Judge Gregory P. Holder: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Hon. Gregory P. Holder (Ret.) was a judge for the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Hillsborough County. He was elected to the bench in 1996. His term expired in 2021.

Holder presided over the Juvenile, Family Law, Felony, and Civil Divisions, as well as the Veterans Treatment Court.

Prior to his election, Holder served as a judge for the Hillsborough County Court, a position to which he was named in 1994.

He received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. He also holds an M.B.A. (1978) from the University of West Florida and a J.D. (1981) from Stetson University College of Law. He is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Base Squadron Officer School and a graduate of both the Air Command and Staff College and Air War College.

While at West Point, Holder was commissioned to serve as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After graduating from the Academy, he worked as an Armament Systems Development Engineer in the Air Force, while pursuing his M.B.A. Then, after obtaining his law degree, Holder served as an Assistant Judge Advocate and Area Defense Counsel at various military bases in the United States and abroad. During his service, he also served as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate with the 56th Fighter Wing while stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. He later served as an Air Force Reserve Military Judge from 1996 to 2004. Holder retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 2004, having reached the rank of Colonel.

After resigning from his regular commission in 1988, Holder began his civilian legal career as an attorney with the law firm of Taub & Williams. He practiced at the firm for three years before becoming a partner at Williams, Reed, Weinstein, Schifino & Mangione, P.A. in 1991. His areas of practice included commercial litigation, eminent domain, and environmental law. In addition to his law practice, Holder also served as an assistant city attorney for the City of Temple Terrace. He held these positions until his election to the County Court bench.

He has taught as an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, an adjunct faculty member of Webster University and the University of Phoenix, Central Florida Campus, and an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida.

He has served on the Board of Directors of MacDill Federal Credit Union, as a board member of the Downtown Tampa Metropolitan YMCA, and as an advisory board member of Gasparilla Distance Classic Association, Inc. His other memberships have included the Herbert G. Goldburg Criminal Law American Inn of Court, the Ferguson-White Inn of Court, the Fellowship Lodge 265, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Egypt Shrine Temple.

Some of his committee memberships include the Florida Dependency Court Improvement Committee, the Florida Bar Military Affairs Committee, and the Florida Conference of Circuit Court Judges Education Committee.

He was born and raised in Melbourne, Florida. Following his retirement, Holder joined Zinober Diana & Monteverde P.A., where he provides mediator and arbitrator services.