Fund Assembly

With more than 28 years of experience in the public and private sectors, Tim brings a wealth of expertise to Citizens. Appointed in June 2021 as General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Tim provided critical leadership as Citizens responded to new legislative requirements to stabilize the Florida property insurance market and return Citizens to its role as Florida’s insurer of last resort.

Prior to joining Citizens, Tim practiced with GrayRobinson, focusing on government investigations, regulatory and health care law, and administrative law. He previously served as General Counsel to Florida Governor Rick Scott where he was the chief legal advisor to the Governor and legal liaison for the Executive Office of the Governor to all state and local agencies.

Tim currently serves on the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida. In June 2021, he was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. Tim is also a member of the Board of Directors of the James Madison Institute, Florida’s premiere think tank dedicated to promoting economic opportunity for all Floridians.

Tim earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida (UF) in 1990. He graduated from the UF College of Law with honors in 1995 and was a member of the Florida Law Review. Tim has served as president of both the University of Florida Alumni Association and the UF College of Law Alumni Council, and he currently serves as Chairman of the Florida Blue Key Alumni Advisory Board.

Colleen Coffield Sachs is an Underwriting Manager, Processes and Reporting for Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, Inc., having joined The Fund in 2019. She received a B.A. in both Political Science and English and a J.D. from the University of Mississippi. Prior to becoming an underwriting counsel, Colleen was in private practice. After practicing for several years in New Orleans, Louisiana, Colleen returned to her home state of Florida, where she was a Fund Member with a practice emphasizing real estate, land use, and development law. Colleen is an active member of the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. She is a former chair of the Florida Bar Continuing Education Committee, current Chair of the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section Disaster and Emergency Readiness and Preparedness Committee, and a current member of the Florida Realtor-Attorney Joint Committee where she co-chairs the contract subcommittee.

Jonathan Whitney is a partner with Lutz, Bobo & Telfair, P.A. Mr. Whitney obtained his B.S. from the University of Southern Maine and his J.D. from the University of Maine. 

Mr. Whitney’s real estate practice lies at the intersection of cooperative law and manufactured housing. He regularly counsels clients on the purchase and sales of mobile home parks, cooperative governance, rule enforcement and collections issues, and unit owner sales and resales.

Ms. Murphy is The Fund’s Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and General Counsel.  She obtained her B.S. degree from Florida State University and her J. D. degree from the University of Florida.  Prior to joining The Fund, she was in private practice in Gainesville, Florida for over 30 years, with a focus on real property transactional law.  Ms. Murphy was an agent for The Fund and her firm was a Top 25 Member of The Fund for many years.  Ms. Murphy was an adjunct professor at the University of Florida prior to moving to Orlando, teaching at both the UF law school and in the Masters of Science in Real Estate program in the business school.  She serves on the Executive Council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar and was Chair of the Section in 2005-2006.  The Section recognized her with the William S. Belcher Lifetime Professionalism Award in 2020.  She currently serves as President of the Florida Land Title Association.  

Jennifer Barrow is a Senior Commercial Underwriting Attorney in The Fund’s Miami-Dade Branch. In addition to underwriting commercial transactions, she serves as co-forms counsel responsible for companywide implementation and education on title related forms and is a member of the Florida Land Title Association Forms Committee.  Prior to employment with The Fund, Ms. Barrow was the managing attorney of a title company, a member of The Fund, and a partner at a firm focused on real estate litigation and transactions.

Ms. Barrow is a graduate of Providence College (B.S., Political Science, 2006) and the University of Miami College of Law (J.D., 2009).  Ms. Barrow is admitted to practice in Florida and in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and is a member of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section.

Chris Bracken is an Underwriting Counsel at The Fund’s Duval Branch in Jacksonville. He obtained his B.A. from the University of Florida and J.D. degree from Florida Coastal School of Law with a Certificate in Legal Writing. Chris represents The Fund as an active member of the Florida Land Title Association’s (FLTA) Education committee. He is also a member of the Construction Law Committee of the RPPTL Section of The Florida Bar. 

