

2017 Scott Hawkins UF LCA Board of Trustees

Scott Hawkins is elected chair of the UF Law Center Association's Board of Trustees.

2018

David Bowers is elected chair of the UF Law Center Association's Florida Alumni Tax Advisory Committee.

(Markus Mainka/Adobe Stock)

Offering another mass transportation option to a burgeoning South Florida population, Brightline, the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the U.S., begins service between West Palm Beach and Miami.

Peter A. Sachs, probate and trust litigation shareholder, is named to the Alzheimer’s Community Care Board of Directors.

2019

Real Estate Shareholder Ben Alexander is elected vice president of Palm Beach Day Academy’s Board of Trustees.

2019 Joanne O Connor Federal Bar President

Joanne M. O’Connor, litigation shareholder, is appointed president of the Federal Bar Association Palm Beach Chapter.

Skip Randolph is honored with a proclamation for his 40 years of service as Palm Beach Town Attorney by Mayor Gail Coniglio. Over the 4 decades, Skip collaborated with a total of 40 elected officials, six town managers, and six mayors.

Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs announces the unveiling of its new brand identity and name change to Jones Foster, a strategic move to differentiate from the long-held naming conventions of law firms and to speak to the brand's forward-thinking culture.

2020s

2020

The U.S. Census reveals Palm Beach County’s population nears 1.5M people, making it the third most populous county in Florida.

David Bowers, far right, is named chair of the Florida Tax Institute after serving as a board member since 2014.

The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. Despite company lockdowns and mandatory quarantines, Jones Foster adapts to new restrictions and remains committed to providing uninterrupted access to services using remote technology to communicate with the courts and scheduling private outdoor meetings with clients.

2020 Peter Sachs Legal Aid Society Board

Peter Sachs is installed on the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County.

Bill Smith is elected president of the East Coast Estate Planning Council after becoming an active member of the organization in 2011, serving in various leadership roles such as board member, secretary, 2nd vice president, and 1st vice president.

(Shutterstock)

Joanne O’Connor is appointed as Defendants’ Liaison Counsel in the Zantac Multidistrict Litigation by Judge Robin L. Rosenberg. Joanne also served as local counsel for Sanofi, a brand-name drug manufacturer named in the lawsuit.

2021

(Courtesy of Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach)

Bill Smith, far right, is elected president of the Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach Foundation and goes on to serve two more terms. He previously held roles as vice president and board member.

(Miami-Dade Fire Rescue)

Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium complex in Surfside, Miami partially collapses overnight, causing the deaths of 98 people. Following the disaster, Florida lawmakers passed a bill to create a mandatory statewide building inspection program that would include various provisions, such as a stipulation requiring condos taller than three stories to be inspected every 10 years after the certificate of occupancy reaches 30 years of age.

2022

(Palm Beach Daily News)

Joanne O’Connor successfully represents the Town of Palm Beach in the landmark First Amendment residential architecture case of Donald Burns v. Town of Palm Beach after the U.S. Supreme Court denies to hear an appeal for writ of certiorari.

(Courtesy of ABOTA Palm Beach)

Steve Rothman, left, is inducted as president of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates Palm Beach Chapter.

(Images courtesy of HomeSafe)

Rob Vargas is named president-elect of HomeSafe, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting victims of child abuse and domestic violence. Rob will serve a two-year term as president from 2024-2026, his second time in the role since his service from 2014-2016.

2023

(Gagliardi Photography)

Jones Foster represents a client in the largest residential real estate deal in Palm Beach history at the time, the third largest in Florida, following two residential real estate transactions in excess of $100 million each.

2024

Jones Foster celebrates a century’s worth of experience as legal partners in progress to its clients, colleagues, and the community.

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Celebrating a Century:
Jones Foster Through the Years

Our Firm

Contact Jones Foster

Social

Celebrating a Century: Jones Foster Through the Years

Celebrating a Century:
Jones Foster Through the Years