Firm History
"The strength of our firm is our clients and the relationships we have built with them over 85 years. "
David Holmes, Esq.
Director and Firm President 2009 –
Farr, Farr, Emerich, Hackett and Carr, P.A. is proud of a heritage that ranks it among the oldest law firms in the State of Florida. With law offices in Punta Gorda and Englewood, the Farr Law Firm provides legal services and professional representation to clients with interests throughout the state.
In this part of the world -- a little section of Southwest Florida -- there is a beauty and serenity that many other parts of the country can only envy. Here, at the intersection of the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor, next to the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s western shores, Punta Gorda has grown from a small railroad stop of the late 1800s to the thriving, modern community that it is today.Â
It all began in 1924 with $500 and a typewriter
The roots of the Farr Law Firm stretch back to 1924 when Earl D. Farr, just one year out of the University of Florida Law School, moved to Punta Gorda from his hometown of Wauchula to open a law practice with assets consisting of five hundred dollars and a typewriter. Through his compassion for others, enthusiastic community spirit, and keen insight into the brand new county’s future, Earl Farr’s firm flourished, becoming a cornerstone of law practice in Charlotte County.
Today, the Farr Law Firm is one of the oldest firms in the state and the largest in the county
Earl D. Farr’s law practice has grown to become the county’s largest law firm, and the Farr Law Firm is honored to be at the forefront of meeting the legal needs of a prosperous region. The firm acts as corporate counsel for major financial institutions, businesses, and developments that have helped shape Charlotte County and Southwest Florida. It also provides experienced, personalized legal counsel to thousands of individual citizens, long-time residents and newcomers alike. It is with gratitude and honor that the Farr Law Firm acknowledges its contributions to the growth and success of Southwest Florida:
Boca Grande and the Farr Law Firm
The beauty of Gasparilla Island has always drawn people to it. In fact, archeological discoveries reveal that the Calusa Indians lived on the island as early as 800 A.D., using Charlotte Harbor as the hub of their tribal civilization with its thousands of people and hundreds of small fishing villages, all along the local waterways.Â
Over the centuries, of course, things have progressed. Mining interests (particularly, phosphate), port traffic, and the incoming railroad modernized the area. Discovery of the unsurpassed tarpon fishing available in the waters around Gasparilla Island brought zealous sportsmen to the region. The town of Boca Grande was born in the late 1800’s, and by 1913 the Gasparilla Inn was inviting clientele to enjoy its resort facilities.
In the late 1940s, Henry L. Schwartz foresaw the continued evolution of this unique and wondrous place, and purchased the remaining unsold lots of the original plat of Boca Grande and all the land north of 20th Street in Lee and Charlotte Counties, comprising approximately 5 ½ miles of gulf beach and 5 ½ miles of bay front together with several islands on the bay side. Now the railroad no longer exists; however, a portion of the Boca Grande Railroad bed has been transformed into a popular bike path. Through the efforts of Sunset Realty Corp., Gasparilla Island has been transformed into today’s Boca Grande, one of the most scenic and exclusive communities in the country, where the stature of its residents is matched only by the respect that their privacy is given, and the scenic wonder that Gasparilla Island can provide.
The Farr Law Firm is proud of working hand in hand with Sunset Realty Corp. since the very beginning, as Gasparilla Island was zoned, platted, developed, and sold in parcels for residential and commercial use. Through each and every phase of development, the Farr Law Firm provided legal assistance to the creation of today’s beloved Boca Grande community.
Currently, the Farr Law Firm continues its longstanding relationship with Boca Grande in representations of numerous individual members of the Boca Grande community. The firm is honored to include as clients some of the heads of several Fortune 500 companies who have chosen to live in this illustrious location.
Moreover, for over 50 years, the Farr Law Firm not only represented Boca Grande residents, one of the partners, Drayton Farr, lived on the island’s shores. Drayton shared in the appreciation of the beautiful Gulf of Mexico waters while watching ospreys and eagles crashing into the surf for their morning’s fish: things Drayton could view daily with his morning coffee, from the comforts of home. And while the necessary commute over the Boca Grande Causeway into the mainland over time demanded his relocation, Drayton has fond memories and a keen appreciation for the Boca Grande lifestyle and happily maintains the many great friendships with Boca Grande neighbors that he and his family built there.Â
Punta Gorda Isles and the Farr Law Firm
Punta Gorda Isles is a beloved community where almost every residence fronts a wide canal that can take boaters into the Charlotte Harbor and onward into the Gulf of Mexico. (A few of the lots – a very few – are not waterfront; instead, they face onto the St. Andrews Golf Course and its lush rolling greens.)
The origins of Punta Gorda Isles date back to 1958, when the first development began on this scenic region of Southwest Florida. Residents of Punta Gorda Isles can quickly go by boat up the Peace River to sightsee or they can exit Charlotte Harbor and travel into the Gulf of Mexico and farther into the Atlantic Ocean to visit Key West and beyond.Â
With boat access at their back doors, many of the residents of Punta Gorda Isles are boat enthusiasts, and all manner of boats can be seen daily in the local waterways. From small sailboats to large yachts, all types of boats are welcome here.
