A seasoned attorney returning to his roots and a new member of the Florida Bar looking to put down roots are the State Attorney’s Office two newest prosecutors.
Patrick Keen took a winding route back to Panama City, serving overseas in Iraq and living in the North Pole (Alaska), and many points between, but is now back home serving as the State Attorney’s Office newest prosecutor.
Jack Lyons grew up in Bradenton, went to Florida State University School of Law while interning with the 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, and decided the 14th Judicial Circuit was where he and his wife wanted to put down roots.
Keen’s journey includes early years in Graceville, where his father served as a minister, and living in Panama City until the middle of his senior year of high school. That was when his father was called to North Pole, AL, – some 4,300 miles away – to serve as minister of a Baptist Church.
“I’ve lived in a lot of places,” Keen said of his return to Panama City after retiring from the federal government. “But out of all of them, this has always been our favorite town. We love to go Tyndall and walk the beach as far as it will go.
“We always planned on coming here and this opportunity came up and the timing was perfect.”
The move also puts Keen and his wife closer to their son.
Lyons graduated from the University of South Florida about the time COVID hit and moved to Colorado to work with his uncle. It is also where he met his wife. After getting his law degree at FSU, he knew he wanted to live in the Panhandle.
“We wanted to go somewhere that was a little different than Tallahassee, it wasn’t the right fit for us,” he said. “We decided to inquire about the next circuit over (the 14th Judicial Circuit) and I heard some really good things about this office. The legal community here shows a lot of respect for each other, and the people here know what they are about, what they stand for, the point of all this.
“And that’s what really sold me.”
Keen spent 23 years in two leadership positions at the Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves during that time, achieving the rank of Colonel. That time included stints in Iraq and Kuwait serving as Senior Legal Advisor to a 3-Star Commander as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Keen received his Law Degree from LSU and has been licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Florida since passing both state bars in 1994. He joined the Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2002 until his recent retirement.
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It was his search for a community service-oriented job and his exposure to four people under his command – three who were former district attorneys and one who was a public defender – that brought him to the State Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor.
“Every one of them said it was the best job they ever had – working directly for individual people,” he said. “Look at what Mr. Basford and this office are doing – helping maintain law and order in this community.
“This whole office is critical to the wellbeing of the community, this is a wonderful town, and it’s worth fighting for.”
For Keen, it is a chance to finish out his career doing what he enjoys in a place he loves.
For Lyons, it is a chance to start a career that could take him many places but one which he hopes keeps him here.
“I’m planning on making this my career and I just want to become as good as I can be,” he said. “It’s a job that should be done well with a conscientious approach, common sense, and remembering the human side of things.”
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.