Jesse Panuccio is a partner and litigation attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. He has substantial experience in high-profile, high-stakes litigation, as well as a deep background in public policy. Having served as an executive in government, he brings a client-centered and solution-oriented approach to difficult regulatory, business, and legal issues.
From 2013 – 2016, Mr. Panuccio served as the executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. In this role, Mr. Panuccio was the chief labor official and chief land use official for the nation’s third most populous state, and was also responsible for overseeing the state’s economic development program. As a key economic advisor to the governor, Mr. Panuccio advocated for policies and programs that fostered significant business growth in Florida. He was also a leading voice on the need for better data security and fraud detection in government. Under his leadership, the agency developed and implemented an award-winning fraud detection program for unemployment insurance, saving taxpayers nearly $500 million, and the agency also partnered with state and federal law enforcement officials in several major fraud prosecutions.
From 2011 – 2013, Mr. Panuccio served as general counsel and deputy general counsel to Governor Rick Scott. In those roles, he represented the governor in his official capacity in several major cases, managed the legal affairs and legal staff of the governor’s office, advised the governor regarding potential legislation and veto power, drafted executive orders, helped direct and coordinate litigation and legal policy across state agencies, served as chief ethics officer, and advised the governor on hundreds of judicial appointments.
During the 2016 presidential election cycle, Mr. Panuccio served as counsel to the Cruz for President campaign, advising the campaign on its strategy to win delegate support at the Republican National Convention.
In 2016, Governor Rick Scott appointed Mr. Panuccio as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, the body which selects nominees for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Panuccio was a litigator at a premier trial and appellate firm in Washington, D.C., where he focused on complex commercial, statutory, and constitutional cases, including numerous cases in the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Panuccio served as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael W. McConnell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Florida State University College of Law, where he taught advanced constitutional law and separation of powers.
