Makar was admitted to the Florida Bar on October 9, 1987. He joined Holland & Knight, LLP in 1989 and became a Capital Partner prior to his departure in 2001. He was hired as chief of the appellate division in the Office of General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville. He remained with the city for seven years. Makar has written law review and law journal articles on a broad range of topics, many of which have been cited by commentators and courts, with several garnering legal writing awards. He was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court's Standard Jury Instructions Committee and currently serves as its chair emeritus. He served on the first Executive Council of the Florida Bar's Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section as a founding member. He also chaired the Appellate Practice Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association from 2001-02.
Solicitor
Makar was appointed as Florida Solicitor General by Florida Attorney GeneralBill McCollum on February 13, 2007. McCollum did not seek re-election in 2010 and Pam Bondi was elected Florida Attorney General. She retained Makar in the position and he served as one of her senior advisers. As Florida Solicitor General, Makar oversaw civil appeals involving the state’s interests in all state and federal appellate courts. He also held the Richard W. Ervin Eminent Scholar Chair in the Florida State University College of Law where he taught. His $165,000 salary was split between the state and FSU. While Solicitor General, Makar argued cases before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, the First District Court of Appeal, several Judicial Circuits, and United States Supreme Court.
Typically, a state's Solicitor General will only have a case before the US Supreme Court every other year; Makar argued Florida Department of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeteria in 2007-2008, and nothing occurred in the 2008-2009 term. Florida was party to five cases in 2009-2010 and Makar personally argued four of them. In an interview, Makar claimed that the cashier of the cafeteria in the U.S. Supreme Court building saw him so often that she assumed he must work there, and offered him the employee discount. The cases were:
Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida, Graham won, Sullivan lost.
Over 100 of his cases have been reported, covering diverse topics.
Judge
On February 6, 2012, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced that he appointed Scott Makar to replace Paul Hawkes, who resigned over funding questions in the new First DCA "Taj Mahal" Courthouse. On February 23, 2012, Makar revealed that he would leave the Attorney General's office on March 23, 2012 to occupy the bench as a judge in the Florida First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. Other First DCA judges teach at various law schools, so Makar confirmed that he will probably do so, too. Makar’s official investiture as a member of the First District Court of Appeal was held on April 23, 2012.
Personal
He is married to the former Nancy Hogshead, who was a co-worker at Holland & Knight. His wife is a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law and 1984 Olympic Gold medalist in swimming. Their home is in Jacksonville, Florida and they have a son, Aaron and twin daughters, Helen-Clare & Millicent. His wife and son were able to attend several of his oral arguments at the US Supreme Court.
