U.S. Senator George LeMieux will return to his legal line after his short term in Washington ends next week.LeMieux will go back to work for his old legal firm,West Palm Beach's Gunster.


Sen George LeMieux

LeMieux became an unplanned U.S. senator when Gov. Charlie Crist selected him to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez when Martinez retired before his term of 2 years ago. Crist chose his close friend LeMieux as a placeholder,intending to run for the seat himself.

LeMieux, 41, has worked intermittently for Gunster since graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in 1994. He will work in the 160-member firm's Fort Lauderdale office in LeMieux's hometown.

The law firm Gunster, celebrating its 85th anniversary in Palm Beach County, is one of the state's oldest legal firms.