Three New Attorneys Join Icard Merrill

SARASOTA, FL, November 13, 2010

Icard Merrill is pleased to announce three additions to its staff of 32 lawyers. Joseph Herbert and Kelly Pflugner recently passed the Florida Bar Exam and joined Icard Merrill as staff attorneys. Robert Drean has also been hired as a staff attorney, having previously worked at Icard Merrill for six months as a law clerk.

Robert "Tad" Drean graduated cum laude from Vermont Law School after earning a Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of Central Florida. Previous to his position at Icard Merrill, Drean served as a research assistant for the Vice Dean of Academic Affairs at his law school. He is an active community volunteer and served as a jury advisor for the Orange County Teen Court

Joseph Herbert is a graduate of the College of Law at Stetson University, where he was ranked in the top 9% of his class and concurrently earned a Masters in Business Administration. He did his undergraduate studies at University of Florida and has worked as a law clerk at firms in Jacksonville and Sarasota. He served in the United States Navy where he was promoted to the officer leadership and training program and is a member of the American Bar Association and the Sarasota and Hillsborough bar associations.

Kelly Pflugner is a graduate of the College of Law at Stetson University. She was an honor student at the University of Miami, where she earned a Bachelor's of Arts & Sciences. Her legal career includes an internship at the University of South Florida Athletics Department and clerkships at a Tampa law firm as well as Icard Merrill. She is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, where she is seeking accreditation as a Green Associate, and she is in the process of becoming certified as a county court appointed mediator.

Drean and Herbert will join Icard Merrill's downtown Sarasota office on Main Street, while Pflugner will work out of the Lakewood Ranch location.
About Icard Merrill

Established in 1953, the 32 lawyers and 60 employees of Icard Merrill maintain offices in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Punta Gorda. Icard Merrill is a full-service law firm with a strong commitment to supporting its communities through its patronage of the arts, civic involvement and significant pro bono contributions of legal services to the indigent.

For more information, call (941) 366-8100 or visit http://www.icardmerrill.com.