Thomas "Tommy" Boroughs
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP

Thomas "Tommy" Boroughs is a partner in the Orlando office of Holland & Knight, focusing his practice in the areas of zoning and land use regulatory matters together with real estate acquisition and sales. He currently serves as Chairman of the firm's Florida Land Use Team.

Mr. Boroughs was the first attorney in Central Florida to handle a Development of Regional Impact ("DRI"). In addition to his experience in zoning and land use, he also has extensive experience in transactional aspects of real estate, including purchase and sale negotiations, structuring and financing of complex commercial real estate transactions.

Mr. Boroughs has been heavily involved in community service and several of his service initiatives have resulted in extensive land use experience. He served for three years as Chairman of the Naval Training Center/Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board of the City of Orlando which advised the Mayor and City Council on all matters having to do with the redevelopment of the Orlando Naval Training Center. As a Governor-appointed member of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Mr. Boroughs served on its Project Review Committee which reviewed all DRI applications. He has also served as Chairman of the Project Review Committee of the Downtown Development Board of Orlando. While a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, he served as the Chairman of the Responsible Growth Coalition, a Chamber sponsored program. He has also served as a member of an Orange County Citizens Advisory Committee for concurrency issues and as Chairman of the Attorney Review Committee on the rewriting of the Land Development Code for the City of Orlando.

He currently serves on the Board of the Orlando Utilities Commission upon which he served as President from 2004 until 2006. He also served as Chairman of the Policy Makers Council of the American Public Power Association (2005-2006), as well as a member of the APPA Board of Directors. In December of 2005, Mr. Boroughs was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Energy Forum which was comprised of sixteen members appointed to evaluate Florida's energy needs and to make recommendations for an energy policy for Florida's future. In August of 2005, Mr. Boroughs was appointed Chairman of the Florida Energy Commission by the President of the Florida Senate and the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Governor Charlie Crist appointed him to the Florida Governor's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change in August of 2007. He also serves as Chair of the Policy Advisory Board for the Florida Solar Energy Center.

Mr. Boroughs has been active in organized Bar activities and has served as chairman of various committees both at the state and local level including serving as Chairman of the Federal Regulation of Land Use Committee of the Real Property Section of The Florida Bar and as Chairman of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Nomination Commission. He also served two terms as Chairman of the Real Property Section of the Orange County Bar Association and as a member of the executive council of the Orange County Bar. In addition, he served for 11 years as a member of the executive council of the Real Property Section of The Florida Bar.

Mr. Boroughs received his B.A. from the University of South Carolina in 1961 and his law degree from Duke University in 1968. Between graduation from college and commencement of law school, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Radar Intercept Officer in an F-4 fighter/bomber, with a tour in Vietnam. Mr. Boroughs has practiced law in Central Florida since graduation from law school.