Michael S. Hooker

Mike Hooker concentrates his practice in the area of commercial litigation. During his more than 30-year career, Mr. Hooker has litigated a variety of complex commercial actions, including contract disputes, business torts, products liability claims, shareholder disputes and derivative actions, antitrust and trade regulation issues, disputes between franchisors and franchisees, Section 1983 constitutional claims, real estate disputes, land use issues, unfair trade practice claims, telecommunications disputes, RICO and fraud claims, consumer protection claims, Multi-District Litigation, and banking disputes. Although Mr. Hooker more often has represented defendants during his career, he also has prosecuted claims on behalf of plaintiffs in select cases. Mr. Hooker’s clients have relied on him on numerous occasions to guide them through complicated "bet the business" litigation. In addition to his broad commercial litigation expertise, Mr. Hooker has extensive experience defending clients in significant class action cases, and he is currently defending a large qui tam case involving claims of Medicare fraud. His clients have ranged from individuals with substantial claims to large publicly traded companies. Mr. Hooker also has represented franchisors, municipal and county governments, and privately held businesses of all sizes over the years. In 2014, Mr. Hooker was recognized by Florida Super Lawyers as one of the "Top 100 Lawyers" in the State of Florida. This was the third time in the last five years that he received this recognition from his peers. Mr. Hooker is also very action in local and state bar activities. He is a Past President of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, and the Federal Bar Association, Tampa Bay Chapter. He currently serves as a representative of the 13th Judicial Circuit on The Florida Bar Board of Governors. Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar, Mr. Hooker was a shareholder at Glenn Rasmussen Fogarty & Hooker, P.A., and an associate at Holland & Knight LLP, in Tampa, Florida.