A general counsel’s responsibilities can be vast and crucial to the well-being of an organization. Its chief lawyer and a top executive, the general counsel advises leaders and boards on all legal fronts. General counsels draft and negotiate employment, real estate and vendor contracts; they advise on intellectual property and preserve business records. They know an organization’s operations and issues of security. They help ensure compliance, labeling laws, worker safety and consumer protections; they have knowledge of financing.

They weigh the means of defending lawsuits or pursuing prosecutions. What’s more, the general counsel is part of top management and must be a team player with vast people skills.

Florida Trend vetted each submission in this Legal Elite NOTABLE section on general counsels and confirmed that each lawyer is a member in good standing with the Florida Bar. Read on to learn about each individual — their keys roles, their accomplishments and the organizations they help safeguard.