Timothy Ferguson, Managing Partner, Foley Mansfield PLLP

Timothy Ferguson, managing partner at Foley Mansfield, talked to Invest: about how the firm is adapting to changes to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, which have dramatically changed the firm’s trial docket. “We’re undergoing the initial stages of this change, and if the current trends continue, we will be extending trials out well into the future as opposed to prioritizing and readying the cases that really should go to trial,” he said.

Reflecting on the past year, what have been the most significant milestones or achievements for Foley Mansfield?

We have been in business as a firm for 35 years. In that time, we have achieved significant victories nationwide on behalf of our clients, including favorable verdicts and successful dispositive motions. Recently, our firm has expanded through the addition of talented attorneys and professionals to our national team, leading to overall positive growth and further strengthening our ability to provide top-tier representation of our clients across the country.

What is your overview of the legal sector in Miami? Are there any trends or market dynamics taking place that you are watching closely?

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure have undergone changes recently, which affect trial settings, including the scheduling of a trial and the actual trial calendar.

As a litigator, this has changed my calendar significantly. I am booked solid past mid-2026 for upcoming trials, with multiple trials each month across various jurisdictions. The Florida Supreme Court issued new civil procedure rules that effectively removed cases ‘at issue’ (meaning the parties were settled as far as the pleadings were concerned), and it is no longer a requirement that these cases at issue be scheduled for trial.
Because of this change, recent trial settings have been filed aggressively by plaintiffs’ counsel to get these cases to trial as soon as possible, which creates additional work for defense counsel but will ultimately force a point.

There are only so many dockets. We are undergoing the initial stages of these changes, and if the current trends continue, scheduled trials will be extended well into the future as opposed to prioritizing and readying the cases that really should go to trial.

Unfortunately, the second component of this issue is that once a case is set for trial, it is immensely difficult to get that trial continued because the edict from the Florida Supreme Court is that these cases should be tried, barring exceptional circumstances.

These developments have also caused us to change our strategy when it comes to talent acquisition and staffing needs. At Foley Mansfield, we are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented attorneys and professionals on our team and to be part of a larger firm with multiple offices across the nation.

Under the current rules of civil procedure governing out-of-state practice, we are able to leverage our out-of-state attorneys to assist with these cases behind the scenes, helping with some of the things that are keeping our desks here in Florida quite busy. Being part of a larger firm allows us to share the workload, making these changes to Florida law more manageable. However, without this support, it would be difficult, as I anticipate that it is for a single practitioner or a smaller firm.

Given your clientele and focus on the cosmetics industry, what are some of the expected impacts of the new regulations from the FDA regarding standardized testing?

The impacts resulting from the FDA regulations are an on-going concern. Since we have attorneys and professionals who specialize in litigation in the cosmetic industry, it is an area that we are constantly analyzing and staying on top of.

We have strategies in place to address these issues, even prior to litigation. Talc has been around for a long time, and the FDA has previously rendered opinions both deeming it safe and identifying issues. The federal regulations are constantly shifting and are something we simply adapt to.

As a trusted adviser in high-stakes legal matters, what has been your approach to building and maintaining relationships with high-profile clients?

The first step is having the experience to handle these types of cases. There are few firms that do what we do and specialize in this area of litigation. It’s important to have trusted advisers who have experience trying these types of cases. Some of these cases have gone to verdict, with one being recognized as one of the top verdicts in the country for the defense. It’s important for our clients to know that they have someone who knows how to defend these types of cases, because there are such high stakes if they do go to trial.

Where are the strongest opportunities for growth within the market?

I head up the cannabis division, and although there have been some setbacks in that field on both the state and federal fronts, there are opportunities in other states to try to expand on that work.
I also see privacy issues being at the forefront, along with the integration of AI and what that represents in our industry. People don’t know where their information is being disseminated and are logging onto websites without really understanding the impact.

There isn’t great disclosure regarding these consequences. The hosts of various sites force users to commit to their disclosures without providing detailed information about how users’ privacy rights are being affected.

Given the rapid evolution of AI and legal tech, what trends are you observing in the legal industry, and how is Foley Mansfield adapting to stay ahead?

Ethical issues are key. There was a recent situation where counsel in New York filed a brief relying on AI to do the research, and the case didn’t exist. They made a material misrepresentation to the opposing counsel and to the court. As a result, issues followed. AI is a great tool, but it should never replace the thought process and the ethical considerations we have as attorneys in representing our clients. It can assist with the review of large document databases and is already being utilized in the background of legal research. It has its place, but it needs to be tempered with good common sense and policies, which our firm has implemented to help assist us when using this new and emerging technology.

Looking at the Miami and broader Florida legal markets, what emerging opportunities or challenges do you foresee for the firm in the next two to three years?

Top priorities will include managing the upcoming trial dockets. Because of the high stakes, there is sometimes resistance to trying these cases. We have a deep bench of trial attorneys, which offers opportunities to assist clients with these types of cases. There will be a need for growth in the paralegal space as well, to assist with the review of all these documents, perhaps even with AI.

The priority will be litigation and managing all these trials.