Raised in Syracuse, New York, Terry Lavy obtained his bachelor’s degree from SUNY College at Buffalo in 1989. He earned his juris doctor from Rutgers School of Law, in Camden NJ in 1993 with International Law Honors. 

Terry began his career in New Jersey where he was an assistant city attorney for Camden, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. As a young litigator, he represented Camden in a variety of matters: construction financing, discrimination, contract, personal injuries and constitutional issues with success. He later became in-house counsel to the Philadelphia Contributionship Insurance Company, addressing coverage and personal injury actions. 

Moving to Fort Myers, Florida in 2005, Terry began working with a major multi-state litigation defense firm eventually managing its first-party and construction law department in Southwest Florida. There, he represented insurers in first party disputes and assisted in claims investigations. He developed a specialty in construction defect litigation defending developers, contractors and trades and became a bar board-certified specialist in construction law in 2015. 

He is a skilled appellate advocate as well with several reported decisions in Florida and New Jersey. Cases included: complex arbitration matters, construction financing, wrongful death and bodily injury. His New Jersey cases included Supreme Court cases: Alston v. Camden, 773 A.2d 693 (N.J. 2001) (reversing appellate decision on accidental police shooting) and Morales v. Camden, 791 A.2d 220 (N.J. 2002) (declining certiorari for tort-claims act).

 Outside the courts, Terry can be found on stage in Southwest Florida. At the challenge of a friend, he auditioned for A Christmas Carol in 2020 and was bitten by the acting bug. He also enjoys roller coasters, won his fantasy football league in 2023/24. He is an unfortunate golfer. Terry has long been an avid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.