Quick Look
Ezequiel Lugo is one of approximately 200 attorneys in Florida who hold Board Certification in Appellate Practice from The Florida Bar — a distinction he has maintained since 2014. As leader of the appellate practice group at Banker Lopez Gassler, he brings nearly two decades of experience protecting favorable verdicts on appeal, reversing unfavorable outcomes, and advising trial teams on the issues that determine whether a case holds up after the jury is discharged. Ezequiel has garnered an AV® Preeminent distinction, the highest available mark for professional excellence from Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Ratings.
His practice focuses on trial support and appeals at the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s District Courts of Appeal, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. His record includes more than 100 appellate decisions, with results that matter to the clients who retain him:
- Reversals of adverse judgments — including the reversal of a $25 million judgment in a statutory insurance bad faith action, the reversal of a judgment based on the erroneous exclusion of an expert witness, and the reversal of a trial court’s decision to grant additur and a new trial on non-economic damages.
- Defense of insurer positions — including an Eleventh Circuit decision holding that an insurer had no duty to settle under a proposed agreement that would have required consent to an excess judgment, and multiple insurance coverage opinions sustaining policy defenses in property, auto, and casualty disputes.
- Protection of business interests — including an opinion quashing a discovery order that would have compelled a Fortune 500 company to reveal trade secrets.
These outcomes reflect the ability to identify the dispositive issue on appeal and win on it.
Ezequiel is a frequent author and speaker on appellate practice and insurance litigation. He has served as the regular “Recent Legal Developments” columnist for the Trial Advocate Quarterly since 2020, tracking the appellate decisions that shape Florida civil and insurance law. His publications include articles in the Stetson Law Review and the Florida Bar Journal on topics such as error preservation, writ practice, harmless error, and attorneys’ fees.
Ezequiel earned his J.D., with honors, from Stetson University College of Law, where he served on the Stetson Law Review and Moot Court Board and was inducted into the National Order of Barristers. He also holds an A.B., with honors, from Harvard University.
Representative Experience
- Banker Lopez Gassler P.A., Tampa FL
Shareholder, March 2017 to Present - Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, Tampa FL
Senior Associate, 2013-2017
Associate, 2009-2013 - Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Lakeland/Tampa FL
Staff Attorney to the Honorable Douglas A. Wallace, 2007-2009
Presentations and Publications
Presentations
- Florida Liability Claims Conference, Florida Defense Lawyers Association (June 2026)
Co-Presenter: “Florida State Appellate Case Law Update” - Florida Insurance Network Symposium, Florida Defense Lawyers Association (Aug. 2025)
Co-Presenter: “Survey of Recent 624.155 and 624.1551 Appellate Decisions” - Florida Insurance Network Symposium, Florida Defense Lawyers Association (Aug. 2021)
Co-Presenter: “Litigating Civil Remedy Notices” - “A Former Law Clerk’s Views on Appellate Practice.” Presented at the Breakfast and CLE with the Second DCA of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, March 2011
Publications
- Ezequiel Lugo, No Magic Words Required: A Brief Guide to Preserving Error in Florida State Courts from Opening Statements to the Discharge of the Jury, 37 No. 3 TRIAL ADVOC. Q. 19 (Summer 2018)
- Anthony Russo & Ezequiel Lugo, Section 627.428 Attorneys’ Fees & the Confession of Judgment Doctrine: What’s a Court to Consider After a Post-Suit Payment?, 35 TRIAL ADVOC. Q. 25 (Fall 2016)
- Ezequiel Lugo, Harmless Error Redefined, 25 HCBA LAWYER 22 (March – April 2015)
- Ezequiel Lugo, The End of Terms of Court, 24 HCBA LAWYER 19 (September – October 2013)
- Anthony Russo, Ezequiel Lugo & Jared Krukar, Certiorari Redefined: Would the “Functional Restatement” Function?, 42 STETSON L. REV. 403 (Winter 2013)
- Ezequiel Lugo, The Conflict PCA: When an Affirmance Without Opinion Conflicts with a Written Opinion, 85 FLA. B.J. 46 (April 2011)
Professional Affiliations
- Florida Bar
- Hillsborough County Bar
- Florida Defense Lawyers Association