David W. Adams

Partner
813-272-1400
dadams@sponslerbennett.com

David Adams is a business lawyer. He attended the University of Central Florida, Harvard University, Bentley College, and Florida State University College of Law. He is a former practicing CPA with a big-six accounting firm, holds a Master’s Degree in taxation, and is a licensed CPA in Florida. He practices in the areas of labor and employment, commercial litigation, and intellectual property. Mr. Adams has been selected several years as Superlawyer in Florida and was recently named by his peers as one of Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite. Mr. Adams is active in the Florida Bar, serving on the Labor and Employment Executive Council and the Judicial Outreach Subcommittee. He is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law. Certification is the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar of competency and experience within an area of law, professionalism, and ethics in practice. Only seven percent of eligible Florida Bar members are board certified. Established in 1982 by the Florida Supreme Court, board certification helps consumers of legal services identify specialists in various areas of law. He is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In addition to litigation, Mr. Adams helps business clients with various transactional matters, such as starting businesses, adding or removing shareholders, and general contract work.

Practice Focus:

Employment Law: Mr. Adams routinely handles litigation matters involving Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Florida Civil Rights Act, whistleblower and retaliation claims, WARN, unemployment appeals, whistleblower statutes, workers’ compensation retaliation, and local fair employment practices acts.
Mr. Adams has assisted employers with violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Mr. Adams regularly advises clients on non-compete matters, including litigation of the same.
In the traditional labor area, Mr. Adams has researched and advised clients on issues arising under the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947; he has handled Collective Bargaining Agreement litigation; and he has defended employer pension and benefit fund ERISA lawsuits.
Commercial Litigation: In the commercial litigation area, Mr. Adams has handled multi-million dollar litigation, and has experience with failed financial institutions, director and officer liability, accounting malpractice, bad faith insurance litigation, insurance coverage work, securities fraud, the Uniform Commercial Code, contract litigation, and general creditors' rights. He has handled tax collection matters before the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Tax Court.
Intellectual Property: Mr. Adams also practices in the area of copyrights and trademarks. He routinely litigates matters involving software development, trademarks, trade names, and other intellectual property law matters.

Professional and Community Involvement:

Mr. Adams has actively supported the community, including Parkland Estates Civic Association, Bay Area Legal Services, The Spring of Tampa Bay, Leadership Tampa Bay, The CEO Council of Tampa Bay, and Downtown Tampa Rotary.