At a Florida Cabinet meeting today, former Republican state representative Tom Grady of Naples was unanimously approved as the state's new commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation. Grady is a close friend of Gov. Rick Scott; the two live on the same street in Naples.

An attorney, Grady served in the Florida House from 2008 to 2010. He earned his undergraduate degree at Florida State University and his law degree at Duke University. According to its website, Grady is Of Counsel at Ackerman, Link & Sartory, where his practice areas include securities fraud, class actions, and complex commercial litigation. He was the attorney-of-record in a class-action lawsuit filed last summer against Gov. Charlie Crist when contributors to Crist's campaign for U.S. Senate sought return of their donations after Crist switched political parties.

The Office of Financial Regulation was created in 2002 when legislation placed the regulation of banking, securities and insurance under two appointed officials selected by the Financial Services Commission. The commission, made up of the governor and the Cabinet, appoints the commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation and the commissioner of the Office of Insurance Regulation. Both offices are administratively housed in the Department of Financial Services but report directly to the Financial Services Commission.