Ama Appiah | St. Petersburg Intellectual Property Lawyer

Ms. Appiah earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the State University of New York College at Buffalo, cum laude, with a specialization in graphic design.  She freelanced as a graphic designer prior to entering the study of law.  She also worked as a legal assistant and paralegal for the U.S. Small Business Administration - Disaster Assistance Office in Niagara Falls, NY. The Disaster Assistance Office provided federal loans and grants to those who suffered physical damage to their homes and physical and/or economic injury to their businesses as a result of a natural disaster.

 Attorney Appiah earned her law degree from Albany Law School in Albany, NY, in 2003.  It was there that she gained extensive appellate experience.  She interned for a substantial amount of time with the Albany County District Attorney's Office Criminal Appeals Division. She also interned for the Hon. Thomas J. McAvoy in the U.S. Northern District Court of New York, as well as with the Corporations Division of the New York State Department of State. Upon graduating from law school and moving to Florida in 2003, Ms. Appiah worked for a solo practitioner whose practice focused on criminal and general civil litigation.

 Ms. Appiah was a Special Assistant Public Defender with the Tenth Judicial Public Defender's Office, in felony criminal appellate cases for 16 years, from 2005 - 2021.  She has also acted as a Program Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program, and as an Appellate Senior Program Attorney for the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program from 2007 to 2009.  She represented the Guardian ad Litem Program in District Courts of Appeal throughout the state of Florida.

Ms. Appiah has been running her solo practice since 2008.  Her practice areas are: appeals, creative arts & entertainment law, and trademark & copyright law.

 Ms. Appiah was the editor of, and a contributing author in, the  4th edition of Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense (Juris 2015).  She has also been published in the March 2019 edition of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) magazine, The Champion.

In 2018, Ms. Appiah received the Leaders in the Law award from the Pinellas Chapter of Florida Association of Women Lawyers.  In 2017, she received an Honorable Mention Pro Bono Service award from the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

She has been a previous member of several professional organizations including the St. Petersburg Bar Association, Clearwater Bar Association, and Fred G. Minnis Bar Association.  Ms. Appiah is currently a member of the Pinellas Chapter of Florida Association for Women Lawyers.  Ms. Appiah has  served on the boards of several community non-profits including Creative Clay, Inc.,  Gulfcoast Legal Services, and League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area.

In addition to her law practice, Ms. Appiah is the managing partner of a.Appiah Designs, LLC, a fine arts and graphic design business based in St. Petersburg, FL.  She participates in exhibits in the Tampa Bay area and around the country, as well as provides graphic design and social media services for businesses and non-profit organizations.

Ms. Appiah is admitted to practice in Florida state courts, and in the U.S. Middle District Court of Florida.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Owner	Law Office of Ama N Appiah	Saint Petersburg, FL	08/2008 - present
Special Assistant Public Defender	Tenth Judicial Public Defender's Office	Bartow, FL	2005 - 2021
Program Attorney	FL Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program	Clearwater, FL and Orlando, FL	2005 - 2009
Law Clerk and Associate Lawyer	Law Office of Maura Keifer	Saint Petersburg, FL	2003 - 2004

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Albany Law School, Union University	J.D.	Law School	2003
Albany Law School	JD	Law	2003
State University of New York College at Buffalo	Bachelors	Graphic Design	1993

State / Court	Date
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida	2006
Florida	2004

• Pinellas Chapter of Florida Association of Women Lawyers
  Fred G. Minnis Bar Association
  St. Petersburg Bar Association
  Clearwater Bar Association

• Sixth Judicial Circuit Honorable Mention Pro Bono Award
  Florida Association of Women Lawyers Leaders in the Law Award
  St. Petersburg League of Women Lawyers Making Democracy Work Award

• Per Curiam Affirmed
  School choice case.

• Reversed.
  Injunction reversed.

• Reversed, remanded for new trial.
  Criminal conviction reversed and remanded for new trial.

• Affirmed in part. Reversed in part. Remanded with instructions.
  Condominium Association case.

• 4th edition of Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense (Juris 2015).
  
  March 2019 edition of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) magazine, The Champion.

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