Seth Mills
Florida
Mills Law Group
100 South Ashley Drive
Suite 600
Tampa, FL 33602
Tel: 813-923-1503
Email:
smills@mills-legal.com
Web:
www.mills-legal.com
Seth Mills is President and Chairman of Mills Law Group. His practice is focused in the areas of complex commercial litigation, including construction, fidelity, and surety matters. He has been previously named as Tampa’s Construction Lawyer of the Year, repeatedly named in Florida Trend magazine’s Florida Legal Elite, as a Super Lawyer and in America’s Best Lawyer’s listings.
He received his B.A. from The Citadel in 1979 and his J.D. from the University of Florida in 1981. He graduated from the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School, with honors, in 1982. Thereafter he served as the Chief Trial Counsel at Fort Carson, Colorado, gaining substantial trial experience during his tenure with the military.
Mr. Mills is also Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Business Litigation. He has served in various leadership capacities in the American Bar Association, including as a Past Chairman of its Fidelity and Surety Law Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Association and of its Young Lawyers’ Division, where he served as Florida’s Young Lawyer Representative to its House of Delegates for several years. He is also a founding member of the Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, as well as a member of the Surety Claims Institute and National Bond Claims Association.
He has written and spoken extensively on fidelity, surety, construction and other complex commercial litigation topics.
Education
- The Citadel; B.A. in Political Science, 1979
- The University of Florida, College of Law, J.D., 1981.
Admissions
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- All Florida State and Federal Courts
- All Georgia State and Federal Courts
- United States Court of Military Appeals
- United States Army Court of Military Review
- 2018 Construction Lawyer of the Year – Best Lawyers in America
- Chambers USA – Best Lawyers in America (2017-2022)
- Board Certified in Business Litigation by the Florida Bar (1996-Present)
- Repeatedly named as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite” for Business Litigation by Florida Trend Magazine
- Repeatedly named as Florida “Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation by Law & Politics Magazine
- Repeatedly named as one of “Tampa’s Top Rated Lawyers” by Legal Leaders Magazine
- Fellow of American Bar Foundation
- Fellow of ABA’s Young Lawyers Division
- Martindale-Hubbell, AV Rated
- Past Chairman of American Bar Associations’ Fidelity & Surety Law Committee
- Past appointment to American Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee
- Past Young Lawyer Member of Governing Committee of ABA’s Forum on the Construction Industry
- Past Florida Representative and Delegate to ABA’s Young Lawyers Division
- American Bar Association
- Tort and Insurance Practice Section
- Fidelity and Surety Law Committee – Past Chair
- Litigation Section
- Forum on the Construction Industry – Past Governing Committee Young Lawyer Member
- The Florida Bar
- Trial Lawyers Section
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Trial Lawyers Section
- Construction Law Section
- National Bond Claims Association
- Advisory Member of the Fidelity Law Association
- The Surety Claims Institute
- “The Ethics of Joint Representation of Sureties and Their Principals,” CLE Extravaganza 2022.
- “Preparing Witnesses to Testify,” Atlanta Surety Claims Association, February, 2017.
- “Bad Faith, Good Faith or No Faith at All: A Primer on First Party Bad Faith Insurance Claims,” July, 2015.
- “The Rising Clamor Of Successor Obligees: Contenders or Pretenders?” Zurich American Fidelity and Surety Claims National Conference, July, 2013.
- “The Lucky Thirteen: Top Tips for Presenting the Insurer/Surety for Deposition,” Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June, 2008
- “Georgia and Alabama Construction Lien and Bond Law Update,” Philadelphia, PA, January, 2008.
- “Bad Faith Claims Against Sureties, A Quick Glimpse at a Moving Target,” Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June, 2007.
- “Florida Construction Lien and Bond Law Update,” Philadelphia, PA, Fall, 2006.
- “Florida Construction Lien and Bond Law Update,” Hartford, CT, Spring, 2005.
- “The Surety’s Analysis of Time Related Construction Claims,” Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute, June, 2004.
- “Preparing Witnesses: Part Art, Part Science and Part Mystery,” Florida Departmental of Environmental Protection, September, 2003.
- “Takeover by the Surety,” National Program Co-Chair, American Bar Association’s TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, May, 2002.
- “State & Federal Prompt Payment Laws,” Hillsborough County Bar Association, April, 2000.
- “When to Hold and When to Fold: Practical Advice on Recurring Construction Issues,” National Program Co-Chair, American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Industry, April, 1999.
- “Softening the Blow of Construction Contract Clauses,” ASA, March, 1996.
- “Minority Business Enterprises and Public Bidding Requirements,” Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Tampa, Florida, 1988.
The Firm brings decades of focus and experience advising clients on all types of construction law, including contract review and drafting, to claim preparation, prosecution, and defense, to dispute avoidance and resolution. The firm is also engaged in the defense of design professionals under professional liability policies.
Our clientele includes public and private owners, general contractors and subcontractors, as well as sureties and insurers. We are deeply experienced in prosecuting and defending claims (from inception through appeals) involving:
- Defective construction
- Contested defaults
- Delays and time extensions
- Payment disputes
- Change orders and other adjustments
Our lawyers are licensed to practice in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina and work from offices in Tampa and Atlanta. Our clients range from some of the nation’s largest sureties, to regional contractors, subcontractors, governmental entities and Fortune 500 companies.