Attorney Jacob C. Rickard
About Jacob
Growing up, Jacob’s favorite television show was the original “Law & Order” series. The competence and the passion portrayed by the attorneys left a lasting, deep impression on Jacob of what serving society at large should look like and how much pride one could take in that role.
Developing on these early impressions, Jacob has spent most of his life in roles that serve others. He started in his childhood, as most do, in cashier and clerk positions in grocery and retail stores. At age 20, Jacob volunteered to serve his country by enlisting in the U.S. Air Force where he spent over six years on active duty including two deployments to Qatar and South Korea. After transitioning out of the military, Jacob leveraged his earned veterans' benefits to pursue higher education. With the favorable predisposition to legal institutions and concepts that Jacob still had from his youth, he enrolled in law school with the goal of becoming the kind of lawyer he grew up idolizing. After law school, Jacob chose the path of civil service again by accepting a position as an Assistant Public Defender where he gained a wealth of litigation experience as the sole attorney of record for clients in thousands of cases, including representation of those clients in over a dozen jury trials. Jacob has now taken his litigation experiences with him away from solely criminal matters and, with the same strength of conviction, assists those people wishing to take charge of their life’s transitions.
Education and Associations
Jacob is a graduate of The Community College of the Air Force in Montgomery, Alabama, Louisiana State University at Alexandria in Alexandria, Louisiana, and Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is an active member of many legal and community organizations including the:
- Lakeland Bar Association
- Florida Bar, Young Lawyers Section
- Willson American Inn of Court
- Estate Planning Council of Polk County
Life Outside the Office
Jacob has always had a strong desire to be a father, and he feels blessed in having a wonderful family. He and his wife have three amazing children together. Jacob enjoys being one of the louder parents at his kids’ recreational soccer games, reading, shooting pool, going to the gym, and semi-competitive gaming.
Like most parents, Jacob hopes to one day leave his children better off than he, himself, ever was. Coming from modest origins with no pre-existing family wealth, Jacob is now proud to be a first-generation lawyer and strives to be the most positive influence for his children. Because of this, Jacob understands and believes in the importance of proactive, proper, and thorough estate planning. Carrying that strong sense of justice from childhood to the present day, Jacob has always felt a higher calling to live by the “golden rule” and “do the right thing” for others. In the estate planning and probate contexts, Jacob’s goal is to give others the same peace of mind that he wishes to have for himself and his own family. To this end, Jacob works tirelessly to be the kind of lawyer that will represent his clients with as much care, compassion, and competence as he would want for his own family and friends.
For more information, or to schedule a consultation, call us at 863-220-7927.