Alumni Profiles
President-elect of The Florida Bar
By Ian Fisher (3L)
Mayanne Downs (JD 87), a shareholder at King, Blackwell, Downs & Zehnder in Orlando, Fla., is a Double Gator and dedicated Gator fan with an amazing life story.
In 2007, just as the Gator basketball team headed into the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, Downs became ill because of a bacterial infection of the blood. Her lungs and digestive system shut down. She fell into a deep coma for days. When she awoke, her first words shocked everyone in the room.
“The first thing I asked was, ‘Did the Gators win?’ ” Downs said.
Downs wasn’t aware of how long she’d been out; last she’d known the Gators had yet to play in the second round of the regional semi-finals.
“I went to the hospital on March 19, and woke up from my coma on March 30. I thought it was the next day,” she said. “It always embarrasses me a little bit because I think people would think, ‘She’d ask first about her children.’ But I didn’t know that I’d been in a coma.”
Downs’ close friend, 5th District Court of Appeal Judge Jackie Griffin — also a rabid Gator fan — corroborates the tale.
“That is a true story. I was in the room. It was just so Mayanne,” Griffin said. “She’s been in this coma for I don’t know how long and she could barely form words and there she was, just, ‘How did the Gators do?’ ”
Downs learned the full power of friendship following her recovery. Dozens of friends and attorneys from around the state had come to the hospital to support her when word spread that she was deathly ill.
“It helped everybody appreciate how fragile our relationships are and these people that we love — how easy it is to lose them,” Griffin said. “Most of the people I know are very busy in their practices or very busy as judges, we’ve got families, everybody is travelling. All of a sudden, it all came to a screeching halt and it was quite a lesson for everybody, and I think we still carry it.”
Downs met Griffin while working in the Downs family’s small real estate business. On Oct. 17, 1983, at 3:30 p.m. a sheriff knocked on the business’ door — they were being sued in an antitrust case, and Downs was terrified.
“It’s as if somebody has come and taken you forcibly by the shoulders and said, ‘Here, I’m going to throw you in this game,’ ” Downs said. “ ‘And your life depends on the outcome. By the way, you don’t know the rules, but everyone else in the game does and they all have specialized skills.’ It’s a very scary process, very intimidating. I was puzzled; I didn’t know what it was about.”
Downs’ family intended to interview several lawyers before hiring one for the case, but Griffin was the first they interviewed and they hired her on the spot.
“[Griffin] said I was both a dream and a nightmare client,” Downs said. “I listened closely and did what I was asked to do. On the other hand, I asked a million questions, read all the cases, understood everything instantly and was a real challenge to keep up with. Then she claims after several months of us working together I came to her and said, in essence, ‘I’ve watched what you do. I can do this, and I really want to.’ ”
After attending her first Gator game in the ‘60s and getting her undergrad degree from UF, there was no question that UF Law was the right place for Downs.
Downs took the LSAT and applied to UF Law, intent on her new career. She was admitted, did well, graduated and passed the bar before the court even issued an order in the lawsuit that originally piqued her interest in law school. That lawsuit was eventually settled for a mere $750.
Downs is now the president-elect of The Florida Bar. When she becomes president on July 1, she’ll be the first female UF Law graduate ever to serve as president, and the fourth woman president in the history of the Bar. As president, she will run and organize the Bar’s Board of Governors, run executive committees and direct policy.
“I’ll deal with the courts, the legislature, the governor’s office and our local voluntary bars throughout the state,” Downs said.
Downs estimates her service as bar president will require anywhere between 300 and 500 hours of her time during the course of her presidency, but that pales in comparison to the time and energy she’s invested in the profession within her community.
“It’s been our tradition and custom in central Florida, as it is in many parts of the state, that you work in the local bar activities,” Downs said. “In central Florida, most every representative from central Florida to the Board of Governors has already served as president of our local bar.”
Downs has worked her way through the ranks with her signature sense of humor and a flair for the dramatic.
“I’ve always had this connection with the university, and that was underscored as a law student because I just don’t see how you can get a better legal education,” Downs said. “There are very few things in the world that I love more than the University of Florida. When I die, I dearly hope to be cremated and sprinkled over Florida Field.”
