Awards & Accomplishments Your Voice Needs to Be Heard, Your Rights Need to Be Protected, Your Future Depends on It.

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Awards & Accomplishments

Attorney King received the Women in Leadership Award, Private Sector, from the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches on May 11, 2017, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was honored for her role in President Barack Obama’s historic clemency initiative, which sought to right the wrongs of minimum mandatory sentencing policies.

The Obama Administration announced its intent to balance past sentencing inequities through clemency review after a shift in more recent federal policy lowered sentences for certain drug offenses. Working through Clemency Project 2014, a group including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and defender organizations, Attorney King recruited volunteer lawyers to draft petitions for submission to the White House. In total, 1,715 men and women were granted clemency as a result of this initiative.

(Photo: West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Nellie L. King Honored for Her Role in President Barack Obama’s Historic Clemency Initiative)

Award-Winning Advocate for Clemency and Sentencing Reform

“The savings in financial terms is estimated at $427,000,000. More importantly, the human capital savings estimate is the most staggering: considering an 80-year life span, 13,665 years were reduced, allowing these men and women to be reunited with their families. Many of them had been sentenced to life in prison despite having little or no prior criminal history and they simply had no hope.” – Attorney King’s speech sharing the results of Obama’s clemency effort.

In nominating Attorney King for the Women in Leadership Award, Attorney Eunice Baros stated, “Nellie is a change-maker and her mark on this community is deep… she sincerely believes her job also entails changing the system through passionate advocacy, a commitment to volunteerism, and via mentorship of young lawyers who likewise aspire to facilitate change.”

Even after the success of the initiative, Attorney King called on community leaders to continue to examine policies that result in the mass incarceration of thousands of American citizens for nonviolent drug offenses. She emphasizes in her speech how the “monumental, longstanding injustice of draconian sentencing guidelines and the disparate racial impact of the war on drugs on minority communities” drives her passion and firm belief in the social justice fight.

Serving on State and National Criminal Defense Leadership Boards

Nellie L. King has been recognized by her peers as a leader in the criminal defense bar. From 2011-2012, Attorney King was elected President of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL). An organization proudly described as “Liberty’s Last Champion,” FACDL is the preeminent voluntary bar association for lawyers practicing criminal defense in the State of Florida. Attorney King is committed to the ideals of liberty and justice espoused by FACDL, which strives to advance the knowledge of criminal defense practitioners, promote the proper administration of criminal justice, and encourage the integrity and independence of the criminal defense bar. In addition to her FACDL presidency, Attorney King is also former President and Board Member of the Palm Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

(Photo: The Honorable Jorge Labarga of the Florida Supreme Court Swears Nellie L. King in as President of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers)

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

In 2012, Attorney King was elected to the Board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the nationwide organization dedicated to ensuring justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. In February of 2012, Attorney King testified at a regional hearing of NACDL’s Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status after Conviction about Florida’s draconian policies on rights restoration. In March 2022, Attorney Nellie King was awarded the ACLU of Florida’s 2022 Harriette S. Glasner Award for her dedication to improving the criminal legal system, fighting for the underserved and defenseless, advocating for open access to public records, and demanding law enforcement transparency and accountability.

Attorney King is also a frequent lecturer on criminal law topics, having presented at NACDL’s 2012 Midwinter Meeting and Seminar on the topic, “Beyond Registration: Collateral Consequences of a Sex Crimes Conviction.” She also spoke at NACDL’s Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference on juvenile sentencing issues.

On August 19, 2020, Attorney Nellie L. King was installed as the First Vice President of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar.

(Photo: Nellie L. King Addresses the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers After Being Sworn in as FACDL’s 24th President)

Recognized Social Leader in the West Palm Beach Community

Attorney King was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in June 2012 for her significant achievements and contributions to the legal profession and community, as well as for her leadership contributions that inspired the students of UMW. While studying at Mary Washington, Attorney King served as President of the Honor Council, twice receiving a Board of Visitors Citation for her service and leadership to the institution. She currently serves on the Mary Washington Alumni Board of Directors and leads UMW’s South and Central Florida Regional Alumni Network.

