As a fifth generation native of Palm Beach County, Harvey Oyer brings a unique perspective to his understanding of the issues facing the region, its real estate market and development.
Mr. Oyer represents clients in real estate transactions, finance, land use, zoning, agricultural law, cultural property law and government relations/lobbying. His client base includes commercial and residential developers, lending institutions, large rural land owners, farmers, and ranchers. Mr. Oyer provides legal counsel in the acquisition, entitlement, financing and development of all types of commercial and residential properties; in the acquisition, sale and leasing of agricultural lands; in the creation of mitigation and conservation banks; and in the acquisition and disposition of large tracts of rural land. Mr. Oyer also represents his clients’ interests as a registered lobbyist and in a variety of governmental affairs matters.
A partner in the West Palm Beach office of Shutts & Bowen, Mr. Oyer chairs the Land Use Practice Group and is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group. He serves as the Chairman of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, is a Director of the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, a Trustee of the Palm Beach United Way, a Fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh Foundation (U.K.), the Florida Senate President’s appointee to the Great Floridians Committee, and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law.
Mr. Oyer is an accomplished historian, lecturer and writer on topics ranging from law, history, and archaeology to international laws regarding antiquities trafficking and cultural property protection. In 2008, the Florida Association of Museums presented him with its Outstanding Trustee Award. His commitment to the community was recognized in 2006 when he received the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Delta Kappa Gamma Community Leadership Award, and was named South Florida CEO’s “Power Player.” That same year, Florida International Magazine recognized him among the “100 Most Influential Floridians.”
Education
- University of Florida College of Law, J.D., with honors, 1998
- Cambridge University, Master of Archaeology, 1994
- University of Florida, B.A., with high honors, Economics, 1990
Languages
- Spanish
Affiliations
- United States Marine Corps Reserve (Captain) (Honorably Discharged)
- Historical Society of Palm Beach County, Chairman
- Palm Beach County Cultural Council, Director
- Palm Beach United Way, Trustee
- The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Foundation (U.K.) Fellow
- United States Committee of the Blue Shield
- Order of St. John (Jerusalem Eye Hospital)
- Palm Beach County Centennial Committee (appointed by Palm Beach County Commissioner Karen Marcus), 2002 – 2009
- City of West Palm Beach Library/City Hall Site Selection Committee (appointed by Mayor Lois Frankel), 2005
- City of West Palm Beach Downtown Master Plan Revision Committee (appointed by Mayor Lois Frankel), 2006
- University of Florida College of Law International Programs, Advisory Board (1998-2004)
- Askew Institute for Public Policy, Delegate (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
- Economic Forum of Palm Beach County, Director
- Lake Worth Pioneers Association, Past Secretary and Past Vice President
- Sons of the American Revolution, Palm Beach Chapter
- Forum Club of the Palm Beaches
- Cambridge Society of Florida, Past President
- Rotary International Foundation
- American Legion, Post 164
Honors
- Florida Association of Museums, Outstanding Trustee Award, 2008
- Jefferson Award for Public Service, 2006
- Named one of the “100 Most Influential Floridians,” Florida International Magazine, 2006
- Named South Florida CEO’s “Power Player,” 2006
- Delta Kappa Gamma Community Leadership Award, 2006
- Great Floridians Committee (appointed by Florida State Senate President Tom Lee; re-appointed by Florida Senate President Ken Pruitt), 2005 – 2008
- Named one of South Florida Legal Guide’s “Up & Comers,” 2005 and 2006
- March of Dimes Building Our Community Excellence Award, 2004
- American Cancer Society West Palm Beach Pioneering Leader Award, 2004
- Colonial Dames XVII Century Florida Community Service Award, 2003
- Sons of the American Revolution Florida Community Service Award, 2002
- Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortar Board, Omicron Delta Kappa
- 1992 Rotary International Scholar
- University of Florida Hall of Fame
- Most Outstanding Male Leader, University of Florida, 1990
Publications
“In the Name of Jesus: Christian Missionizing and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea,” The Explorers Journal (forthcoming Fall 2008) (This article is based on an Explorers Club flagged anthropological expedition to the Madang Province of Papua New Guinea in September 2007)
The Adventures of Charlie Pierce: The American Jungle, 2008 (Children’s Book on Florida History)
Wrote the Foreword, Pioneer Life in Southeast Florida, 2nd Ed., by Charles W. Pierce, 2008
Wrote the Foreword, Lila Vanderbilt Webb’s Miradero, A Window on an Era, by Robert Ganger, 2005 (National Book Award winner)
Wrote the Foreword, Black, Gold and Silver Sands, A Pictorial History of Agriculture in Palm Beach County, by James Snyder, 2004
“The Wreck of the Providencia in 1878 and the Naming of Palm Beach County,” Vol. 29, South Florida History, Nov. 4, 2001
“Barefoot Mailman, A Job that Became a Legend,” Vol. 28, South Florida History, Nov. 4, 2000
“Planned Unit Developments,” Chapter in Florida Environmental and Land Use Law (2000)
“The 1954 Hague Convention For The Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Is it Working? A Case Study: The Persian Gulf War Experience,” 23 Columbia J.L. & Arts 49 (1999)
Panel Reporter, 93rd Meeting of the American Society of International Law, “Crisis Action: Governmental Lawyers’ Roles in International Crisis,” 93 ASIL Proc. (1999)
“The Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Unilateral Trade Sanctions and Their Impact on U.S. Obligations Under NAFTA,” 11 Fla. J. Int’l L. 429 (1997)
An Analysis of the Distribution, Abundance, and Metallurgical Composition of Anglo-Saxon Ornamental Gold Metalwork, Masters Thesis, Faculty of Archaeology, Cambridge University (1994)
The Sectoral Shifts Theory of Unemployment in Post-World War II Britain, Honors Thesis, Department of Economics, University of Florida (1990)
