Florida Public Defender Association

What Florida Public Defender Association does

The Florida Public Defender Association (FPDA) is a Tallahassee-based non-profit corporation founded in 1974 that operates as the statewide professional membership association for Florida's 20 elected Public Defenders and their staff. The organization coordinates activities for approximately 2,000 public defense personnel working across Florida's 20 judicial circuits, providing legal education, continuing legal training, and operational coordination for the state's public defense community. Its membership is anchored institutionally by the 20 elected Public Defenders who comprise its Board of Directors.

The organization delivers a recurring calendar of training events—including Summer Training, Fall Defender College, Winter Training, and the Life Over Death conference—and runs an online member portal built on the MemberClicks platform for membership administration and event registration. It partners with the Justice Administrative Commission on administrative and funding matters affecting the public defender offices. Operational leadership is provided by Executive Director Ashlei Richardson, Esq., with Hon. Stacy Scott serving as President. The technology footprint is limited to standard association-management SaaS; there is no proprietary platform product.

FPDA's business model is dues-driven: the 20 Public Defender offices and individual members pay membership fees, supplemented by training-event registration revenue. As a non-profit trade association, it does not raise equity capital, pursue acquisitions, or operate as a growth-equity investment vehicle; surplus revenue is reinvested into educational programming and member services. The central association employs an estimated 51-100 administrative staff, a small headcount relative to the much larger public defense workforce it represents across the state.

Name

Florida Public Defender Association

Legal name

Florida Public Defender Association, Inc.

Website

https://www.flpda.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Florida Public Defender Association is a non-profit corporation that provides law education and training services for communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Association Services

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Correctional Facility Management Outsourcing & Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) (BPAKANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Affairs & Government Relations (MPAAADAE), Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Education (CPR/First Aid/Disaster Readiness) (EDAAAFAJ)

Keywords

• Public defender coordination
• Legal education training
• Continuing legal education
• Criminal defense advocacy
• Professional association services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallahassee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: FPDA is a private nonprofit organization that supports Public Defenders throughout the state. Revenue appears to come from membership dues from the 20 elected Public Defenders and their approximately 2,000 employees working in Public Defender offices across Florida.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

FPDA is a private nonprofit professional association that coordinates, trains, and advocates on behalf of Florida's 20 elected Public Defenders and their approximately 2,000 staff across the state's 20 judicial circuits. It delivers Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs, statewide training events, legislative advocacy, and a member portal that links every circuit's Public Defender office.

Product overview

The Florida Public Defender Association operates a single unified website portal (FPDA Website Portal) that serves as the primary digital platform for member services, training coordination, and public information. The portal provides access to training events, public defender office directories, membership resources, and board information for Florida's 20 elected Public Defenders and their approximately 2,000 employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FPDA Website Portal

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Justice Administrative CommissionminorOthersFPDA refers public records requests to the Justice Administrative Commission as FPDA, as a private organization, does not house Public Records. The JAC handles public records for state agencies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• National Legal Aid & Defender Association: National membership organization supporting legal aid and public defender professionals through training, advocacy, and resource development. Highly comparable to FPDA in mission and operating model, but serving a national rather than single-state constituency.
• National Association for Public Defense: National association dedicated to supporting public defense professionals with training, technical assistance, and standards development. Direct peer to FPDA with overlapping member services and advocacy function, operating at the national level.
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: National bar association for criminal defense lawyers providing training, advocacy, and amicus support. Comparable to FPDA in serving the criminal defense community with CLE and policy advocacy, though broader in scope (private and public defense).

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: Largest national legal professional association offering CLE, advocacy, and member services across all practice areas. Overlaps with FPDA's training and advocacy functions but operates at vastly broader scale and scope.
• The Florida Bar: State-level integrated bar association for all Florida-licensed attorneys, providing CLE, member services, and disciplinary oversight. Operates in the same geographic market as FPDA but covers all practice areas rather than specializing in public defense.

Regional players

• Legal Aid Society of New York: Major provider of public defense, civil legal services, and juvenile representation across New York City. Comparable in coordinating large-scale public defense delivery but regionally concentrated in a different jurisdiction.
• Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia: Public defender organization providing legal representation and training in the District of Columbia. Functionally analogous to FPDA's member offices but serves a single federal district rather than statewide circuit structure.

Others

• Southern Center for Human Rights: Regional advocacy organization focused on criminal justice reform and representation across the Deep South. Adjacent to FPDA's mission through criminal justice advocacy, but operates as a reform/legal advocacy group rather than a coordination association.
• National Center for State Courts: Nonprofit organization supporting state court systems through research, training, and policy guidance. Operates in the same Florida justice ecosystem as FPDA but focused on judicial branch administration rather than defense-side coordination.
• Equal Justice Initiative: Advocacy and legal organization focused on criminal justice reform, representation, and historical research. Thematically adjacent to FPDA's criminal justice domain but oriented toward reform advocacy rather than operational coordination of public defender offices.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100075585920021
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/florida-public-defender

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Florida Public Defender Association