Mayanne Downs '74

Mayanne Downs ’74 is a partner at the Orlando firm of King, Blackwell, Downs & Zehnder P.A. She simultaneously serves as the city attorney for the City of Orlando and is one of Mayor Buddy Dyer’s closest advisers. Ms. Downs’s reputation in the community is that of a supremely talented litigator, a tough negotiator, and a deeply caring person.

One of the youngest lawyers in Orange County to become an AV-rated lawyer by the Martindale rating service, Ms. Downs was the president of the Central Florida Women Lawyers Association in 1991-92 after only four years in practice. After holding several other prominent offices, Ms. Downs became only the third female president of the Orange County Bar Association in 1997-98. For the last five years, she has been on the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar. Ms. Downs continues to work as a guardian ad litem for neglected children.

In law school, Ms. Downs was the senior articles editor and senior executive editor of the University of Florida Law Review and named to the Order of the Coif, the highest honor that can be given to a law student. She also was the chancellor of the Student Honor Court, named to Florida Blue Key and the University of Florida Hall of Fame, and won three American Jurisprudence Book Awards, signifying the highest academic grade in three separate classes.