Before joining The Fund, Chris practiced construction litigation and real property transactional law at boutique law firms in Jacksonville. He also served as an Assistant State Attorney with the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Margaret A. (Peggy) Williams, Sr. Manager Risk Analysis and Member Compliance, manages The Fund’s Risk Management and Member and Agent Services Departments.  She received her undergraduate degree from Florida State University and her J.D. degree from the University of Florida College of Law.  Ms. Williams has worked for The Fund since 1991 and joined The Fund’s legal staff in 2000 as claims counsel.  She has managed the Risk Management Department since 2005 and is co-editor of The Fund’s monthly publication, The Fund Concept.  Ms. Williams is an at-large member of The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Executive Council, and serves on several of its committees.  She is a member of the Florida Land Title Association and has served on a Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the 9th Circuit.  

Shannon Widman is a Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, Inc.  She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Syracuse University and her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.  Shannon moved from her hometown of Palm Beach Gardens to Santa Rosa Beach where she founded Porath & Associates, P.A. A law firm specializing in real estate transactions on Florida's Emerald Coast and the 30A corridor. 

A Fund Member for 24 years, Shannon served on the Board of Governors for Attorneys' Title Fund Services, Inc., and as President and Treasurer of the Emerald Coast Real Estate Council, Inc. 

Shannon volunteers on the Board of Directors for The Seaside School Foundation, Inc. where she acts as a legislative liaison, helping to secure over nine million dollars in legislative appropriations for the charter school’s dual enrollment center expansion project. 

Throughout her career, Shannon provided pro-bono title services to new homebuyers through Habitat for Humanity of Walton County and served as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem in Walton and Okaloosa Counties where she was recognized as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year for the First Judicial Circuit. 

Trey Goldman is Legislative Counsel for the Florida Realtors.  He participates in all their legislative and regulatory efforts, and represents Realtors® before the Florida Legislature, state regulatory agencies, the Governor’s office and Cabinet, with a focus on insurance and community association related issues. Trey is also a member of the Florida Bar and serves on the Executive Council of the Bar’s largest section, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. Trey was raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, where both of his parents were Realtors, and graduated from the University of Florida College of Business with a degree in Real Estate and Urban Analysis. He also received his J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law. 

Megan Crandall Solomon joined Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, Inc. in 2017.  In 2024 she joined the underwriting team transferring from her role as Senior Claims Counsel. She earned her law degree from Nova Southeastern University in 2009 after having received a bachelor’s degree with honors in Criminal Justice with a minor in Interpersonal Communications from the University of Central Florida in 2006.  She is admitted to practice law in Florida as well as in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida.  She frequently presents lectures on the topic of claims avoidance at the Fund’s New Member Training programs.  Prior to working with the Fund, she practiced as an experienced litigation attorney focusing on real estate, bankruptcy, title disputes, code enforcement matters, and lien foreclosures in federal and state actions throughout the state of Florida.  She was also involved with achieving title claims resolutions and curative measures for lending institutions.

Dr. Jessica Lautz is the Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). She has been with NAR since 2007.

The core of Dr. Lautz’s research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. She is in demand as a speaker and by major media outlets to provide commentary on the real estate market. She has testified before Congress on behalf of NAR.

Dr. Lautz volunteers at Nottingham Trent University as an industry fellow mentoring real estate graduate students, is a committee chair at the National Association of Business Economics, bakes birthday cakes for underserved youth with Cake4Kids, and sits on the board of the Food Recovery Network.

Dr. Lautz has been recognized by Housing Wire's Women of Influence and RISMedia's Newsmaker award.

Dr. Lautz received her Doctorate of Real Estate from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She also holds a Master's in Public Policy from American University and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Law and Justice from Central Washington University.

Kara Scott, is a Fund Legal Education Attorney.  She presents on a variety of topics in addition to co-teaching Fund New Member Training, Fund Paraprofessional Training and Fund Commercial Training.  Prior to joining the Fund’s Legal Education Department in 2023, she was a Senior Associate in a Fund Member’s Sarasota office, with a practice focused on residential and commercial real estate transactions, business law, land use, and estate administration. Kara is a graduate of Rhode Island College and New England School of Law and practiced law in Rhode Island for 24 years before relocating to Florida in 2019. She is a member of the Florida Bar’s RPPTL section and its Title Issues & Standards Committee.

