Steven Gard practiced the majority of his nearly 50 year legal career in the areas of securities litigation and arbitration. He has authored many articles and spoken on securities topics at legal education and securities industry seminars. He has also served as an arbitrator and mediator for FINRA, the New York Stock Exchange and the American Arbitration Association, as well as an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Mr. Gard is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and has practiced law since 1976. He received his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Mr. Gard was certified in 2010 and re-certified in 2015 by The Florida Bar as an expert in the field of business litigation. Mr. Gard is licensed to practice law in the states of Florida, Georgia and Missouri, and in several federal district and appellate courts. In 2017 Mr. Gard joined the faculty of the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute, a national group of approximately 150 faculty members who train attorneys in state Attorneys General offices throughout the country. Since then, he has participated in national training programs which included trial advocacy, effective legal writing, motion practice, e-discovery; settlement strategies, and deposition techniques. Mr. Gard retired in 2020 from law practice to begin mediating full time. He is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court and County Court Civil Mediator, a certified Federal Court Mediator in the Middle District of Florida, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators. He also serves as a mediator and arbitrator for the Florida Bar Fee Arbitration program and the Florida Lemon Law Program.

Specialties: Securities and financial services litigation, arbitration and mediation.