Steven E. Brust

Partner / Jacksonville

Steven E. Brust is the Managing Partner of the Jacksonville office of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, and serves as a member of its Executive Committee.

Full Bio

Mr. Brust handles commercial and fiduciary litigation of all types, including partnership and shareholder disputes, liability defense for corporate officers and directors, title insurance defense, executive benefits and employment contract disputes, and estate and trust litigation, including fiduciary removal proceedings. His trial practice and experience is broad based, having litigated and tried cases in the federal and state courts throughout Florida.

Mr. Brust earned his B.S. degree, with honors, in finance in 1986 and his J.D. degree in 1989, both from the University of Florida. After law school, he was an Assistant State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, serving as lead trial counsel in more than 20 jury trials. Mr. Brust is admitted to practice in all of the District Courts in Florida, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and all Florida State Courts. He is a member of the The Florida Bar and the Jacksonville Bar Attorney-Client Dispute Resolution Committee.
Representative Experience
- Represented three senior officers and directors against major claims involving the zone of insolvency doctrine. Mr. Brust successfully defended those officers and directors in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.
- Successfully represented several directors and officers against substantial claims involving allegations of incomplete and inaccurate corporate and personal financial disclosures. That matter was litigated in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Bar Admissions

Florida
U.S. District Court/ Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court/ Southern District of Florida
U.S. District Court/ Northern District of Florida
11th Circuit Court of Appeals
Education
Undergraduate
- University of Florida
Law School
- University of Florida
Memberships

The Florida Bar
Jacksonville Bar Association
Recognitions

Florida Trend magazine - Legal Elite
Jacksonville magazine - Top Lawyers in Jacksonville (2012)
The Best Lawyers in America®, Jacksonville, Commercial Litigation (2019-2026); Litigation – Securities (2019-2026); Litigation – Insurance (2023-2026)
The Best Lawyers in America®, Jacksonville "Lawyer of the Year" Litigation – Securities (2020, 2023)
Publications and Speaking Engagements

“Florida Legal Ethics, Conflicts of Interest Supplement,” The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education, November 1996.

“Attorney Disqualification in Florida Following State Farm v. K.A.W. – A Common Sense Approach,” Florida Bar Journal, April 1994.
SGR Publications
- Partner Steven Brust Featured by Daily Business Review: The Boom Continues: These Firms All Opened New Florida Offices in 2024
- The Expanding Landscape of Litigation Holds and Document Production
Press