Attorneys

William Mallory Kent

William Mallory Kent is a noted criminal appeal and habeas lawyer, having argued and won the precedent setting federal sentencing guidelines appeal case, Stinson v. United States before the United States Supreme Court, which has been cited by hundreds of courts in cases across the country, including having been cited by the Supreme Court in both Blakely v. Washington and United States v. Booker, the two cases that revolutionized criminal sentencing.  

He has numerous otherpublished criminal appeal and habeas decisions to his credit, including United States v. Willie Washington, the Eleventh Circuit criminal appeals case which held that drug enforcement bus passenger searches were per se unconstitutional.  This decision, whichwas profiled by Harvard Law Review, resulted in many similar convictions being set aside.

William Mallory Kent has a reputation for excellence in federal and state criminal appeals and post-conviction relief, from direct appeal of sentencing or trial errors, to subsequent habeas motions under 28 U. S. C. Sections 2241, 2254, 2255, or Rule 60(b), as well as comparable state provisions such as Rule 3.800 and Rule 3.850 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Habeas Petitions for Ineffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel.

Mr. Kent has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1978.  He graduated from Harvard College, A.B. cum laude, 1975, and the University of Florida College of Law, J.D. with honors, 1978.  Mr. Kent has an AV rating, the highest rating available from Martindale-Hubbell.  Mr. Kent has been a continuing legal education lecturer for the Florida Bar, the Federal Criminal Justice Act training program, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and others.  Mr. Kent has been a member of the Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee.  He is a past President of the Northeast Florida Chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.

For the ten years prior to opening the firm Mr. Kent worked as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Jacksonville, and for one year before that as an assistant state public defender in Jacksonville and Fernandina Beach, Florida. His practice as an Assistant Federal Public Defender was limited to federal criminal and habeas cases, at both the district court and appellate level. Approximately two thirds of his case load was at the district court level and one third at the appellate level. His appellate work included one case which he argued before the United States Supreme Court and one case which he argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals en banc.  He was named "Outstanding Assistant Federal Public Defender," in 1998. 1996, 1993 and 1991. Prior to that, for seven years, his practice was limited to corporate real estate related matters of every type handled by a New York based national law firm.

Email: kent@williamkent.com

Education

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LEVIN COLLEGE OF LAW
Juris Doctor, with honors, 1978

HARVARD COLLEGE
A.B, cum laude, 1975

Bar Admissions

• The Florida Bar (1978)

• The California Bar (1980)

• United States Tax Court (1979)

• United States District Court, Middle District of Florida (1989)

• United States District Court Northern District of Florida (2004)

• United States District Court Southern District of Florida

• Second Circuit Court of Appeals (2007)

• Third Circuit Court of Appeals

• Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (2006)

• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (2001)

• Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (2007)

• Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2005)

• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2003)

• Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (2007)

• Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (1989)

• District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals (2005)

• United States Supreme Court (1993)

Ryan Edward McFarland

Ryan Edward McFarland began working for William Mallory Kent in 2011 as a paralegal while attending the University of North Florida. He graduated from the University of North Florida in three years with a bachelors of business administration in economics. He then attended Florida State University College of Law on scholarship where he wrote on to the Law Review, earned two book awards, made the deans list, and graduated with a business certificate. While attending FSU Law, Ryan took three criminal law and procedure courses and an upper-level post-conviction course focusing on federal habeas petitions.

Attorney McFarland has obtained significant reductions in sentences for many clients through a combination of 3.850 motions and skilled negotiating. Most notably, as of 2024, Mr. McFarland has negotiated essentially time served sentences for three clients serving life sentences. Having learned from his mentors Attorney Bill Davis from Tallahassee and his law partner William Kent, Attorney McFarland takes a detail-oriented approach to his cases which has led much of his success.

Email: ryan@kent-mcfarland.com

Education

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW
Juris Doctor, Business Certificate, 2017

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA
B.B.A., Economics, 2014

Activities & Affiliations

• Law Review

• Business Review

• Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law

Bar Admissions

• The Florida Bar (2017)

• United States District Court, Middle District of Florida (2017)

• Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2019)

• United States Supreme Court (2021)

• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida (2022)

• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (2024)