M. Thérèse "Terry" Vento is a partner in Shutts & Bowen’s Miami Litigation Department, where she is a member of the Business Litigation Practice Group. Her areas of practice are general civil and business litigation and appellate matters in state and federal courts, with an emphasis on representing financial institutions. Ms. Vento has been named a Leading American Attorney in the area of commercial litigation, a designation awarded to less than 6% of American lawyers, as well as a Florida Super Lawyer. She is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Before attending law school, she worked as an intern reporter with The Miami Herald and The Fort Lauderdale News, and as a press aide for a U.S. Senator. After law school graduation, Ms. Vento was a Law Clerk to Judge W. O. Mehrtens, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida.
She is Vice-President of the Board of Trustees and legal advisor to the Miami Art Museum, where she has served on the Board for 20 years. She is ex officio President of The Miami Forum, and served for fifteen years on the Alumni Council of the University of Florida College of Law.
She is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.
Ms. Vento is a member of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers and has been active in The Florida Bar, where she served on the Executive Council of the Trial Lawyers Section, running the statewide mock trial competition for nine years. She also served on the statewide Board of Governors for the Young Lawyers’ Section, and the statewide Civil Procedure Rules Committee for many years.
Ms. Vento has also been active in the Miami-Dade County Bar Association as Editor of the Dade Bar Bulletin, a member of the Board of Directors of the Young Lawyers Division, and as pro bono provider of legal services to the Children First Project. She is profiled in the book "Beyond Julia's Daughters," which celebrates women of vision who have made exceptional contributions to Miami-Dade County's history.
Education
- University of Florida, J.D., with honors, 1976
- University of Florida, B.S., with high honors, Journalism, 1974
Bar Admissions
- The Florida Bar
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S.Court of Appeals, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits
- U.S. District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida
Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- American Bar Foundation Fellows
- The Florida Bar, Trial Lawyers Section, (Past) Executive Council
- Florida Association for Women Lawyers
- Miami-Dade County Bar Association
- Who's Who in America
- Who's Who in American Law
