Paul M. Stokes

Paul M. Stokes is a South Florida native and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1971. He graduated from Duke University in 1968, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. degree in history (with “distinction”), and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1971, with a J.D. degree, Order of the Coif.  Paul moved to Austin, Texas with his wife, Carol, in 2020, to be closer to their children and grandchildren, and in 2024 retired from the practice of law.

He was Board Certified as a specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education since 1986, and retained that certification until his retirement. He was also a member of the Tax and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections of the Florida Bar, and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Following law school, Mr. Stokes served as a law clerk for the Hon. Milton Pollack, District Court Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He commenced the practice of law with Smathers & Thompson in Miami in 1972, and continued as a partner with the international firm of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP when it merged with Smathers & Thompson in 1987. In 1999, he left Kelley Drye to form what is now Stokes McMillan Antúnez Martinez-Lejarza P.A. Although retired, Paul remains a close friend of the firm he founded and worked so tirelessly to build.

Education
J.D., University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois, 1971
Honors: Order of the Coif

B.A., History, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 1968
Honors: Magna Cum Laude
Honors: Phi Beta Kappa

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
Florida, 1971

Admissions
All Florida state courts

Professional & Bar Association Memberships
Florida Bar
Member: Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
Member: Tax Law Section

Dade County Bar Association

Certifications/Specialties
Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estates Lawyer, Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education