In 2025, Rogers Towers celebrates its 120th anniversary, a milestone that reflects not only the firm’s distinguished history, but also the generations of attorneys who have shaped its reputation for excellence. Among them is shareholder Cecile Evans Rider, whose own path to the law is deeply connected to her grandfather, Cecil Bailey, a name synonymous with Rogers Towers’ early growth and enduring influence.
Bailey, admitted to The Florida Bar in 1927, joined the firm in 1941, more than three decades after its founding. His arrival marked a turning point, when the name on the door changed to Rogers, Towers & Bailey. Known as a “businessman’s lawyer,” Bailey became a trusted advisor to major clients including Gulf Life Insurance Company and played an instrumental role in strengthening the firm’s business law practice. Beyond the office, he was a dedicated Rotarian, a founder of the Jacksonville Library, and a civic leader whose commitment to community service mirrored his commitment to clients.
For Rider, Bailey was first and foremost her grandfather. Growing up in Melbourne, Florida, she recalls visits to his home in Jacksonville’s San Marco neighborhood and later, time spent together when she began her own legal journey. Encouraged by both her grandfather and her mother, herself a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, Rider pursued law at Stetson University College of Law, following in her grandfather’s footsteps.
“When I was deciding whether to go to law school, my grandfather thought I would be good at it,” Rider recalls. “He encouraged me to try, and that encouragement shaped the direction of my career.”
That decision ultimately brought her to Rogers Towers in 1981. Though Bailey had retired by then, he still maintained an office at the firm, where Rider remembers his presence vividly. “He was always proud of the firm,” she said. “The day before he passed away in 1992, he was in the office greeting colleagues, just as he always had.”
Over her nearly three decades with Rogers Towers, interrupted only by time spent as general counsel for her family’s real estate business, Rider has built her own distinguished career, now focusing on real estate law. She describes the firm as collegial, collaborative, and committed to mentorship. “From the beginning, Rogers Towers has been a place where senior lawyers invest in the growth of younger attorneys. That culture of support has endured, even as the firm has grown.”
Rider has also witnessed and contributed to the expansion of opportunities for women in the legal profession. “When I joined, there were very few women at the firm. Today, we have a significant number of women leaders across multiple practice areas, and I’m proud to see that progress.”
The family legacy continues as well. Rider named her daughter Bailey in honor of her grandfather, and Bailey is now a practicing attorney herself in Orlando.
As Rogers Towers marks its 120th year, Rider reflects on what she believes her grandfather would think of the firm today: “He’d be proud. The firm has grown and evolved, but it has maintained its core values, being trusted advisors to businesses, supporting one another as colleagues, and remaining deeply engaged in the community. That’s the legacy he helped build, and it’s one I’m honored to carry forward.”