
City Attorney Harold Knowles
Harold Knowles is the managing shareholder of the firm, which is the oldest African American law firm in continuous existence in Florida. He assumes responsibility for the firm's real estate, probate and bond finance practices. Mr. Knowles is a product of the public school system of Leon County, Florida. Following graduation from Leon High School he enrolled in Florida State University and subsequently in the Florida State University College of Law, where he was a recipient of the Herbert H. Lehman Foundation Scholarship for three (3) years. Upon completion of his legal training and receipt of his Juris Doctorate, he was employed as an Assistant Attorney General by the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. In 1974 he opened his law practice and has been engaged in the private practice of law since. He currently serves as the City Attorney for the City of Gretna, Florida (a post he has held for over 40 years), City Attorney for the City of Jacob, Florida and Board Legal Counsel for the City of Tallahassee Municipal Code Enforcement Board.
Mr. Knowles is admitted to practice before the Florida Supreme Court, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He has served as president of the Tallahassee Barristers Association, is a member of the National Bar Association and the Florida Bar's Real Property and Probate Law Section, as well as its Administrative Law Section. For the past fifteen (15) years Mr. Knowles has been listed in the “Red Book,” a compendium of lawyers who are experts in the field of bond finance. He has served two terms on the Second Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission and one term on the Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the Second Circuit.
His past and present civic affiliations include serving on the Board of Directors of Capital City Bank, membership on the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Authority, the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority and the Northwest Florida Black Business Investment Board. In 1999 he was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to serve on the State of Florida Lottery Commission; in 2001, he was appointed by Governor Bush to serve on the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission and, subsequently, to the Board of Trustees of Florida State University, where he served for eight (8) years. In 2010, he was appointed by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink to the Board of Governors of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies in the nation and the largest property insurer in Florida.
Mr. Knowles received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 from the Florida State University School of Government and his Juris Doctorate in 1973 from the Florida State University College of Law.