The Farr Law Firm is proud to recognize the contributions that it has made to the development of Punta Gorda Isles over the years. Â
When Al Johns and Bud Cole first purchased the land to start Punta Gorda Isles, it was merely an expanse of undeveloped land where today the major part of the City of Punta Gorda is located. Very soon after the acquisition and development started, Drayton Farr was hired to be the general counsel and soon thereafter a Director and Senior Vice President. His duties, among others, included helping in the acquisition of the land being acquired by the Company, approving the contracts, titles and land plan, and overseeing zoning issues. Perhaps one of Drayton Farr’s most important functions was acquiring all permits to dig the canals, lakes, and waterways, including what is now known as Punta Gorda Isles, Burnt Store Marina and Deep Creek, which now have many fine homes built on these properties. As Punta Gorda Isles acquired new tracts of land, it immediately annexed them into the City of Punta Gorda, Florida and by this process grew the city and its subdivisions. Now the Punta Gorda Isles subdivisions comprise by far the major part of Punta Gorda in population and area.
Babcock Ranch and the Farr Law Firm
Currently, the area known as Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County, Florida is being promoted as “the City of Tomorrow,” where urban planners have a goal to make Babcock Ranch the first city to be totally solar-powered. Babcock Ranch is planned to have the largest onsite solar photovoltaic energy facility of any city in the world. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for the community and something to which the Farr Law Firm can all point with pride.
However, what some may not know is the history of the area and the part that the Farr Law Firm played in the transition of a portion these rural lands into the modern day community being planned today.
In 1943, Earl D. Farr was engaged to represent the Babcock Florida Company, owned then by E.V. Babcock, in the process of selling timber off the 92,000 acres that made up the Babcock lands. By the 1970’s Drayton Farr was general counsel, an officer and director of Babcock Florida Company and served as such for over thirty years. The Babcock Family’s goals evolved from selling timber to working the land as a ranch, and still later, to planning for the development of the lands. The Farr Law Firm assisted the Babcock Family with all these endeavors. As time went by the Babcock Family continued to sell timber, opened a rock mine, developed a sod farm to meet the demand for sod by development of homes in Southwest Florida, and leased land for farming. The family also looked to the area for potential development as the Babcock Ranch is strategically located near Fort Myers and Punta Gorda.
In 2006, the Farr Law Firm counseled the Babcock Family through a successful financial transaction that transferred the Babcock Florida Company holdings to new ownership, which became the largest private land sales in modern Florida history. The new owner’s goal was to sell approximately 71,000 acres to the State of Florida to continue the operation and tradition of Babcock Ranch. The remaining lands would be used to build an environmentally-friendly, natural habitat that would preserve and protect the splendor of this Southwest Florida acreage.
The new owner, Syd Kitson and Partners, recently announced its partnership between its Company and Florida Power and Light to build a 75 mega watt solar plant on four hundred acres of the property in this new city, which will be the largest solar plant in the world.Â
Today, the Farr Law Firm is honored to continue an attorney-client relationship with members of the Babcock Family that reaches back more than 63 years. The firm is especially grateful for the opportunities it has had to participate in the history of Florida’s splendid Babcock Ranch.
Attorneys’ Title Fund Services, Inc. and the Farr Law Firm
One of the specialties of the Farr Law Firm is real property and in connection with the closing of titles in the sale of its clients’ lands, most often the firm issues title insurance for the buyers or the mortgagees in connection with the sale through Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund, Inc., which entered into a joint venture on July 1, 2009 with Old Republic National Title Insurance Company to form Attorney’s Title Fund Services, Inc., and will continue to be known as “The Fund”.Â
The Fund has been existence for over 60 years, issuing title policies through members and agents and has maintained its commitment over the years to support real estate counsel and other professionals involved in Florida real estate sales and service.
In the region surrounding Charlotte Harbor, The Fund is very active and the Farr Law Firm has worked with The Fund almost exclusively.
The relationship between The Fund and the Farr Law Firm is well-established. Earl D. Farr, the founder of today’s Farr Law Firm, appreciated the vision shown by The Fund as early as the 1940s, and officially joined The Fund on January 1, 1949. Over the years, the Farr Law Firm has consistently ranked as one of The Fund’s top 25 producers of title insurance policies in dollar volume for the whole State of Florida including the year 2008 – a year which has been recognized as one of the most challenging years on record for the real estate industry.Â
First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Charlotte County
and the Farr Law Firm
Financing has made the Punta Gorda community what it is today, and without the foresight and determination of some of the country’s greatest financial minds, this region would not enjoy the successes it sees today. The Farr Law Firm has been working hand in hand with some of the largest financial institutions in the area for over 50 years, including the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Charlotte County, Florida. When Earl D. Farr and the other directors of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Charlotte County hired Donald R. Witter, Jr. to be president, the institution had less than $1,000,000 in assets.
At the time that First Federal Savings & Loan Association was sold, it was the largest financial institution in the area with seven branches. Its operations had supported significantly almost every major economic opportunity that Punta Gorda had seen since the mid-1950s. And as its legal counsel, the Farr Law Firm was strategic in being able to assist in the financial growth of its beloved community.
Today, the Farr Law Firm represents a number of financial institutions serving the local area, with members of the firm serving on the board of directors and advisory boards of several local financial concerns.Â
The Future of Punta Gorda and the Farr Law Firm
Everyone at the Farr Law Firm is proud of the firm’s heritage and its contributions to the Punta Gorda lifestyle that the community appreciates and enjoys. It is with humility and gratitude that the firm looks back to years of dedication to legal excellence that has allowed the Farr Law Firm to grow and thrive for over 85 years, heralding what is truly the Farr legacy.
The Farr Law Firm takes great pride in the chapters of Punta Gorda history for which it has played a role and is equally dedicated to continued service to this wonderful and scenic region for many years to come. Â
The Farr Law Firm is proud to have been a part of the growth and development of the City of Punta Gorda, Florida.
Earl D. Farr, Jr., Esq.
Director
President and Managing Partner - 1996