John B. “Jay” St. Lawrence, Fund Regulatory Compliance Counsel, earned degrees in journalism and law at the University of Florida and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1995. Prior to coming to The Fund, he practiced bankruptcy and real estate law. Jay is a member of The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section and has been admitted to all Florida Federal District Courts.  He joined The Fund in 2004 as a claims attorney and now works with The Fund’s Legal Education Department, where he has created and taught Fund programs on topics including cyber security, private lending after Dodd-Frank and Homestead. In addition to serving as The Fund’s Regulatory Compliance Counsel, Jay co-teaches The Fund’s New Member Training and Commercial New Member Training courses and edits The Fund’s Title Note chapter on bankruptcy.

Caleb Hinton is a Fund Senior Underwriting Counsel based at Fund Headquarters in Orlando.  Caleb obtained his Bachelor of Science in Criminology and his Juris Doctor from Florida State University.  In 2023, Caleb became a Board Certified Real Estate attorney through The Florida Bar.  Prior to joining The Fund, Caleb’s real estate practice focused primarily on commercial leasing and commercial land transactions including acquisitions, development, and sales.

Brian Stringer is a Fund Underwriting Counsel in the Miami-Dade Branch.  Brian holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in real property development from the University of Miami School of Law.

Prior to joining The Fund, Brian was a Fund Member in private practice in Miami, Florida.  Brian started in the area of medical malpractice defense and civil litigation but then transitioned to focus his practice on real property transactional law.  He represented domestic and international individuals and entities in the acquisition, financing, leasing, and disposition of residential and commercial real property.  Brian also represented and served as general counsel for various companies.  He has represented lenders, developers, and investors in all manner of transactions.

Brian is a member of The Florida Bar, the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Scott celebrated his 20th year with The Fund in 2024, having spent time working in both Claims and Underwriting. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law and also holds a Master’s Degree in Library Science from Florida State University. He is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law section of The Florida Bar and also represents The Fund at the Central Florida meetings for PRIA.

Linda Monaco is a Senior Legal Education Attorney with The Fund. Ms. Monaco received her B.S. degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and her J.D. Maga Cum Laude from Quinnipiac University. She is a Florida Bar Board Certified Real Estate Lawyer and has been admitted to practice in United States District Court for Connecticut and retired from Connecticut Bar. Ms. Monaco is a Florida licensed real estate instructor. In addition to presenting for Fund members, Ms. Monaco has spoken on various legal topics to FLTA, RPPTL and the National Association of Realtors®.

Tom Cronkright is the Executive Chairman of CertifID, a technology platform designed to safeguard electronic payments from fraud.  He co-founded the company in response to a wire fraud he experienced and the rising instances of real estate wire fraud. He also serves as the CEO of Sun Title, a leading title agency in Michigan. Tom is a licensed attorney, real estate broker, title insurance producer and nationally recognized expert on cybersecurity and wire fraud. 

George Perez is The Fund’s Senior Manager for Claims, Risk Analysis & Member Compliance.  He graduated from the University of Central Florida and Brooklyn Law School.  Prior to joining The Fund, Mr. Perez was in private practice where he was involved in transactional real estate for both residential and commercial properties; as well as representing institutional lenders.  He was also a real estate and title insurance litigator representing a number of title insurance underwriters.  During his years of private practice, Mr. Perez was also involved in estate planning, probate and trust administration, as well as business law.  He has taught in Valencia College’s ABA-accredited paralegal studies program in addition to being a regular speaker at The Fund’s New Member Training program.  He is a member of The Florida Bar.

Elsa Camacho attended the University of Central Florida where she earned her Bachelor of Art degrees in Political Science and Psychology. Ms. Camacho then went on to earn her Juris Doctor degree from Florida A&M University College of Law. Prior to joining The Fund as Claims Counsel, she worked for several years litigating cases throughout the state of Florida primarily in the area of foreclosure. Elsa is licensed to practice in the state of Florida and is also a member of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. 

Chezare Palacios is Claims Counsel for The Fund.  He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Florida Atlantic University in 2012 and his Juris Doctor with Honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2016.  Prior to joining The Fund, Mr. Palacios was in private practice as a litigation attorney in the areas of contract disputes, construction law, and real property.  He also served as in-house Claims Counsel for a national title insurance underwriter.  He is licensed to practice in the states of Florida and New York and is a member of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section.