Attorney
Richard F. DeVall, Esq
Location: Fort Myers, Florida
Phone: 239-418-1529
Fax: 239-236-0295
Email: richard@zinn.law
Richard DeVall is admitted to practice in Florida and New York and has extensive trial and
appellate experience. With over 30 years of experience, he has served as a former prosecutor, town attorney, assistant city attorney, assistant district attorney, court appointed mortgage foreclosure referee, and a court appointed arbitrator. Mr. DeVall concentrates his practice in the areas of contract law, real estate disputes, and construction litigation.
His jury trial experience includes both felony and misdemeanor criminal trials, and civil personal injury trials. In all his trials, Mr. DeVall has been “first chair.”
He has over 15 reported appellate decisions in criminal and civil cases, which include quiet title, land use/environmental, and family law cases. Several of these cases made new law which still stand today, such as City of Saratoga Springs v. ZBA of the Town of Wilton, 279 A.D. 2 nd 756 (3 rd Dept. 2001): a request to review a determination by a local land use board is deemed to be untimely, even if only late by one day.
Mr. DeVall also has extensive administrative law experience. Most recently, in his former
capacity as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Cape Coral, he successfully defended a challenge to the City’s rejection of a bid before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). The bid in question involved a utilities contract of over 10 million dollars, the single largest utilities contract ever bid by the City.
Mr. DeVall is also an expert in distillery licensing and operation. He is the President and Master Distiller of Saratoga Distilleries, Inc. He obtained the federal, state, and local government approvals for the company, and has consulted with many other distilleries.
He is fluent in French.
Areas of Practice
Construction Litigation
Contract Law
Real Estate Disputes
Civil Litigation
Bar admissions
Florida Bar 2020
New York Bar 1985
Education
Juris Doctor, Albany Law School
Bachelor of Arts, Union College, cum laude
Past employment
The Law Offices of Richard F. DeVall
Assistant City Attorney, II, City of Cape Coral
Principal and Managing Partner of DeVall and DeVall Law Firm
Arbitrator, New York State Unified Court System, Fourth Judicial District
Town Attorney, Town of Wilton, New York
Assistant Counsel to NYS Senate
Assistant District Attorney, Rensselaer County, NY
Charity and Community work
Chairman and member of the Board of Directors, “Saratoga Oasis”, drug treatment center
Saratoga National Bank, Community Advisory Board
Saratoga County, New York, Mock Trial Judge, Coordinator and Coach
Conductor, concert master, and manager of the “Saratoga Strings” pops orchestra
Member of the scola cantorum, church choir, Bethesda Episcopal Church, Saratoga Springs, NY
