From left, seated, Miami-Dade County Attorney ​Abigail Price-Williams and Broward County Attorney ​Joni Armstrong Coffey. From left, standing, ​Miami-Dade First Assistant County Attorney ​Geri Bonzon Keenan ​and Palm Beach County Attorney ​Denise Nieman. Courtesy photo. From left, seated, Miami-Dade County Attorney ​Abigail Price-Williams and Broward County Attorney ​Joni Armstrong Coffey. From left, standing, ​Miami-Dade First Assistant County Attorney ​Geri Bonzon Keenan ​and Palm Beach County Attorney ​Denise Nieman. Courtesy photo.

In some ways, Joni Coffey's career has come full circle. After she graduated from law school, she was hired as one of three female law clerks working for Judge Peter Fay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the then-Fifth Circuit.

Now — as the Broward County attorney enters retirement effective Saturday — she is one of three women leading the county's legal departments in South Florida.

Just like Miami-Dade County Attorney Abigail Price-Williams and Denise Nieman, the top lawyer for Palm Beach County, Coffey in her position oversaw all of the legal affairs of a public agency with billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of employees — from hospitals and public transit to zoning, land use, affordable housing and even drinking water.