At the Stetson Special Needs Conference earlier this year, I found myself in a packed ballroom, tea in hand, listening to the hum of conversation around me. People were buzzing about the next presenter discussing how insightful he always was, how he made complicated topics feel manageable, how he was the one speaker they absolutely did not want to miss. That presenter was Craig Reaves. Sitting there, hearing all of this from people who had no idea he had joined our firm, I couldn’t help but smile. Their enthusiasm wasn’t polite or obligatory; it was the kind of genuine respect that follows someone throughout a distinguished career.
That moment sums up a lot of what 2025 has felt like for us.
When Craig and the Reaves Law Firm team joined us in January, we began the process of merging two worlds that were, frankly, built decades apart. His firm came from an era of paper, rows of file cabinets, numbered folders, and towers of books that were practically works of art. Our firm is fully digital: scanners, cloud systems, and workflows that live entirely behind a screen. Bringing those two approaches together felt a bit like introducing two old friends who grew up in different decades they spoke the same language, just with a different accent.
Every so often, we’d discover a process where our firms had taken two completely different paths to reach the same destination. Those moments led to some good conversations and better workflows. But through all of it, Craig was steady, patient, and open. Somewhere between the paper files and the PDFs, we built a stronger system together.
At our annual awards Craig received the “One Quick Question” phenomenon. Someone will pop into his office or catch him in the hall claiming to have one quick question. The question was never quick, and it was definitely never just one. Craig treats every inquiry like it’s the most important thing he’ll answer all day. His patience is unmatched, and we love to tease him because we appreciate him so much.
He has also adapted amazingly well to working in an office full of women, where lunchtime conversations are a chaotic mix of kid updates, what someone saw on Instagram, and “What are you making for dinner tonight?” He listens, chuckles, and occasionally offers a comment that makes us all laugh.
Most importantly, Craig has brought with him a depth of knowledge in special needs planning that elevates our entire team. His clients, many of whom have worked with him for decades have begun settling into our CEPL family, and we are genuinely honored to continue serving them. Their trust in him now extends to us, and we do not take that lightly.
Looking back, 2025 was a year of merging, learning, laughing, reorganizing, and asking Craig “one quick question” more times than we can count. It was a year that reminded us how much a single person when they are generous with their wisdom and grounded in humility can enrich an entire firm.
And while I know the Stetson crowd was excited to hear from Craig that day, we’re the lucky ones who get to hear from him all year long.
