Hon. Alan Orantes Forst

ALAN ORANTES FORST was appointed to a judge position on the Fourth District Court of Appeal by Governor Rick Scott on March 7, 2013; he was administered the oath of office on April 8, 2013.  Prior to this appointment, Judge Forst served as Chairman of the Florida Reemployment Assistance Appeals Commission/Unemployment Appeals Commission commencing in July 2001, having been appointed to two terms by Governor Jeb Bush and a third term by Governor Charlie Crist.  The Commission is an independent commission that conducts appellate review of contested unemployment compensation claims, issues final orders and, if necessary, defends those orders before the district courts of appeal. Prior to the 2001 appointment, Judge Forst was an associate and partner at the Stuart, Florida law firm Crary Buchanan. Earlier in his career, Judge Forst spent over two decades in Washington, D.C. A graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America, Judge Forst served under Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton in front office positions at the Departments of Justice and Labor (special assistant to the Administrators of OFCCP and the Wage and Hour Division), as counsel to the Vice Chair/Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and as special assistant/counsel to Chairman Clarence Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Other stops included the Department of Commerce, two Senate offices, the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, the Commission on Civil Rights, the Legal Services Corporation, and Northern Virginia Law School.  Judge Forst was President of the Martin County Bar Association in 2007-08 and Chair of the Florida Bar’s Labor and Employment Law Section in 2008-09.  He resides in Martin County.