While our youth does not define us, it certainly helps to shape who we are. Bret Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Clermont, Florida at the age of 4. Growing up, he went to business meetings with his father, Jon, who has spent and continues his career as a property developer. By the age of 17, young Bret was helping to negotiate deals with his father and playing baseball for the new South Lake High School. He was committed to a collegiate scholarship playing baseball (although his status as the top in his class did not require him to play sports to earn a scholarship) and earned All-American golden glove honors as a first baseman.
When interviewing potential employees of the firm, Attorney Jones often asks “What is your Art?” His is the ability to see and develop relationships: not only among people, but also among objects, ideas, and processes. If you ask him, he will tell you that every person who works for him is “remarkable” in some way: that is why he chose them. He believes that the job of a person’s lawyer is to make the person’s problems the lawyer’s problems; this way, the person can do his art while the lawyer does hers.
For Attorney Jones, decisions are not about answering the question: “What?” but rather “How?” Some people refer to Attorney Jones as a “big picture” guy and, for this reason, he often finds himself in boardrooms meeting with clients to discuss and negotiate new deals with an emphasis on creating win-win scenarios. It was with Attorney Jones’s vision that the Law Offices of Bret Jones, P.A. have grown and expanded beyond Clermont to Ocoee and Winter Park.
Biography and Resume:
Attorney Jones graduated first in his class with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Webber College. Following undergrad, he received his Juris Doctor from The University of Florida, Levin School of Law. After practicing law with Gray Robinson, P.A. in Orlando, Attorney Jones started this firm, currently a five attorney firm focusing on Business Law, Real Estate Law, and Estate Planning.
Attorney Jones is licensed to practice in the State of Florida as well as the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. His practice experience includes both transactional/general counsel work for businesses and litigation of business, commercial, and construction cases in various Central Florida courts.
At the age of 29, Attorney Jones was honored to be named one of the Orlando Business Journal’s Top Forty under Forty, a list of forty of the region’s top young business and civic leaders. Since 29, Mr. Jones has been named a Rising Star by SuperLawyers magazine, then elevated to the status of “SuperLawyer,” and twice nominated as one of Central Florida’s Most Influential Businessmen by the Orlando Business Journal.
In addition to a successful practice, Attorney Jones organized and began operating his title insurance company, Bret Jones Title, LLC, f/k/a Southern Title, LLC, in February of 2005. As a title agent, he has provided title insurance for over five hundred transactions, including but not limited to bank refinance of real property, residential closings, and complex commercial closings. He has formed and helped to form a number of businesses in his career and is particularly interested in helping businesses grow and find their niche.
He is a current member of Boards of Directors at Lake Sumter Community College Foundation, Cornerstone Hospice Foundation, and Imagine Schools at South Lake. Attorney Jones is also President of the South Lake County Republican Club and is a member of the Lake County Republican Executive Committee. Attorney Jones speaks fluent Spanish.