SARASOTA, ST. PETERSBURG, TAMPA, FL — Shumaker attorneys Michele Leo Hintson, Jan W. Pitchford, and Mindi M. Richter have been recognized as Legal Elite Notable Women Leaders in Law by Florida Trend. This honor highlights women who have made a substantial and sustained impact on Florida's legal profession, demonstrating outstanding professional excellence, leadership, influence, and community engagement.
About the Honorees
Michele Leo Hintson
A Partner and member of Shumaker's Management Committee, Michele has more than two decades of experience and is Board Certified in Construction Law by The Florida Bar. A seasoned complex commercial litigator and Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator, Michele represents clients—including real estate developers, contractors, owners, sureties, manufacturers, distributors, and health care-related entities—in litigation and pre-suit negotiation matters. Her work spans disputes involving real estate development, commercial and residential construction, and complex contract matters. Beyond litigation, Michele frequently advises clients on risk management and contract strategy and shares her knowledge through lectures on construction law and litigation topics.
Deeply committed to the Tampa Bay community where she was raised, Michele has contributed significantly through leadership roles with the Pasco Economic Development Council and the Junior League of Tampa, among other civic organizations.
Jan W. Pitchford
As Shumaker's Sarasota Managing Partner, Jan has long been recognized as a leader in real estate, construction, and commercial finance. Board certified as a Real Estate Specialist for over 29 years, she advises individuals, developers, lenders, and corporate clients in a broad range of financing, acquisition, development, and construction matters. Her experience includes Small Business Association (SBA) loans, asset- and cash-flow-based lending, loan workouts, collateral due diligence, and complex loan restructuring. Jan has also served as Regional Service Line Leader for the Real Estate, Construction & Development team, represents Shumaker in the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, and provides ongoing legislative and judicial analysis in this area.
Jan is also a member of the Sarasota County Value Adjustment Board.
Mindi M. Richter
Mindi serves as the St. Petersburg Managing Partner and is Board Certified by The Florida Bar as an Intellectual Property Law Specialist. She represents clients in intellectual property (IP) litigation nationwide—including trademark, patent, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, and domain name disputes—and frequently handles trademark matters before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In addition to litigation, she counsels clients on building and protecting IP portfolios.
She is active in leadership roles across the legal and civic community, including Leadership Florida, Leadership St. Pete®, the Board of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the Board and Selection Committee of the ReliaQuest Bowl.
"Michele, Jan, and Mindi exemplify the highest standard of legal knowledge, professionalism, and leadership," said Jennifer Compton, Managing Partner and Chair of the Management Committee at Shumaker. "Their unwavering commitment to their clients, colleagues, and communities is reflected both in their exceptional results and in the trust they've earned throughout the state and the profession. We are proud to see them recognized among Florida's most influential women in law."