Joseph W. "Jay" Fleece III

Joseph W. "Jay" Fleece, III, is a native Floridian having been born and raised in St. Petersburg. Mr. Fleece started practicing law in 1980 with the firm of Belcher & Fleece, P.A., and subsequently joined Holland & Knight, where he was a partner heading up the litigation department of the St. Petersburg office. In 2004, Mr. Fleece joined with Hamden H. Baskin, III, and founded the law firm of BaskinFleece, located in Clearwater, Florida. In 2017 Mr. Fleece moved his practice back to St. Petersburg and joined the Legacy Protection Lawyers, LLP law firm.

Mr. Fleece is a graduate of Tulane University and Stetson University College of Law. Mr. Fleece is an AV rated lawyer by Martindale Hubbell and has been selected for inclusion in the Florida Super Lawyer publication since 2007 and The Best Lawyers in America© publication since 2010. Mr. Fleece’s practice has focused on estate, trust, and fiduciary litigation for the past 34 years and he has been involved in many complex cases throughout Florida, both at the trial and appellate levels, and has appeared as counsel in matters in California and South Carolina.

Mr. Fleece is a Fellow of the Litigation Council of America and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; U.S. Tax Court; and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Fleece has also been active in his community, having previously served as president of the Police Athletic League, PARC, Sunshine City Jaycees, and he has previously served on the boards of the local YMCA and Red Cross. Mr. Fleece is a former Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida and a past Commodore of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Currently, Mr. Fleece serves as a member of the Board of Johns Hopklins All Children’s Hospital.