Advertisement

Tampa International Airport beefs up legal team

 
Published Nov. 6, 2015

TAMPA —The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority is beefing up its legal firepower.

The Aviation Authority Thursday hired a new attorney to represent the board and the staff of Tampa International Airport, and extended the independent contract with another lawyer through early next year.

Michael Stephens, a lawyer in Tampa, will fill the general counsel vacancy at the Tampa airport. His first day is Nov. 30. In addition, David L. Smith, who has provided legal service to the aviation board and airport staff since November 2014, will continue to work under contact through February.

A legal placement firm identified more than 100 applicants for the general counsel position. Airport CEO Joe Lopano and other airport staffers picked Stephens because of his experience in Tampa.

"Michael's experience in the public sector with an emphasis on transportation and his experience as an air traffic controller in the U.S. Air Force make him a great fit for our team," Lopano said.

Stephens joins the airport after having worked as the chief business enterprise and safety officer with the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. In this role, he was the chief legal counsel and was in charge of human resources, information technology and security.

"I had a two-hour lunch with him yesterday," said board member Victor Crist. "As someone who has been elbows deep in lawsuits, I've got to tell you, it's been a long time since I've been as impressed as I was with this professional."

Prior to the transit authority, Stephens was the director of human resources at the University of South Florida. Stephens was also a captain and trial counsel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corp., and was appointed as a special assistant U.S. attorney.

Smith, who has served as general counsel in the interim, will remain under contract with the authority board as independent counsel through February. Smith is with the GrayRobinson P.A. law firm in Tampa and worked in real estate, land use and local government law. He also previously served as general counsel for the Hillsborough Transit Authority.

"I'm used to getting text messages at all hours of the night. There's a great staff here, and it's been a pleasure to work with them," Smith said. As for Stephens' appointment, he said the airport "is very fortunate to work with him."

Smith replaced Gigi Rechel, who abruptly resigned late last year.

Since Smith took on the role last year, the airport has twice amended his pay rate. The initial term agreement was not to exceed $150,000 for one year. In May, the board amended it to be up to $300,000. On Thursday, the contract was extended through February and up to $350,000.

At Thursday's meeting, board members also approved hiring a procurement appeals hearing officer to handle any appeals of contracts with the airport. This would include the heated concessions contracts for high-traffic retail and restaurant space in the airside terminals, which resulted in at least one lawsuit this summer.

The aviation authority has 12 open lawsuits in the Hillsborough County, public records show.