Our People
At DeCarlis & Sawyer, we understand that obtaining a successful legal result starts with a solid team and an arsenal of knowledge. Our legal solutions team boasts over 50 years of combined experience in the world of law, and have the capabilities to produce positive results for a variety of cases, including Criminal Defense & Personal Injury. If you are in need of legal assistance, contact us for a consultation today.
William DeCarlis
SENIOR OF COUNSEL
William Nicholas DeCarlis was born and raised in upstate New York, but has been a resident of Gainesville since the late 1960s when he moved here to attend the University of Florida College of Law. Prior to that period, he was an Aeronautical Engineer with NASA – working on many rockets, including Apollo 7 through Apollo 17. After some time, Bill found his heart was in law, which led him to giving up his engineering profession and starting anew as a law student despite having a wife and young son. He graduated from law school and became a member of the Florida Bar in 1972, started trying cases and never looked back.
Michael Sawyer
SENIOR PARTNER
James Michael Sawyer hails from South Florida, but has been a resident of Gainesville off and on since the 1970’s when he moved here to attend the University of Florida for his Bachelor’s Degree. Mike began a martial arts career as a teenager in Miami, which continued while he attended UF and went on to become one of the world’s foremost promoters and authorities on sport martial arts. He is the co-founder of many prestige martial art associations including the North American Sport Karate Association (NASKA) and the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA), as well as an on-air expert analyst for ESPN and other sports channels.