About

At Sheppard, White, Kachergus, DeMaggio, & Wilkison, P.A. Attorneys & Counselors at Law, our work is a calling. We are passionate about criminal defense, civil rights and family law because we know it can improve and even save people’s lives. Defending your rights matters to us. We believe criminal defense and family law attorneys are just as important to the justice system as law enforcement, prosecutors and judges, because we help keep the system honest. As a law firm, we know the law, but we also understand that compassion for our clients and their families is vitally important. When a person is charged with a crime, they are not charged in isolation; it affects the entire family. It is our job to not only defend the charges against you but to also help you put your life back on track.

We Are Champions Of Individuals’ Rights

We function as a team at Sheppard, White, Kachergus, DeMaggio, & Wilkison, P.A. Attorneys & Counselors at Law. If you hire one of us, you are hiring the entire team. This is valuable to you because every attorney in the firm has different experiences, perspectives and strengths that can be used to build your case.

William J. Sheppard

Our firm’s leader and inspiration is William J. Sheppard, a board-certified criminal trial attorney who has pursued justice for his clients for nearly 50 years. Mr. Sheppard is known for representing the famous, the infamous and the unknown alike. He has fought at every level of the judicial system for individuals’ protections against violations of their rights. Mr. Sheppard is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Florida Bar Foundation Medal of Honor, the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Award, the Selig I. Goldin Memorial Award and the Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award.

We like to say that Mr. Sheppard has a type of attorney he likes to hire: hardworking local kids who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. It’s an oversimplification, but there is a lot of truth to it.

Elizabeth White

Elizabeth “Betsy” White has gained considerable peer recognition, such as her AV Preeminent Rating and her listing in Best Lawyers in America in the fields of appellate law and nonwhite collar criminal defense law. Graduating from law school at age 22, she became one of the youngest people admitted to practice in both Florida and Oregon. She argued Doggett v. United States (a preeminent Supreme Court decision dealing with the speedy trial clause) before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. In Florida’s same-sex marriage case, she successfully prevented the state from obtaining a stay in the United States Supreme Court.

Matthew R. Kachergus

Matthew R. Kachergus has represented an array of clients, ranging from the criminally accused to others needing counsel for civil litigation. He has had great success representing criminal defendants in both state and federal cases ranging from DUIs to first-degree murder cases. Mr. Kachergus has also been selected to be a member of The National Trial Lawyers, an organization limited to the top 100 attorneys from each state who practice in civil plaintiff or criminal defense law. He is also listed in Best Lawyers in America in the fields of white collar and nonwhite collar criminal defense law.

Bryan E. DeMaggio

Bryan E. DeMaggio joined the firm in 2008 after a prior clerkship here. Mr. DeMaggio practices in the fields of criminal defense, appellate and civil rights litigation. He is a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Middle, Northern and Southern Districts of Florida. Mr. DeMaggio has had great success representing criminal defendants charged with serious crimes, including representing a defendant who was facing a minimum of 120 years of incarceration; after a lengthy trial, the charges were reduced to time served.

Jesse Wilkison

Jesse Wilkison graduated with honors from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law. Mr. Wilkison graduated third in his law school class. While in law school, he served as a managing editor of the Florida Law Review, tutored first-year students in Criminal and Constitutional Law, served as a research assistant, and earned Book Awards in Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Copyright Law, Trial Practice and Federal Jurisdiction.

Camille E. Sheppard

Camille E. Sheppard is the firm’s most recent addition. A 2016 honors graduate from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, she was a teaching assistant for Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy and a research assistant for the late professor Michael Siegel, where she assisted him in updating his treatise: “White Collar Crime: Procedure, Theory and Practice.” Ms. Sheppard also earned Book Awards in Florida Criminal Procedure and Federal Criminal Procedure: “Adversary Systems.”

Active In The Jacksonville Community

We take pride in our involvement in the Jacksonville community and the surrounding area. Jacksonville is home for our law firm, our attorneys and our families. We also are passionate about causes that extend beyond Jacksonville; for example, Mr. Sheppard frequently travels across the United States to address veterans’ issues.

For more information about our attorneys, click on the links below.

Call Us Anytime

We know people’s needs for a lawyer are not limited to business hours. That is why we are always available and ready, 24/7 year-round, to provide legal counsel. Call Sheppard, White, Kachergus, DeMaggio, & Wilkison, P.A., at 904-356-9661 or contact us online. Our after-hours number is 904-727-7191.

We Help Keep The System Honest