Laurel Alexandra Marois

Laurel Marois Ackerman was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida and is happy to still call it ome to day! She attended LCC Day School and graduated from Shorecrest Preparatory School before she went on to become a proud "Double Gator" at the University of Florida. She graduated from UF with a Bachelor's Degree in History, cum laude, in 2015, and from UF LAW with her Juris Doctor in 2018, also cum laude. While in law school, Laurel was the Vice President of the UF Law Trial Team, an editor of the Journal of Law and Public Policy, and a Teaching Assistant for Legal Writing, Appellate Advocacy, and Florida Criminal Procedure. Laurel was awarded several Book Awards, an academic excellence award given to the single highest achieving student in a course, in several courses at UF Law including Appellate Advocacy, Trial advocacy, Historic Preservation Law, and Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiation.

Laurel clerked at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Tampa, the Administrative Conference of the United States in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Justice - Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section in Washington, D.C., and worked as a CLI at the Public Defender’s Office for the 8th Judicial Circuit in Gainesville, FL. After law school she worked for the Law Offices of Julianne Holt as an Assistant Public Defender in the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County. She participated in numerous juvenile, misdemeanor and felony trials and has received training in capital crimes. She became known for her tenacious motion practice and thrived in the trial atmosphere.

She brought her extensive litigation and trial experience to civil and criminal litigation at the Law Offices of Donald C. Anderson, Jr., her grandfather's law firm, in 2021. Now named Anderson & Ackerman Law group, Laurel is the managing partner of the firm and lead trial counsel. Her practice is focused exclusively on Social Security disability representation, from intial application through federal court appeals, and criminal defense. She has had success in federal courts across the country in her social security disability practice and takes cases at the administrative level. She has tried numeral criminal trials to verdict, and assists with traffic offenses, sealing and expuning criminal records, and applicaitons for clemency and pardons.

Laurel and her husband Chris have a son and two dogs! They are avid sports fans and love cheering for their Tampa Bay teams, the Florida Gators, and Ole Miss (her husband’s alma mater)! Laurel is a member of the Junior League of St. Petersburg, a chapter advisor for the Sigma Kappa sorority chapter at the University of Florida, and serves as the Secretary of the Church Council at Lutheran Church of the Cross. She enjoys volunteering as a poll watcher and legal observer in local elections and as a judge for the Pinellas County History day competition.

Education:
• University of Florida, B.A., Cum Laude
• University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., Cum Laude

Bar Admissions:
• Florida Bar
• Washington, D.C. Bar
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

• U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico

• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Professional Memberships:
• St. Petersburg Bar Association
• Pinellas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• National Association of Disability Representatives
• National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives

Awards/Distinctions:
• Trial Team Book Award – UF Law
• Appellate Advocacy Book Award – UF Law
• Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation Book Award – UF Law
• Historic Preservation Law Book Award – UF Law
• D.C. Gator Club J. Richard Sewell Internship Scholarship
• Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award – UF Law