Scott Makar Biographical Sketch

Scott D. Makar was appointed Solicitor General for the State of Florida by Attorney General Bill McCollum in February 2007. The position, first established in February 1999, is patterned in part after the U.S. Office of the Solicitor General, which conducts litigation on behalf of the United States in the Supreme Court and supervises the handling of litigation in federal appellate courts. Florida’s Solicitor General serves three primary roles: overseeing civil appeals involving the state’s interests in all state and federal appellate courts; teaching at the Florida State University College of Law where he holds the Richard W. Ervin Eminent Scholar Chair; and serving as a policy advisor to the Attorney General. Since becoming Solicitor General, Mr. Makar has argued cases in the United States Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court, the First District Court of Appeal, and the Second and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits. He has over 100 reported cases on a wide range of topics.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Makar was chief of the appellate division for the Office of General Counsel for the consolidated City of Jacksonville where he worked from 2001 to 2007. Prior to working for the city, Mr. Makar was a capital partner in Holland & Knight, LLP. Prior to joining Holland & Knight in 1989, Mr. Makar was a judicial clerk for Judge Thomas A. Clark, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia. He clerked for Holland & Knight in 1986 (Tampa) and 1987 (Tallahassee) and for the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (Washington, D.C.) in 1985.

Mr. Makar is a graduate of Mercer University (B.S. 1980 (mathematics/economics), magna cum laude, and the University of Florida (Ph.D. 1993 (economics), J.D. with honors, 1987, M.B.A. (finance) and M.A. 1982 (economics)). During law and graduate school, Mr. Makar was founder and Editor-in-Chief of the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy. He was also a member of the University of Florida Law Review, which published his note and awarded it the Gertrude Brick Award.

At Florida State University College of Law, he has taught seminars entitled “Topics in Appellate Law & Policy,” "Florida, the Constitution, & the Supreme Court" and “Opinion Writing.” He currently teaches a course on Florida constitutional law. At Florida Coastal School of Law, he taught seminars including "Media Law & Ethics" and "Education & the Constitution," as well as courses on Florida Constitutional Law, Antitrust Law and Policy, and Civil Rights. He taught "The United States Supreme Court & the Constitution" and "Ethics & Law of Communications" at the University of North Florida as well as "Law & Education" at Jacksonville University. He also taught business law at the University of Florida, College of Business, for four years.

Mr. Makar has written several law review and journal articles on a number of topics. Courts and commentators have cited many of his articles, a number of which have received legal writing awards. He serves by appointment on the Florida Supreme Court's Standard Jury Instructions Committee (Civil) and currently serves as chair emeritus. He was a founding member of The Florida Bar's Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section, serving on its first Executive Council. He was also a founding member of the Appellate Practice Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association, which he chaired from 2001-02. He is married to Nancy Hogshead-Makar and has three children, Aaron (8) and Helen-Clare and Millicent (3).