Charles Reynolds, who has more than three decades of experience in the premises liability, construction, medical malpractice, toxic tort, and other insurance defense-related fields, joined Tyson & Mendes LLP as partner in its Tampa, Florida office.
Charles Reynolds joins the firm after spending almost four years as a senior attorney with Trenam Law. Before joining Trenam Law, Reynolds spent almost 25 years as an attorney at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, where he was a partner and department chairman of the firm's casualty liability litigation and insurance defense group.
Reynolds is a former U.S. Air Force captain, serving from 1988 to 1992, according to his LinkedIn profile. He served as a judge advocate in that role and additionally worked as an assistant to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and as the military's trial observer for American and NATO personnel serving in Italy.
Following that role, he spent a little over a year as the chief legal counsel for Geonex International Corp., a company that specialized in computer mapping services for national and international clients. He additionally helped oversee litigation for the company and helped pioneer GPS for military and civilian use, the firm said.
Reynolds is one of two attorneys appointed by the Florida Bar Association to sit on the state's Supreme Court Judicial Ethics Committee, Tyson & Mendes noted.
In an interview with Law360 Tuesday, Reynolds said his decision to leave Trenam Law for Tyson & Mendes came in part because of Tyson's national reach in the insurance defense-related industries.
"Trenam is a wonderful firm largely based in commercial work, and Tyson is completely dedicated to the defense of the insurance industry and its insurers, so it seemed like just a great fit," he said.
Reynolds said he was most passionate about construction defect defense work and his ability to learn about the subject was one of his favorite aspects of the work.
"Construction is broken down into really small areas of expertise," he said. "Some people drywall, some people stucco, some people roof, some people do tresses; and to learn about each one of these trades and understanding the pitfalls of where things can go wrong has been just fascinating to me, from both a field perspective and an engineering perspective."
On the horizon for potential future litigation are green construction materials, Reynolds said, noting that they haven't yet been tested in the Florida market. While a large number of new construction projects nationwide have used technology to help mitigate their impact on the environment, whether those structures could stand up to extreme Florida weather has yet to be seen, Reynolds said.
He added: "And I think that there are going to be matters that arise with regard to what is often referred to as green building products that simply have got to stand the test of time in the field before we know if they're going to be long-term solutions. And I think some of those are going to generate litigation because they don't have that track record yet."
Robert Tyson, strategic managing partner of Tyson & Mendes, said the firm was looking forward to the addition of Reynolds in Florida.
"Charles brings decades of trial experience in Florida, and he has a particular focus in vital practice areas for our clients in the state," he said. "He is an excellent addition to our Florida team and we are excited to have a trial lawyer with his expertise and background join us in Tampa."