Irene Kennedy Quincey is the West Palm Beach resident partner of Pavese Law Firm practicing in the areas of Environmental and Water Law, Land Use & Local Government, and Agricultural Law with an emphasis on Water Law, surface water management, wetlands protection, and state and federal permitting.
Irene received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1975 with high honors and her Juris Doctorate in 1978, both from the University of Florida. She is a member of The Florida Bar and has published and lectured extensively on water resource issues in Florida.
Before joining the firm in 1994, Irene was the Deputy General Counsel with the South Florida Water Management District. In her 16 years at the district, she practiced in areas of permitting, rulemaking and water policy development on major water resource issues, including Water Supply Planning, Wetland Regulations, Lake Okeechobee SWIM and Everglades Protection.
Irene holds an AV® Preeminent™ rating by Martindale-Hubbell. She is a member of The Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section (Chair, 1992-1993), Administrative Law Section, and Government Lawyer Section. She is the recipient of the 2002 Bill Sadowski Memorial Public Service Award, the 1994 Claude Pepper Outstanding Government Lawyer Award, the 1988 Stephens/Register Award, and the 1986 and 2000 Judy Florence Memorial Outstanding Service Award.
Practice Areas
- Agriculture
- Environmental & Water
- Land Use, Zoning & Local Government
Admitted to Practice
- The Florida Bar
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Education
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D.
- University of Florida, B.A., with high honors
Bar and Professional Association Memberships
- The Florida Bar
- Administrative Law Section
- Environmental & Land Use Law Section (ELULS) (Chair, 1992 – 1993)
- Government Lawyer Section
- The Florida Section of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA)
Awards & Recognition
- Chambers USA, Environment (Florida), 2024 – Present
- AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell
- Naples Illustrated 2024 Top Lawyer, Environmental Law
- Best Lawyers® 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” in Environmental Law
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Environmental Law, 2022 – 2025 Editions
- 2002 Bill Sadowski Memorial Outstanding Service Award, The Florida Bar (ELULS)
- 1988 Stephens/Register Memorial Award, The Florida Bar (ELULS)
- 1986 and 2000 Judy Florence Memorial Outstanding Service Award, The Florida Bar (ELULS)
- 1994 Claude Pepper Outstanding Government Lawyer Award, The Florida Bar, Government Lawyer Section