Daniel E. Nordby

Daniel Nordby is a partner in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen LLP and Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. He represents businesses, regulated entities, trade and industry organizations, governmental clients, and individuals in high-stakes appeals and other proceedings involving significant questions of constitutional, statutory, administrative, and commercial law.

Appellate Practice

Daniel is ranked Band 2 for Florida appellate litigation in the 2026 Chambers USA guide. He chairs a Shutts appellate practice that is ranked Band 2 in Florida by Chambers USA and National Tier 1 in Appellate Practice by Best Law Firms.

Daniel has presented oral argument in 13 cases before the Florida Supreme Court. He also regularly practices before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Florida’s district courts of appeal and has presented oral argument on multiple occasions before each of those courts. His appellate experience includes matters involving insurance, energy and utilities, real estate, class actions, arbitration, healthcare, government regulation, constitutional law, and other complex legal issues.

Daniel is frequently engaged before an appeal begins, working alongside trial counsel on dispositive legal issues, preservation of error, appellate jurisdiction, extraordinary writs, and the development of a record positioned for appellate review. He also serves as dedicated appellate counsel within trial teams when a case presents significant legal issues or substantial appellate exposure.

His practice extends to the Supreme Court of the United States. Daniel has served as counsel of record in both merits-stage and certiorari-stage Supreme Court proceedings, including as counsel of record for an amicus curiae in a merits case involving a First Amendment challenge to federal campaign-finance restrictions and as counsel of record for a respondent successfully opposing a petition for certiorari.

Daniel is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in both Appellate Practice and State & Federal Government & Administrative Practice and is the only Florida attorney currently holding both certifications concurrently. He currently serves on The Florida Bar’s Appellate Court Rules and Appellate  Certification Committees and as Co-Chair of the Appellate Practice Section’s Advocacy Committee. He previously served on the Appellate Practice Section’s Executive Council and on The Florida Bar’s State & Federal Government & Administrative Practice Certification Committee. Daniel is also a Past Chair of the Bar’s Administrative Law Section and served for more than a decade on that Section’s Executive Council.

Daniel has particular experience with the jurisdiction and practice of the Florida Supreme Court. In 2026, he co-authored “Jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court” in the Stetson Law Review with former Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston and other members of Shutts & Bowen’s appellate team. The article examines the constitutional sources and development of the Court’s mandatory, discretionary, original, advisory, and exclusive jurisdiction.

Representative Appellate Matters

Daniel’s representative appellate experience includes:

• U.S. Supreme Court practice. Served as counsel of record for an amicus curiae in a merits-stage U.S. Supreme Court case involving a First Amendment challenge to federal campaign-finance restrictions, and separately served as counsel of record for a respondent successfully opposing a petition for certiorari.
• Constitutional litigation and redistricting. Represented the Florida Senate in major state and federal constitutional challenges to Florida’s 2022 redistricting plans, including successfully defending the congressional map from the trial court through the Florida Supreme Court under the Florida Constitution’s redistricting provisions, with oral argument before the en banc First District Court of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court; representing the Senate in the Florida Supreme Court’s original proceeding unanimously validating the 2022 state legislative districts; and serving as lead trial counsel in a federal racial-gerrymandering challenge to state Senate districts, obtaining judgment for the Senate following a bench trial before a three-judge federal district court.
• Energy and utility regulation. Represented investor-owned electric and natural-gas utilities in multiple Florida Supreme Court appeals arising from Florida Public Service Commission proceedings, including successful matters involving ratemaking, storm-protection plans and associated cost recovery, replacement-power costs, depreciation methodology, and other significant regulatory issues.
• Eleventh Circuit commercial real estate appeal. Served as lead appellate counsel for a commercial property owner in a successful federal appeal addressing the enforceability of a letter of intent concerning negotiations for the purchase of real property.
• Class-action defense. Served as lead appellate counsel for a national retailer in a successful appeal from a class-certification order involving alleged violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
• Insurance litigation. Represented property and casualty insurers in state and federal appeals involving statutory interpretation, reimbursement methodology, bad-faith claims, coverage-related disputes, and arbitration rights.
• Commercial arbitration. Served as lead appellate counsel for a manufacturer in a successful appeal reversing an order denying arbitration of a construction-related commercial dispute.
• High-value judgment appeal. Represented a healthcare institution in a successful appeal reversing a seven-figure premises-liability judgment based on the insufficiency of the evidence supporting liability.
• Major procurement and regulatory litigation. Successfully defended on appeal the award of a contract valued at approximately $680 million for the development of a statewide public-safety communications system following a competitive procurement and bid protest.

These matters are representative only. Daniel has served as counsel in numerous additional reported decisions in the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s district courts of appeal, the Eleventh Circuit, and federal and state trial courts.

Administrative and Regulatory Practice

Daniel also maintains an active administrative and regulatory practice. He represents businesses, regulated entities, individuals, and governmental clients in contested agency proceedings, competitive procurements and bid protests, rule challenges, licensing and permitting matters, and judicial review of agency action.

His combined appellate and administrative-law experience allows him to advise clients at the stage when the record and legal issues that may determine eventual judicial review are being developed. His experience includes matters involving energy and utilities, insurance, healthcare, telecommunications, procurement, professional and occupational licensing, and other regulated industries and governmental programs.

Public Service

Daniel has held several senior legal positions in Florida government. From 2017 to 2019, he served as General Counsel to Governor Rick Scott, providing legal and strategic oversight concerning significant litigation involving Florida’s executive branch and advising the Governor concerning judicial appointments. His prior public service also includes positions as General Counsel to the Florida House of Representatives, General Counsel to Florida’s Secretary of State, Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Department of Education, and Staff Attorney to the Florida Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.

Daniel also served for twelve years on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, including as Chair from 2019 to 2022. His public-sector experience complements his appellate and administrative practice with an unusually deep understanding of Florida’s constitutional structure, courts, administrative agencies, and the interaction among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Education and Recognition

Daniel earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Florida College of Law and also holds bachelor’s degrees in Microbiology and Cell Science and Classical Studies from the University of Florida.

Daniel is ranked Band 2 for Florida appellate litigation by Chambers USA. He is recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Practice and Administrative / Regulatory Law and has also been recognized by Florida Super Lawyers and Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite for appellate practice. As Chair of Shutts & Bowen’s Appellate Practice Group, Daniel leads a practice ranked Band 2 in Florida by Chambers USA and National Tier 1 in Appellate Practice by Best Law Firms.