Lara J. Tibbals

Lara J. Tibbals is a full-time mediator and arbitrator and the founder of Tibbals Mediation LLC in Tampa, Florida. With decades of experience as an advocate in complex business litigation, she now focuses her practice on circuit civil and federal court mediation, resolving a wide range of business, commercial, and personal injury disputes, as well as select family law matters, throughout Florida. She is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil and Family Law Mediator and a Panel Member of the American Arbitration Association. She is also a certified mediator in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.

Prior to opening Tibbals Mediation, Ms. Tibbals was an equity partner at a leading Tampa law firm, where she represented clients in high-stakes business litigation in state and federal courts. She is known for her thorough preparation, strategic negotiation skills, and ability to create practical, durable resolutions across a wide range of disputes.

Ms. Tibbals earned her B.A. in Communications from Florida State University and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. She also completed advanced negotiation training through Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.

She has been recognized by Super Lawyers in both Business Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution and remains active in the legal community, including serving as Co-Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Mediation and Arbitration Section. She is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and serves as a Florida Bar nominee and gubernatorial appointee to the Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission.