Denise Anderson
Managing Partner | Tampa
As Managing Partner at Butler, Denise M. Anderson is the Chairperson of the firm’s Construction Litigation Practice Group. Denise is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Bar and is an AV peer-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. In 2023, she began serving her third term on the firm’s Executive Committee.
While she currently practices primarily in the fields of Construction Defect and Product Liability, in her legal career, she has handled various insurance-related disputes involving coverage and subrogation. Her construction experience includes representing general contractors, developers, designers, and every trade in the construction process, as well as suppliers and manufacturers of building components. She has served as the chairperson of several national construction seminars and regularly speaks to clients and peers on various construction and civil litigation topics.
After serving as the Regional Chairperson (Southern Region) for the Women in Construction Litigation Alliance (WCLA), Denise was appointed to the Board of Directors of the WCLA in 2015. Denise served as the National Membership Vice Chairperson of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA) from 2014 to 2016. In 2016, Denise was elected to a three-year term on the Executive Council of the ADTA. In addition, Denise has served as a Florida delegate for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. In 2013, she was appointed to serve as the Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the CLM’s production of a Claims Handling Manual which is a national initiative undertaken by 150 attorneys from across the U.S. and Canada. Also, Denise was selected two years in a row as a Chairperson for the CLM’s Annual Construction and Environmental Conference (Boston 2014, Atlanta 2015). Denise was also asked to co-chair the ExecuSummit Construction Claims and Litigation Conference from 2016 to 2019 and again in 2022 when the conference resumed post-Covid. Of great importance, Denise was appointed to serve as a member of CLM’s National Construction Advisory Board in 2020 and in 2023, she was appointed to CLM’s National Construction Leadership Team.
She received her Bachelor of Arts, with high honors, from Auburn University (1991) and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Mercer University School of Law (1994). Denise is licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of Florida and the state courts of Georgia. Her professional memberships include the Association Defense Trial Attorneys, Women in Construction Litigation Alliance, The Florida Bar, the State Bar of Georgia, the Hillsborough Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers, the DRI, the National Association of Subrogation Professionals and the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance.
She has also been a member of the Junior League of Tampa since 2002, serving on committees for community projects to assist foster children, children aging out of foster care, and children’s literacy, among others. Denise is a native Floridian and has been employed with Butler since November 1995.
Admissions
- Florida
- Georgia
Recognitions
- AV Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Board Certified in Construction Law
- Best Lawyers, 2025
Education
- Auburn University
Bachelor of Arts - Mercer University
Doctor of Jurisprudence
Memberships
- Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA)
Past Executive Board member - Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
Past Construction Advisory Board member, Construction Leadership Team member 2023-2024 - DRI
- Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers (HAWL)
- Hillsborough County Bar Association (HCBA)
- Junior League of Tampa (JLT)
- State Bar of Georgia
- The Florida Bar
Courts
- United States District Court – Northern District of Florida
- United States District Court – Middle District of Florida
- United States District Court – Southern District of Florida
- Florida State Courts
Media
Combatting Social Inflation, Judicial Hellholes and Litigation Funding in Construction Claims
Join us at the 7th Annual Construction & Design Risk and Claims ExecuSummit on October 29-30, 2024, in Uncasville, CT! Managing Partner and Construction Practice Group Leader, Denise Anderson, will be speaking on the panel, "Combatting Social Inflation, Judicial Hellholes, and Litigation Funding in Construction Claims." This panel will also feature key industry leaders like Wendy D. Testa (Wi...
Hop on Board, or Miss Out: Benefits, Risks, and Resistance to AI in the Construction Industry
In this upcoming presentation for the CLM's 2024 Construction Conference, Managing Partner Denise Anderson will be joined by co-presenters Donna MacConnell (IMA), Wendy Testa (Wilson Elser), Glen Mangold (Allianz Commercial), and Taso Tselekas (Aon) as they discuss the growing use of LLMs (large language models) and artificial intelligence in the construction industry. This interactive session wil...
Best Lawyers – 2025 Edition
Join us in congratulating our attorneys who were recognized in the Best Lawyers 2025 publication! Click on their icons to learn more. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Their process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal ...
Get on Board or Miss Out
The Future of AI in Construction: Opportunities and Risks Co-authored by Managing Partner Denise Anderson, our latest article delves into the transformative potential of AI in construction. Learn about the benefits, risks, and how to navigate this evolving landscape. Oxford Economics forecasts a rise in global construction activity to $9.9 trillion by 2025, with AI tools driving growth. Despite ...
Denise Anderson Featured in Tampa Bay Business & Wealth Magazine
Tampa Partner Denise Anderson was featured in a Tampa Bay Business & Wealth (TBBW) article highlighting her recent appointment and career milestone as Managing Partner of the firm. The TBBW magazine is the leading resource for business leaders in the Tampa Bay region, with a focus on emerging business ecosystems. Click here to read the full article. Watch our recent video spotlight for Deni...
