About Jeff
Jeff Higgins began his professional path in law after completing studies in sports management and law. He earned a B.S. in Sports Management from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. Those academic choices set the stage for a career that moves between athletics administration and courtroom work.
His earliest legal work came in public defense. In the late 1990s he served as an assistant public defender in Florida’s 5th Judicial Circuit, handling a range of criminal matters on behalf of indigent clients. That trial experience preceded a shift into collegiate athletics compliance and enforcement. In 2002 he joined the NCAA as an associate director of enforcement, a role that involved investigations and interpretation of association rules.
After his time at the NCAA he moved into campus administration. He served as associate athletic director and departmental counsel at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and later took a similar position at Stetson University as assistant athletic director and departmental counsel. Those positions combined legal counsel duties with the practical demands of running athletic programs and responding to compliance questions.
Higgins returned to private practice in the mid-2010s. He became managing lawyer of the Daytona Beach office for Ted L. Hollander & Associates in 2015. Two years later he opened his own practice, founding DaytonaDefense.com and taking on the role of CEO. His private practice has included criminal defense work and court-side advocacy in Florida courts.
Professionally, he has maintained memberships in legal and athletic organizations. Records show participation in the Lake County Bar Association from 1998 to 2002 and membership in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics from 2003 to 2014. Those affiliations reflect the two strands of his career: law and college athletics.
Colleagues and clients have encountered him in courtrooms and on campus. He has handled public defense matters, NCAA enforcement issues, and institutional legal work for athletic departments. In private practice he has overseen criminal defense cases and managed a small firm operation with offices listed in Daytona and Orlando.
He is licensed to practice in Florida and runs his firm from offices under the DaytonaDefense.com and OrlandoDefense.com names. His current practice centers on criminal defense in Florida.
