Benedict Kuehne

Prominent Miami defense attorney Benedict Kuehne and Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg have been named to incoming Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried's transition team.

“We have brought people together from all corners of our state and all walks of life to help build a Department that will respect the priority issues of the people and work hard to deliver results,” Commissioner-elect Nikki Fried said in a statement.

Fried was the only Democrat to win a state-wide race in Florida.

The famously bowtied Kuehne represented Fried in her recount against Republican opponent Matt Caldwell in November. (Kuehne also worked on Al Gore's legal team during the 2000 recount.) The two had known each other for years as Fried was an attorney in South Florida and Tallahassee before she was elected.

Once elected, Fried appointed Kuehne to the role of general counsel on her transition team, where he will assist Fried with the complex set of legal compliance issues that apply to government officials.

“When somebody is an official elect, that person then becomes subject to Florida's public records law and the whole host of laws that apply to executive branch agencies,” Kuehne said.

Dave Aronberg

When his appointment is over, Kuehne said he will again focus on his boutique private practice — Kuehne Davis Law, P.A. — while also making himself available “to assist Commissioner Fried and the department to ensure her success as the greatest agricultural commissioner possible.”

Aronberg was elected State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit in November 2012 and re-elected when he ran unopposed in 2016. In January, Aronberg was tapped to head up a group of prosecutors across 30 states tasked with fighting the opioid crisis. The Harvard Law graduate also spent 8 years as a Florida state senator.

Shutts & Bowen partner Benjamin Gibson will serve as general counsel for Florida Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis' transition team. Gibson has a deep roots in Florida GOP circles, serving as the deputy general counsel and assistant general counsel to Governor Rick Scott for five years, where he advised the outgoing executive on the appointment of more than 120 judges.