Bruce Blackwell

Bruce Blackwell graduated from a small, rural high school in Marion County and arrived at Florida State University by Greyhound bus, knowing no one among the 11,000 students on campus at the time. He quickly became a campus leader, serving as senior class president, participating in Student Government and joining Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was a member of the honor societies Order of Omega, Omicron Delta Kappa and Garnet and Gold Key, and was named to the FSU Hall of Fame. Blackwell was also recognized as Lambda Chi Alpha’s outstanding senior.
After earning his undergraduate degree, Blackwell served four years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force before entering the FSU College of Law, where he graduated with honors in 1974. While in law school, he joined The Law Review in his first year, was named FSU’s most outstanding male leader and helped organize the law school’s first Oxford study program in 1973.
Blackwell practiced law for decades as a commercial trial lawyer in Orlando, co-leading a boutique firm recognized as Florida’s top small litigation firm. He earned numerous local, state and national honors for pro bono service, professionalism and leadership, and was named one of Florida’s top 100 lawyers before retiring from practice in 2014. He then served four years as CEO and executive director of the Florida Bar Foundation, overseeing and funding legal aid across the state, retiring fully in 2018.
A dedicated alumnus, Blackwell chaired both the National FSU Law School Alumni Association and the FSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors (1985–86). He and his wife, Julie (B.S. ’69), divide their time between Winter Park, Florida, and their vacation home in Asheville, North Carolina. They have two daughters, Blair and Brooke, and two granddaughters, Emma Kate and Allison Castino.