Diana M. Ferguson

Diana M. Ferguson

Diana Ferguson is a shareholder at Rutledge Ecenia, where she has practiced since joining the firm in January 2011 as an attorney and registered lobbyist. Her practice focuses on environmental and administrative law, regulated industries, and government relations. She represents a diverse range of clients, including businesses, local governments, and associations, on complex policy, regulatory, and legislative matters.

Before joining Rutledge Ecenia, Diana served as legislative counsel to the Florida Association of Counties, where she advocated on a broad array of environmental and local government issues. Her work included extensive advocacy on water supply and water quality matters, including legislation and regulatory initiatives addressing significant nonpoint sources of pollution such as septic tanks and fertilizer, as well as total maximum daily loads and numeric nutrient criteria.

Diana draws on her extensive advocacy experience to represent associations and other clients with wide-ranging policy needs, including telecommunications, professional regulation, environmental and land use regulation and permitting, animal welfare, and appropriations project funding. She has participated in numerous rulemaking proceedings and has advocated before state and regional agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the water management districts, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Diana earned her degree in political science from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and her Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University School of Law. She is a member in good standing of the Texas Bar and The Florida Bar. Within The Florida Bar, she is a member of the Environmental and Land Use Law Section and the City, County and Local Government Law Section. She currently serves as Chair of The Florida Bar Animal Law Section and also chairs the section’s Legislative Committee.

Diana’s public service and professional contributions include appointments to the Governor’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change, Adaptation Technical Working Group in 2008; the Florida Legislature’s Beach Management Working Group from 2008 to 2009; and the Florida Beaches Habitat Conservation Plan Steering Committee from 2008 to 2011. She received the Friend of the Florida Association of County Attorneys award and the Small County Coalition’s Legislative Appreciation Award in June 2009. In 2013, she was recognized as a Florida Legal Elite Up & Comer, an honor for attorneys under 40 who demonstrate leadership in the law and in their communities.

In 2023, Diana was named an Honorary Landscape Architect by the American Society of Landscape Architects, a recognition awarded to professionals outside the field of landscape architecture whose nationally or internationally significant achievements have provided notable service to the profession.