Kudos

Jeremy Solomon, who chairs the Walton Democrats and introduced David B. Pleat at the August 27th meeting, said securing Pleat's candidacy was “knocking the ball out of the park.” He said no Democrat has run for that seat in 16 years. The current occupant is Rep. Marti Coley, who has held it unopposed since 2005.

Family

David is married to Amy Perry, also a senior partner in the Pleat and Perry law firm. Pleat has five children ranging in age from 26 to 3: Candace, Nicholas, Austin, Cassandra and Nola. 

Experience

Mr. Pleat, founding partner of the law firm Pleat & Perry, graduated from Duquesne University in 1981 (B.A.).

He attended law school at the University Of Baltimore (J.D. 1985) and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1985.  He served as a law clerk for the Honorable J. James McKenna, Circuit Court Judge, Montgomery County, Maryland, following admission to the Bar. I n 1993, he was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, and in September 1995, he was admitted to the Florida Bar.

Mr. Pleat practiced for ten years as a litigator in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas.  He relocated to Florida and has practiced in Florida since 1995.  He has extensive litigation experience in a variety of state and federal courts.  He has litigated cases in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, real estate, association law, complex medical malpractice, commercial law, bankruptcy, business / commercial litigation and criminal defense. 

In addition to being a member of two state and the District of Columbia bars, he is also admitted to practice in two federal district courts.  He is a member of the Florida Justice Association, the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce (Chairman; 2007), the Walton County Chamber of Commerce, Destin Kiwanis Club, the Condominium Association Institute, BUILD Mentor for years, currently sits on the Destin Sports Commission and various individual state and county bar associations.  Mr. Pleat currently serves on the Attorney Grievance Committee of The Florida Bar for the First District of Florida (2008-2011). 

Community

David has strong ties to the panhandle of Florida; volunteering for many businesses and charity organizations in the Northwest Florida region. 

With his experience in his law firm and a title company he owns, it is helpful for a candidate “to know how the world of commerce works; how the law works; how to meet a payroll; and how to run a successful business.”  David has represented banks and insurance companies as well as people suing banks and insurance companies.

David has the kind of experience that gives him a broad perspective to understand the nature of the economic problems and how to solve them.  Among his many memberships is board member of the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce since 2002 and he chaired the board in 2007.