About Kris R.
Kris R. Parker built a legal career that moves between public service, corporate counsel work and private practice. He has taken on roles that required courtroom work, client counseling and firm management. The mix of experiences informs how he handles cases today.
Parker earned a B.A. in Education and Journalism from Marshall University in 2001. He went on to receive his J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2007. Those academic years preceded a quick transition into legal work in Florida.
His early career began in legal aid and public-sector roles. In 2008 he worked as a staff lawyer for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, representing clients who lacked resources for private counsel. The following year he served as an Assistant State Lawyer for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, a position that involved courtroom responsibilities and case preparation on behalf of the state.
Parker moved into in-house practice in 2012, taking a corporate counsel role at Microtechnologies. That job required contract review, regulatory awareness and advising a business client on legal risks. In 2015 he returned to private practice as the owner of the Law Office of Kris Parker, PLLC, handling a range of matters that drew on his prior public and corporate experience. In 2018 he became managing partner of Hendry & Parker, P.A., a role that added firm leadership and administrative duties to his caseload.
Outside of casework, Parker has taken on volunteer and leadership roles in local bar organizations. He has been involved with the Clearwater Bar Association since 2016 and joined the Pinellas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2019. He served on the Clearwater Bar Foundation as trustee beginning in 2018 and was its president from 2022 to 2023. In 2023 he joined the Clearwater Bar Association Board of Directors and continues to serve there.
Those professional and community roles reflect a practice that spans criminal defense, public-sector litigation and business-related legal work. His background in legal aid and as an assistant state lawyer means he has experience on both sides of courtroom disputes. Corporate counsel experience adds a practical perspective on how transactional and compliance issues intersect with litigation.
Parker maintains licenses in Florida and Virginia and continues to practice through Hendry & Parker, P.A. He handles criminal defense matters and related civil issues, drawing on experience from public, corporate and nonprofit legal work for his current practice.
