McAteer Law, PLLC

Providing dedicated and experienced legal counsel focused on land use and real property issues for landowners and developers throughout Central Florida.

Areas of service include rezonings, variances, special exceptions, tree mitigation and permitting, alcoholic beverage permitting, real estate acquisition, and other real property matters.

About Derrill McAteer

Derrill McAteer was born and raised in Brooksville, Florida. He is a sixth generation Floridian.

Derrill graduated from Wake Forest University (cum laude) in 1999 and the University of Florida College of Law (with honors) in 2002.

Derrill has practiced in Florida since 2003. He has worked in the public sector and in private practice in the areas of land use, permitting, real estate, and related litigation.

Derrill served (via contract) as Sumter County’s attorney from 2007 to 2011. He then worked as an Assistant County Attorney for Volusia County, assigned to land use and zoning issues from 2011 to 2013.

After some time in private civil practice, Derrill returned to Sumter County to serve as a Land Use and Zoning Special Hearing Master from 2020 to 2023. In his role as Special Hearing Master, Derrill conducted hearings and provided final determinations with regard to minor land use cases, and written recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners with regard to more significant matters, such as rezonings.

Derrill served as Pinellas County’s land use counsel from 2023 to 2026. In that role he served as counsel for the Building and Development Review Services Department, the Pinellas County Board of Adjustment and Appeals, and the Local Planning Agency.

Derrill has also served as the attorney for water resources for the City of St. Petersburg.

Derrill is a member of the Hillsborough County and Hernando County Bar Associations and the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar.

Derrill has participated in several discussion panels regarding land use law for local bar associations and has litigated land use issues in Florida Circuit Court. He has also written numerous articles regarding the Florida land use review process and has assisted in the drafting of local and state land use legislation.