Philip K. Calandrino

AV-rated Orlando business attorney, Phil Calandrino, moved to Florida from Illinois with his parents in 1984. Back then, as excited as he was to be in Florida, he had lifelong dreams of becoming a lawyer like his uncle. So, after being part of the first graduating class of Dr. Phillips High School, Phil went off to business school at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (1994) and then on to law school at Indiana University School of Law, in Bloomington (1998), to soak up all the business law lectures he could and to watch Coach Bobby Knight throw tantrums – along with an occasional chair or two – up and down the basketball court.

Growing up in a household of entrepreneurs, Phil learned what it really meant to be a small business owner. So, when he graduated from law school, he could think of no better career than being an entrepreneur himself, especially one who helps other like-minded people start and grow their business.

Phil founded Forward Law Firm in 1998 with a mission to help companies avoid the aggravation of unnecessary litigation and prevail in important cases. Phil works with small business owners to start, buy, and sell business ventures, raise financing for those enterprises, protect the assets of the business and its owners, and draft agreements for all varieties of business relationships. Phil is also a hard-nosed business trial attorney and has been quoted by dozens of national media outlets. He is admitted to practice in all Florida federal and state courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

When Phil isn’t putting together strategies using contracts, insurance, and asset protection tools for his clients, he is committed to serving his community. Phil served as chairman of the Orange County Bar Associations Business Law Committee and was a member of its Executive Counsel for two terms.

Phil and his wife, Amy, also co-founded The Calandrino Foundation to empower youth through financial literacy and entrepreneurship education. A key initiative, the “Aspiring Entrepreneurs” program, inspires young people to explore business ownership, equipping them with the tools to become future leaders. Through the foundation, Phil and Amy are dedicated to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of small business owners in Central Florida.