Gary Sasso
New Position: President, chief executive, Carlton Fields, Tampa. Previous Position: Shareholder, Carlton Fields, Tampa
By Times Staff Writer
Published August 15, 2005
Although it will be six months until he officially moves into his new role, Gary Sasso already is preparing to take over as president and chief executive of the law firm of Carlton Fields.
The firm's fiscal year ends in January, he explained, so Sasso expects to take the helm in February. In the interim, Sasso said there will be many meetings and consultations with outgoing president Thomas Snow, who is retiring.
"Obviously, we're going to need to have discussions in the meantime, and I'll need to transition into my new responsibilities," Sasso said. As CEO and president, Sasso said he will basically manage the strategic planning of the firm, "overseeing the management and operations of various practice groups and offices."
Carlton Fields has six offices in Florida - Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee and Miami - as well as an office in Atlanta. There are about 240 lawyers in the firm, Sasso said.
As a litigator, Sasso not only argues cases but also oversees the firm's litigation practice group, which has about 60 to 70 primary members, he said, "and maybe half the firm is involved with that group in some way." Sasso also is on the firm's executive committee and the board of directors.
Currently, Sasso said, 75 to 80 percent of his time is spent practicing law. "After I assume my job as CEO, these percentage will flip," he said. "I'll primarily be involved in managing the firm. I'll continue to practice, but I'll have to practice much more selectively.
"It's a big shift," he said. "Naturally, every change is somewhat unsettling. I'm excited about the new challenge. At this point in my career, it makes sense."
A native of Miami, Sasso grew up in South Florida. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1974, and then earned a doctorate in law from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1977, graduating at the head of his class. While in law school, Sasso was editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He spent his first year after graduation as a clerk for Judge Spottswood Robinson III on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and his second year as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White.
In 1979, Sasso joined the firm of Bredhoff & Kaiser in Washington, where he stayed until joining Carlton Fields in Tampa in 1987. Sasso said family ties in Florida, particularly the Tampa Bay area, helped motivate the move south.
Sasso said he was "always intrigued by law. I guess I'm naturally drawn to it. I like dealing with policy issues and law and what the courts do and what lawyers do. It's such an integral part of our society."
Sasso said he also likes the competition and problem-solving aspects of practicing law.
"Every litigator is competitive," he said. "I do like my courtroom work. I enjoy it a great deal. I think the most important part of law is problem-solving - analyzing problems and helping people come up with solutions."
Sasso said his practice focuses primarily on business litigation, both on the trial and appellate level. He said he likes the variety of challenges. "I don't know what I'm going to be doing on any given day. I'm constantly dealing with issues and problems, and it keeps going. I never get bored.
"All I can do is control the things I can control and confront the things I can't," he said.
Sasso is co-chairman of the civil section of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He is also on the board of directors of the nonprofit organization Creative Kids.
Sasso, 52, and his wife, Karen, live in Tampa. They have three daughters - Jennifer, 21, who is president of Creative Kids; Allison, 17; and Emily, 10. The family likes to vacation in Maine, Sasso said, and when there's time, he said he likes to golf - especially with his daughter Allison, who is on her school's golf team.