Sheppard, White and Kachergus, P.A. proudly announces the addition of Jonathan Graessle to the firm. Mr. Graessle joined the firm in 2013, after clerking with the firm every summer during law school. Mr. Graessle graduated from the Bolles School in 2005. A “Double Gator,” he attended the University of Florida, as a Florida Academic Scholar, where he earned his undergraduate degree, with honors, in political science. He also received a certificate in public leadership from the Bob Graham Center. He then earned his law degree, again with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law.
While in law school, Mr. Graessle earned the Book Award, an award given to the student with the highest grade in the class, in criminal procedure and in the criminal clinic – defender. He also made the Dean’s List every semester, served as a teaching assistant for trial practice, and was a student pupil in the James C. Adkins Jr. Inn of Court.
During law school, Mr. Graessle served in an externship with Southern Legal Counsel, a Florida statewide non-for-profit public interest and civil rights law firm. At SLC, he researched and drafted memorandums for a wide range of issues, including advocating for homeless persons, Florida’s water resources, and the quality of Florida’s public schools. Mr. Graessle was also a certified legal intern with the Public Defender’s Office for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Along with researching and drafting memorandums and motions, he selected a jury and served as second chair in a DUI jury trial. Mr. Graessle is also a past member of Leadership Jacksonville’s Collegiate Leadership Experience.
Mr. Graessle is a fourth generation Florida lawyer and Jacksonville resident. His great-grandfather, O. S. Thacker, graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1929 and practiced law in Kissimmee, Florida for over 40 years. His grandmother, Lois Thacker Graessle, and his grandfather, Judge Albert Graessle of Jacksonville, met in law school at the University of Florida and married after graduating in 1941. Lois Graessle was one of Florida’s first 150 women lawyers. Despite being well qualified, she could not obtain a job as an attorney because of her gender. Instead, she became an advocate for social justice and was awarded the Florida Bar Foundation’s prestigious Medal of Honor in 2003. His grandfather, Judge Albert W. Graessle, Jr., resumed private practice in Jacksonville after serving in the United States Navy during World War II. The president of the Jacksonville Bar Association from 1951-1952, he was appointed a circuit court judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit in 1956 and served until his retirement in 1978. Mr. Graessle’s father, William S. Graessle, graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1985. A board-certified Appellate Specialist, he is in private practice in Jacksonville.
Practice Areas:
Appellate Practice
Criminal Law
Civil Rights
University:
University of Florida, B.A., cum laude, 2009
Law School:
University of Florida, J.D., cum laude, 2012
Admitted:
Florida 2013
Biography:
Recipient of Book Awards in Criminal Procedure: Adversary Systems, Spring 2012
Criminal Clinic-Defender, Fall 2012.