Attorney King also believes in giving back to the local community. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Boys’ Town South Florida and is the current Chair of the Court Systems Task Force for the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission. Further, Attorney King is a graduate of Leadership Palm Beach County, Class of 2004, and she subsequently was elected to its Board from 2004-2008. She also served on the inaugural Board of the Women’s Foundation of Palm Beach County, an organization that encourages women and girls to pursue leadership and positively impact their economic, political, and social status. Attorney King actively works with the Executive Women of the Palm Beaches, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, and the Palm Beach County Bar Association.

(Photo: 2012 Univerisity of Mary Washington Distinguished Alumnus Award Recipient Nellie L. King)

Awards & Associations

Education and Accomplishments in Academia

Attorney King is admitted to practice in the Florida Bar, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

She received her undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with a degree in International Affairs/Russian Studies. She received her law degree from Nova Southeastern University Law School, where she won the Feinrider Moot Court Competition for her oratory skills, as well as other advocacy awards:

1994 – Winner of the Martin A. Feinreider Memorial Intramural Moot Court Competition
1995 – Selected by law school faculty to represent Nova Southeastern at the Nationals Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, GA
1995 – Member of university team selected to participate in the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition sponsored by the Florida Bar
1990-1992 – Elected by the student body to serve as President of the Mary Washington College Honor Council
1988-1990 – Elected by the student body to serve as a Representative of the Mary Washington College Honor Council
1991 and 1992 – Board of Visitors Citation: recognized by Mary Washington College’s governing body for service and leadership, specifically for implementing a revised Honor Constitution
1991-1992 – Awarded the Shirley L. and Jean D. White Scholarship by the President of Mary Washington College for leadership and service to the institution
1992 – Pi Sigma Alpha: prestigious honorary for International Affairs majors
1991-1992 – Mortar Board: member of the Cap and Gown Chapter of this highly competitive scholarship, leadership, and honor society
1990, 1991 – Summer Leadership Scholarship
1987-1988 – High School Class President
1987 – 1988 – National Honor Society
1986-1987 – High School Class President

Contact the Law Offices of Nellie L. King, P.A. at (561) 220-2377 or online here for a free consultation today.

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Attorney King was my voice in the courtroom.
“Her knowledge of the law, her courage while aggressively fighting for me, belief in my innocence and the ability to communicate with the jury were priceless in ensuring my freedom.”
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Top-notch, caring, and highly respected.
“Nellie represented our son fiercely in her trademark "pit bull" style and won a landmark case in our county. Top-notch, caring, and highly respected are the qualities that come to mind when I think of Nellie King.”
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Ms. King truly cares about her clients and the outcome of their cases.
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Nellie brings power and grace. She is the velvet hammer.
“Sharp, tenacious, passionate, and totally committed to securing justice, Nellie King advocates tirelessly for her clients. Your case becomes her case.”
- Leigh D. Hagan (Ph.D. Board-Certified Forensic Psychologist)
She is a true leader and one of the fiercest advocates in the legal profession.
“Attorney Nellie King is absolutely unstoppable in the courtroom. Her skill and technique are matched only by her will and her drive. She is not afraid to zealously defend her clients and never shies away from protecting their constitutional rights.”
- Jessica Yeary (Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer & Public Defender Elect, Florida’s 2nd Judicial Circuit)
Nellie is a DEFENDER!
“Her concern for the turmoil of the client’s life, and its impact on their family, imbue every strategic decision she makes.”
- Joe Guastaferro (Nationally Recognized Trial Consultant and Jury Selection Specialist)
A top-notch fighter who will protect their legal rights.
“Nellie is one of the most dogged, detailed, dedicated, and skilled advocates that I've had the pleasure of working with in my 30-year career. Prosecutors undoubtedly cringe upon her entry into the case.”
- Charles Mittelstadt (Criminal Defense Investigator)

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