Lynn Cole’s decades of litigation experience with discovery, evidentiary and procedural rules in federal and state courts, serves her well in performing duties for parties under the direction of the court in state court cases which are prolonged or complicated.

Appointed by  Circuit Court Judges in the 13th Judicial Circuit, Ms. Cole has served as a Special Magistrate in multi-party litigations in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Florida.

Ms. Cole has also served as a Special Master to a Federal Magistrate Judge in a complex tax case and currently serves as a Special Master in real estate transactions.

Rule 1.490 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure permits the court to appoint members of The Florida Bar as special magistrates for any particular service required by the court. Special Magistrates are governed by all the provisions of law and rules relating to magistrates except that they shall not be required to make oath or give bond unless specifically required by the order appointing them.  Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, Rule 53, a master can be appointed for pretrial and post-trial matters only in limited circumstances when the assignment “cannot be handled effectively and in a timely fashion” by an available judge in the district. When appointed, special masters can help judges resolve complex cases. At a basic level, they may review and organize information, and prepare reports for the judge. But they frequently move beyond that to other aspects of civil case management.  Ms. Cole has enjoyed several appointments as a Special Master or Special Magistrate, all of which ended successfully.