Stephen Udagawa

Stephen Udagawa is a Senior Associate at Butler in our Tampa office.  He practices first-party property coverage and extra-contractual matters.

Stephen received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude, from Boston College in 1991 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Miami School of Law in 1995.  He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Hillsborough County Bar Association.

Before joining Butler, Stephen served Florida citizens as an Assistant State Attorney for over three years at the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office in Sanford, Florida.  In 1999, Stephen continued to serve Florida citizens as an Assistant State Attorney at the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida.  He worked there for 20 years and served 14 years as a Felony Division Chief.  While an Assistant State Attorney, Stephen tried over 160 jury trials, including 27 homicide jury trials, with many of these trials being high-profile first-degree murder cases.

For over 30 years, Stephen has continuously gone above and beyond for his clients and providing valuable insight for his community. In 2012, he was featured on Court TV as the lead prosecutor during the State of Florida v. Trevor Dooley jury trial. During the State of Florida v. Julie Schenecker trial, Stephen’s oral arguments were highlighted in the May 6th, 2014 issue of People magazine. In 2023, Stephen appeared on the Nancy Grace Podcast as a guest analyst to discuss the insanity defense.

When Stephen is not in the courtroom or assisting his clients, he and his family enjoy traveling together. His wife has been with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for over 20 years and is proudly serving her community as a Sargeant. His three children are all excelling in their own lives, modeling after their parents. His eldest son is currently in college and is a competitive swimmer, his middle son is an Eagle Scout, and his daughter is also a competitive swimmer, commonly ranked in the top 10 for several swimming races. Stephen holds a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys taking guitar lessons.