Overview
Shawn Rader focuses his practice on real estate litigation, commercial litigation, commercial leases, and appeals. Shawn has extensive experience representing a broad range of clients, including title insurance companies, property management companies, ranchers, lenders, developers and individuals. He frequently assists clients with resolving disputes regarding property boundaries, surveys, contracts, leases, plats, mortgages, and other matters involving real property. He has been retained as an expert witness to testify on the topics of mortgage priority, murphy deeds, the Marketable Record Title Act, equitable claims, and in a case in South Africa.
With a portion of his practice devoted to representing title insurance companies in litigation arising from disputes related to coverage and general litigation matters, Shawn helped establish the American Bar Association Title Insurance Litigation Committee, serving as its first vice-chairman and as its second chairman. He is also a member of the Florida Land Title Association, where he is a charter member of the FTLA Claims Round Table, an annual gathering of practitioners in that area of law.
Both an accomplished author and speaker, Shawn has had four articles published in The Florida Bar Journal and was coauthor of the Title Insurance Law Article in the ABA Tort & Insurance Law Journal. He has served as chairman of The Florida Bar Grievance Committee for Orange County and as president of the Orange County Bar Association Legal Aid Society. He was also chairman of the City of Orlando Civil Service Board, chairman of the City of Orlando Chapter 57 Board, and vice chairman of the 2012 Orange County Charter Review Commission.
Shawn was born in Kentucky and moved to Orlando as a child. He quickly developed a lifelong devotion to the land in Florida. His passion for real estate law arises from his deep connection to the land, which is reflected in his love for Patrick Smith's book, A Land Remembered, and his collection of Florida Highwaymen paintings. Not surprisingly, his favorite Florida attraction is Gatorland in Osceola County.
Having practiced for over 40 years, Shawn brings his clients a wealth of knowledge and experience from which to draw. He has mentored attorneys both within the firm and the community. Shawn has also served as an expert witness in cases for attorneys outside the firm. He is a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, an organization of individuals appointed by the Governor of Kentucky in recognition of their accomplishments and outstanding service to the community.
Experience
- Procured the enforcement of a recorded covenant and restriction which prevented the client's drugstore competitor from opening across the street.
- Procured an injunction preventing a tenant's contractor from ripping newly installed electric wiring from the client's office building.
- Procured a judgment realigning lot lines for a plat in an already developed neighborhood where the legal descriptions overlapped with an adjoining plat.
- Negotiated the settlement of a 60-foot easement which crossed the entire length of a 1000-acre parcel in the Florida Panhandle.
- Procured a judgment preserving the boat dock and riparian rights of a homeowner.
- Successfully handled suits both preserving and extinguishing easements on property, and procuring ways of necessity for ingress and egress.
- Successfully handled suits defeating borrowers' homestead and forgery defenses to mortgage foreclosures.
- Handled hundreds of eviction and lease interpretation cases.
News & Insights
News
Speaking Engagements
Publications
Recognition
Recognition
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Appellate Practice, 2006-2025; Litigation - Real Estate, 2011-2025, Commercial Litigation, 2025
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Orlando Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year, 2022
- Florida Super Lawyers, 2010-2021
- Awesome Attorneys, Orlando Family Magazine, 2021
- Knight of the Claims Roundtable, Florida Land Title Association
Community & Civic
Community Activities
- Legal Aid Society for Orange County, past President
- City of Orlando Chapter 57 Board, former Chairman
- WMFE Community Advisory Board, past Board Member
- Orlando Civil Service Board, former Chairman
- Orlando Jaycees, former Vice-President
- Orlando Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Board
- Leadership Winter Park Alumni Association Advisory Board, past President
- Orange County Charter Review Commission, past Vice-Chairman
Professional Certifications & Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Orange County Bar Association
- Florida Land Title Association
- Title Insurance Litigation Committee, past Chairman
Practices & Industries
Admissions
- Florida
- New York
- All Federal Courts in Florida
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., 1980
- The Catholic University of America, M.A., 1976; Theology
- Duke University, cum laude, 1974