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Our Attorneys
Teresa Byrd Morgan, Attorney
 Teresa Morgan, the owner and principal of Morgan Law Center for Estate and Legacy Planning, is not a “typical” estate planning attorney. Clients recognize from their first contact with her or any of the members of her team that working with Teresa is going to be a different experience than what they expect or have experienced in working with other attorneys.
From the earliest days of her legal career, Teresa has intuitively known that to make a real difference in her clients’ lives, she needed to be much more than technically proficient in the law. Accordingly, while she has devoted many years of education and training to the legal-technical areas that are essential to her areas of practice, she has also worked diligently to hone her understanding of non-legal areas that are just as essential to her practice, such as family dynamics, the manner in which seniors communicate and learn, and the complexities of wealth reception.
One of Teresa’s primary goals is to ensure that her clients and their families know that she and her team will be there to help them through the life transitions and crises for which they have planned. Accordingly, she creates many opportunities for her clients’ families to meet and get to know her and the Morgan Law Center team. She encourages clients’ adult children to attend post-planning conferences and workshops, or simply to stop into the office and meet the team when they are visiting their parents from out of town. She regularly holds telephone conferences with those trusted individuals whom clients have chosen to serve in positions such as trustee, personal representative, and health care agent. Further, she has created a planning, implementation, and maintenance process that allows clients and their families to work closely with all of the members of her team so that they will know and feel comfortable with everyone at Morgan Law Center when their time of need arises.
As a result of Teresa’s dedication to making a real difference in the lives she touches through her work, her clients receive more than comprehensive, cutting-edge planning. They create and implement plans that reflect and honor their wisdom and experience for their loved ones.
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Law Licenses: |
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Florida Bar, 1987-present
Georgia Bar, 2004-present
Federal Court, 11th Circuit, 2003-present
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Legal Education: |
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University of Florida, College of Law, Juris Doctor, With Honors, 1987
University of Central Florida, Bachelor of Arts (Legal Services), Magna Cum Laude, 1984
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Legal Experience: |
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Morgan Law Center for Estate & Legacy Planning, PLLC, Owner and Principal Attorney, 2007-present;
Bennett & Morgan, PL, Owner and Principal Attorney, 2005-2007;
Bennett & Morgan, LLP, Managing Partner, 2002-2004;
Teresa Byrd Morgan, P.A., Owner and PrincipaAttorney, 1997-2001;
Darby, Peele, Bowdoin & Payne, Associate Attorney, 1993-1997;
First District Court of Appeal, Senior Judicial Clerk, 1987-1993.
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Legal Activities and Honors: |
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National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys, Member, 1997-present, Member Advisory Board, Southeast Region, 2003-present
Florida Bar General Practice Solo & Small Firms Executive Council, Executive Council Member, 2006-present, CLE Chair, 2008
The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Committee, Member 2008
SunBridge Legacy Builder Network, Member, 2002-present; Co-Leader of Team Training Conferences 2004-2005; Level Three Charter Member, 2003-present
James C. Adkins American Inn of Court, Member, 1997-2002; 2007-present
InKnowVision Institute, Member, 2006-present
Apex Leadership Expeditions, Co-Founder and Co-Leade,r 2006
Florida Bar Pro Bono Award Recipient, Third Judicial Circuit, 1997
Florida Bar Appellate Rules Committee, Membe,r 1995-2001
Second Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee, Member, 1993-1994
Tallahassee Community College, Legal Research Instructor, 1993
The Legacy Builder Institute, Certified Legacy Advisor, 2008-present
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Community Service: |
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Lake City Medical Center, Board of Trustees, 2007-present
Lake City Community College, Charitable Foundation Board, 2007-present
Altrusa International of Lake City, Member, 1994-present; President, 2001-2002
St. James Episcopal Church, Vestry, 2000-2003; Building Committee 2000-2004
Cursillo of the Diocese of Florida, Team Member, 2000, 2001
CARC-Citizens With Disabilities, Board Member, 1998-1999
Another Way Domestic Violence Agency, Board Member, 1994-1997; President 1996
Friends of Columbia County Public Library, Board Member, 1994-1997; President, 1995
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Laura Ann Fouraker-Gardner, Associate Attorney
 Laura Ann Fouraker-Gardner recently joined Morgan Law Center as an associate attorney. Ms. Fouraker-Gardner is a three-time graduate of the University of Florida having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a Secondary Education minor in 1989, a Juris Doctor degree with honors, in 1995, and a Master of Laws (L.L.M.) degree in 2006 from the Graduate Tax Program. Ms. Fouraker-Gardner served two terms as a Federal Judicial Clerk with the Middle District of Florida Bankruptcy Court in Tampa and served as an Assistant State Attorney in Gainesville. Ms. Fouraker-Gardner's practice areas include taxation, probate, wills, trusts, estate planning, and business planning.
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Law Licenses: |
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Florida Bar, 1995-present
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Legal Education: |
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University of Florida Levin College of Law, Graduate Tax Program,
Masters of Law in International Taxation, 2006
University of Florida College of Law, Juris Doctor, With Honors, 1995
University of Florida , Bachelor of Arts, 1989
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Legal Experience: |
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Morgan Law Center for Estate & Legacy Planning, PLLC, Associate Attorney, 2008-present
Brannon, Brown, Haley and Bullock, Associate Attorney, 2007- 2008
Middle District of Florida Bankruptcy Court, Law Clerk to the Honorable Thomas E. Baynes, Jr., 1999-2005
State Attorney's Office, Eighth Judical Circuit, Assistant State Attorney, 1997-1999
Carlton Fields Attorneys at Law, Associate Attorney, Commercial Litigation Department, 1997
Middle District of Florida Bankruptcy Court, Law Clerk to the Honorable Thomas E. Baynes, Jr., 1995-1997
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Legal Activities and Honors |
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Ferguson White Inn of Court, Tampa, Florida, Associate, 1999-2003
Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association, Member, 1999-2005
University of Florida Law Review Editor-in-Chief, 1995-1995
University of Florida Law Review Senior Executive Editor, 1994-1995.
Publication: Laura Ann Fouraker, Comment, Constitutional Law: RICO Forfeiture and the Eighth Amendment; An Emerging Excessive Fines Clause Analysis, 45 Fla. L. Rev. 531, 1993
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Community Service |
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Suwannee Valley Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc., Board of Directors, Member, 2007-present
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