Willard Ayres was an accomplished attorney and the founder of Ayres Cluster Law Firm. He was born in Bound Brook, New Jersey in 1910 and attended the University of Florida where he obtained both his undergraduate degree and his J.D. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1936.

Willard enjoyed a long and successful career. He served as an associate at Maguire, Voorhis and Wells from 1936 to 1939 and as a partner at Holland, Bevis and Ayres from 1939 to 1942. In 1950, he founded the firm that is now known as Ayres Cluster Law Firm.

In addition to his time in private practice, Willard held various other positions in the legal and political fields. He was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1949 to 1953, an attorney on the Florida Real Estate Commission in 1942, served on the board of governors of the Florida Bar from 1967 to 1972, and served as the mayor of Ocala, Florida from 1965 to 1966.