STAFF

Cynthia Stump Swanson is the senior attorney and sole shareholder of the firm.  She graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1981 and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1982.  Since that time, her practice has focused primarily on legal matters which involve individual and family related matters, including adoptions, wills and probate, divorces, and family law appeals. Cynthia is actively involved in the legal community and chairs the Family Law Section of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association.  She has published several book chapters and articles, and writes a monthly column on family law for the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association newsletter. She is a member of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, the Florida Adoption Council, and the James C. Adkins Inn of Court and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.  She has been the volunteer legal counsel for Planned Parenthood of North Central Florida, Inc. since 1995, and serves as a volunteer attorney for Three Rivers Legal Services, Inc.  She is the 2003 recipient of the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Since 1983, she has been a member of the Pilot Club of Greater Gainesville, Inc.,  a community service organization dedicated to providing funds and support for those with brain disorders, and to hearing impaired children in our community, and supporting qualified students at the University of Florida through the Southern Scholarship Foundation.   Cynthia is a single mother of a college student, who is working to spread her own wings.

Michelle L. Farkas is an associate attorney with the firm and a 2003 graduate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.  Michelle was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2006, and joined our law firm in early 2007.  Michelle had experience in the areas of real estate law, and estates and trusts, before she joined our team.  While a student at the University of Florida, Michelle was active in land use and environmental law and real estate law, and spent a semester studying international law at Leiden University, The Netherlands, where she participated in the International Moot Court.

Connie Elgin has over 20 years of  experience as a paralegal and has been with our team since August of 2004.  Her primary areas of expertise are in the fields of family law and probate.  Connie works closely with divorce and post-divorce clients to assist them in most every aspect of their case – from assembling their financial paperwork to being the liaison between the client and the attorneys.  She also works with clients to obtain all necessary information to prepare a complete will package for them, and assists probate clients in working through the probate process.  Connie also handles the billing for the firm and acts as on-site office manager.  Connie is from Nuremberg, Germany, where she earned an accounting degree, and met her husband while he was serving there in the U.S. Army.  Connie and her husband have two children, the older of whom is just getting into his teenage years.

Darcy Kochanowsky is a Florida Registered Paralegal for the firm and her primary areas of expertise are in the fields of adoption and appeals.  She joined the Swanson law firm in August 1999. She works closely with birth parents to handle their daily needs and keeps track of their medical care. She coordinates and manages their adoption plans and helps them throughout their pregnancy, delivery and placement. She also works directly with adoptive couples in the adoption process and is the liaison between the adoption attorney and the adoptive parents. Her caring, helpful nature is a fundamental part of the private adoption process and is a great asset in the development of her relationships with the clients and the birthparents. She has been quite successful in making the adoption process a success for all involved. In addition to managing the adoptions for the team, Darcy is also the appellate paralegal and assists the attorneys in the handling of appellate matters at the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.  Darcy works as a virtual paralegal from her home in Tallahassee, Florida, and is married with five children and step-children.