Larry Stewart became a personal injury lawyer in Miami in the early 1960’s.  It was a time when the longevity of the then-fledgling profession was in doubt.  He took “show & tell” presentations before a jury to a whole new level, in one of the first automobile crashworthiness cases in the country.  But he’s perhaps best known as the founder of Trial Lawyers Care, the national AAJ pro bono program that began for victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. He is a past president of both the American Association for Justice and the Florida Justice Association and a winner ..read more

It was losing a personal injury case in mid-career that almost made Jimmy Gustafson give up the practice of trial law.  In a few minutes, you’ll hear about the inspirational story that changed him - and his career - and the lesson he learned about true success. He is a past president of the Florida Justice Association, an Eagle Founder, and winner of the Jon Krupnick Award.  It’s given for perseverance in achieving justice for an injured client.  And it was that very case that he credits with giving him a renewed feeling of gratitude in being a trial lawyer. Jimmy Gustafson of ..read more

All Sean Domnick ever wanted to be while growing up was a lawyer.  Today, he represents some of the most catastrophically injured people in the country – many from medical malpractice – and has won among the largest verdicts.  As you’ll hear, he credits case preparation, but also a keen sense of empathy for his clients.  He got an extra dose of that from his own bout with cancer. He’s been a longtime board member of the Florida Justice Association and won many of its top awards.  They include the B.J. and Tom Masterson Award for professionalism and high ethics; the Jon Kru ..read more

Rich Newsome of Orlando has been at the center of some of the biggest personal injury cases involving automobiles in this century.  He played a key role in convincing Congress to pass the “Tread Act.”  He also identified a quiet trend of settlements and seized on it – resulting in the recall of more than 100 million airbags – the largest recall in history. His love of law and exploration of innovative tactics among his peers, led him to found a school for trial lawyers.  He also served as president of the Florida Justice Association during a significant time of tort reform effo ..read more

Fred Cunningham of West Palm Beach has made a definitive impact on bad faith law in Florida, enforcing the duty of good faith that insurance companies owe their insureds.  To date, he’s won more than $600 million in verdicts and settlements.  He’s also a former president of the Florida Justice Association, a long-time board member, and winner of many awards, including the Perry Nichols Award, our most prestigious.  It honors an attorney whose perseverance, commitment, and unmatched dedication to the civil justice system is at the forefront of his or her life.  Fred Cunning ..read more

When Phil Freidin opened his own practice in Miami at the age of 29, he quickly became a legal trend-setter.  His success in a product liability case in the mid-1970’s and a bad faith case a decade later, both established significant case law.  He’s also credited with starting many legal careers in the specialty practice fields that resulted. More than 50 years later, with his son in the practice, he’s now developed the model for trying False Claims Act cases.  As a former president of the Florida Justice Association, he served at a critical time when the state was considering ..read more

It was a chance encounter with trial lawyers Fred Levin and Chris Searcy when he was just a few years out of law school that taught Don Hinkle a big lesson: To be a successful trial lawyer, you just have to be yourself.  It’s that and good old-fashioned hard work that he credits for much of his success. He focuses on catastrophic personal injury cases, limiting his practice to devote extra time and extra effort on each case.  One of his cases spurred the creation of shallow diving warning signs now seen at swimming pools around the world. Don Hinkle sat down sat down with Florida Ju ..read more

Jeff Liggio approaches law practice as a human being first, rather than acting like a lawyer.  It’s advice he passes along to younger lawyers and is one of his keys to trial success.  As you’ll learn, he brings “honor” to an honorable profession.   For the first 17 years he was a lawyer, Jeff Liggio was also a military pilot. Given his military background, you’d think he would have practiced aviation law.  So did he.  But it was a determined boss – and mentor – that steered him instead into insurance law.  He’s never looked back, building a successful insura ..read more

His parents were school teachers, so it’s no surprise that part of Keith Mitnik’s practice at Morgan & Morgan in Orlando is to counsel other lawyers.  He has a reputation as the “go-to guy” who helps turn seeming problems into solutions.  He’s going to share some of those lessons with us today, so grab a pen and pad of paper. He prides himself as an inventor – a process guy who has developed systems to improve trial tactics, which he gladly shares with others.  Otherwise, he’s in court trying a case or preparing for the next one.  He tries about 14-16 cases a year! Kei ..read more

It was helping a friend of a friend in a practice area outside of his usual cases that led Ted Leopold to find – and win – a new kind of case, one that would change his career.  It was the first managed care case of its kind in the country and would lead to a flood of others.  Most recently, he’s expanded into a novel way to try workers’ compensation cases, outside of workers’ compensation courts. Also, the discovery that he personally took from the engineers in the Takata air bag case has been used by plaintiffs in cases across the country.  It was that same discovery that une ..read more