Cathleen M. Sargent is President and CEO of Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company and has served in that role since 2022. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President and COO from 2021-2022, overseeing the Company’s day-to-day operations.
Ms. Sargent celebrates being the first female President and the first Hispanic President of Florida Lawyers Mutual. Currently, Ms. Sargent also serves as a board member on NABRICO, the National Association of Bar-Related Insurance Companies.
In August 2023, the American Bar Association (ABA) appointed Ms. Sargent to its Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability for a three-year term. The Committee is a subset of the ABA’s Center for Professional Responsibility, which exists to consider and resolve pressing issues of professional responsibility and regulation for lawyers. As a committee member, Ms. Sargent lends her insight and perspective to addressing important, novel, or unresolved issues pertaining to lawyers’ professional liability, as well as to providing relevant information and resources to lawyers nationwide. She is also a member in good standing with the ABA.
Prior to joining Florida Lawyers Mutual, she successfully led for 34 years at Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company of California, serving as Vice President of Development and Outreach, Vice President of Underwriting and Marketing, and General Counsel for Claims. At Lawyers Mutual, she spearheaded the development of the Strong Start program, an insurance program for new lawyers, and the Low-Income Lawyers program, an affordable insurance program designed to address access to justice issues. Ms. Sargent was a key liaison to The State Bar of California and integral in developing various programs for the benefit of California lawyers. She was appointed to serve on the State Bar Malpractice Insurance Working Group and the Task Force investigating the availability of insurance. She was invited as a guest speaker on the topic of mandatory malpractice insurance for the international 2019 NABRICO Conference in Canada.
Ms. Sargent was a founding member of the California Lawyers Association Lawyer Well-Being Committee, beginning in 2019, reflecting a personal passion for lawyer well-being — a passion she brings to Florida Lawyers Mutual in furtherance of its commitment to serving its member lawyers.
Her community stewardship includes not only her contributions to the lawyer well-being movement but also — within and beyond the legal sphere — her volunteerism in service of unhoused families, impoverished children, wrongfully incarcerated persons, access to justice, and economic injustice. She also served on the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Orange County in California from 2019-2020.
Ms. Sargent is a graduate of the Loyola Law School, where she worked in the Domestic Violence Clinic and served as a Certified Student District Attorney and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals extern. After graduating with a Juris Doctorate, she served as defense counsel in a preeminent California law firm handling legal malpractice claims and coverage disputes. Prior to entering law school, Ms. Sargent graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and was recognized as part of the University Honors Program during each of her four years. While enrolled at Loyola Marymount, she served as Vice President of Tri Sigma and was a member of the distinguished scholarship society Alpha Sigma Nu.
She and her husband enjoy walking, traveling, and exploring Florida as new residents. Ms. Sargent serves the homeless and single parents in her local community and church. Most significantly, she is a proud parent and grandparent.
