Jonathan A. McGowan, esq.
BIO
Jon McGowan studied law as a second career after 16 years in business and government affairs. His experience brings a depth of knowledge on a wide array of issues. He has served on various boards with the City of Jacksonville, Florida, US, and has received multiple awards for his volunteer efforts in the community. In 2020, he was appointed as a Fellow at the European Law Institute, in Vienna, Austria, where he serves on the Members Consultative Committee for multiple projects. He is a contributor for Forbes, where he provides expert commentary on the international legal development of environmental, social, and governance; sustainability, and climate change policies. His primary areas of practice are transactional business law and administrative law.
EDUCATION
- Florida State University College of Law, Juris Doctor
Certificate in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Land Use Law
University of Iowa College of Law, London Law Program
Oxford University, Summer Program in Law - University of Florida, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
AFFILIATIONS
- European Law Institute
- The Federalist Society
- American Bar Association
Rule of Law Initiative, Liaison, 2022 – 2023
Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight, 2023 – 2025 - Jacksonville Bar Association
Government Relations Committee, Chair, 2022 – 2025 - The Florida Bar
Governmental and Public Policy Advocacy Committee, 2022 – 2025 - The First District Appellate American Inn of Court, 2019 – 2021
- National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, 2019 – 2021
PUBLIC SERVICE
- Jacksonville Housing Authority, 2019 – 2021
Chair, 2020 – 2021, Vice-Chair 2019 – 2020 - Duval County Elections Advisory Panel, 2017 – 2020
Chair, 2019 – 2020, Vice-Chair 2018 – 2019 - Duval County Taxation, Revenue, Utilization and Expenditures Commission 2018 – 2019
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Florida Bar
- United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
- Cherokee Nation
- Seminole Tribe of Florida
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- The Trouble With Tibble: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Fiduciary Duty,The University of Chicago Business Law Review, Online Edition, 2022
- Medical Marijuana Permits and Concealed Weapons Permits: When One Right Impacts Another, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy: Per Curiam, 2022
- Florida’s Constitution: 1812 – Present, For Lawyers Publishing, 2022. Second Edition 2023
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
- Legal Developments in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Regulation, Presentation to the American Bar Association 2023 Mid-Year Conference, New Orleans, LA, February 2023
- Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Fiduciary Duty, Presentation to the International Conference on European Company Law and Corporate Governance, Zagreb, Croatia, November 2022
- The Decline of Judicial Independence in Europe: Is the US on the Same Path?, Presentation to the American Bar Association International Law Conference, Washington, D.C., April 2022