The Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation

It was his older sister’s mispronunciation of the word “beauty” that, as just an infant, gave James Nance the nickname that would stick with him for life: “Booty”. With a name like that, he had to be a good trial lawyer – and he was – and still is today as he goes into the office at nearly 88 years old.

Booty Nance, of Melbourne, was one of the nine Florida trial lawyers who took on Big Tobacco in the 1990’s, eventually settling for the landmark $13 plus billion from the tobacco industry to the state of Florida for Medicaid recoupment costs of sick smokers.

While he has top professional honors – he’s a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates – he’s also known as an avid hunter and a prankster. These skills have helped him innovate creative approaches to collecting late judgments and surviving cancer.

Booty Nance sat down with Florida Justice Association Radio host Harvey Bennett in July 2018 for an interview that reflects the recurring theme in his law practice and his life: He’s had fun!

Show Notes:
Booty Nance is with the Nance Cacciatore law firm in Melbourne, Florida – www.nancelaw.com

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Visit the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation Podcast Webpage for full details and extras on this podcast.

The Titans of Trial podcast, sponsored by the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation, features Florida’s legendary trial attorneys revealing their keys to success – in law practice and in personal life – in their own words. Behind the sometimes tough courtroom veneer lies the heart of a champion advocate. Sometimes whimsical, often inspirational, but always with practical advice and lessons, Titans of Trial shares the personal stories of the men and women who’ve made a demonstrated difference to the practice of trial law in Florida.

His mother was a smoker who died of lung cancer at the age of 54. So when W.C. Gentry of Jacksonville got the call to join a team of lawyers fighting Big Tobacco to recover state Medicaid dollars spent on those smokers’ care, his was an easy answer. Their $13 billion plus settlement, the largest recovery in the history of jurisprudence at the time, led to an eventual multistate settlement.

As a past president of this organization, W.C. Gentry became a veteran of the tort reform wars of the mid-1980’s, that are still being fought today. Among his many honors, is the Perry Nichols Award - the Florida Justice Association’s most prestigious. It’s given to a person whose perseverance, commitment, and unmatched dedication to the civil justice system is at the forefront of his or her life.

W.C. Gentry sat down with Florida Justice Association Radio host Harvey Bennett in February 2018 to discuss his expansive career, the role he’s played along the way in changing child abuse reporting laws, and his special interest as a civic leader in promoting children’s literacy.

Show Notes:
W.C. Gentry is with the Law Office of W.C. Gentry in Jacksonville, Florida – www.gentrylaw.net

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Visit the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation Podcast Webpage for full details and extras on this podcast.

The Titans of Trial podcast, sponsored by the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation, features Florida’s legendary trial attorneys revealing their keys to success – in law practice and in personal life – in their own words. Behind the sometimes tough courtroom veneer lies the heart of a champion advocate. Sometimes whimsical, often inspirational, but always with practical advice and lessons, Titans of Trial shares the personal stories of the men and women who’ve made a demonstrated difference to the practice of trial law in Florida.

Chris Searcy grew up in trial practice in Miami, hanging around legendary lawyers such as Bill Frates, Larry Stewart, Bill Coleson, Bill Hicks, and J.B Spence, to name but a few. As a young law student at Stetson University in 1972, he became involved with the predecessor of the Florida Justice Association, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, at an early age, attending seminars and getting early career guidance.

And boy what a career he’s had, becoming one of today’s legendary trial lawyers. Chris Searcy is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of 100 lawyers. He has been honored with the Al J. Cone Award for lifetime achievement and the Perry Nichols Award, this association’s highest honor. He is a past president of the Florida Justice Association, and the association’s seminar on Voir Dire bears his name.

But it was the two terrible personal tragedies in his life that caused him to gravitate to representing clients in death cases and is ultimately the passion that fuels his great success as a champion advocate. Chris Searcy sat down with Florida Justice Association Radio host Harvey Bennett in July 2018 to talk about his special connection to personal injury law, his advice to rising lawyers seeking lead trial time, and the fine line between hating to lose and being afraid to lose a case.

Show Notes:
Chris Searcy is with the Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley law firm in West Palm Beach, Florida – www.searcylaw.com

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Visit the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation Podcast Webpage for full details and extras on this podcast.

The Titans of Trial podcast, sponsored by the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation, features Florida’s legendary trial attorneys revealing their keys to success – in law practice and in personal life – in their own words. Behind the sometimes tough courtroom veneer lies the heart of a champion advocate. Sometimes whimsical, often inspirational, but always with practical advice and lessons, Titans of Trial shares the personal stories of the men and women who’ve made a demonstrated difference to the practice of trial law in Florida.

Working in a sausage factory while attending college taught Troy Rafferty the value of hard work and sacrifice. Which helped him become what he is today: one of the top trial lawyers nationally who police the pharmaceutical industry by trying and winning complex mass tort cases.

But as the old adage goes about sausages and laws – that you should never see them being made – Troy’s early experience also provided the fortitude for an important future battle with the Florida Legislature. Before, during and after Troy's time as President of the Florida Justice Association, he worked tirelessly to prevent and ultimately help overturn the legislature’s decision to adopt the Daubert Standard on expert witness testimony.

Troy Rafferty sat down with Florida Justice Association Radio host Harvey Bennett in January 2019 to share some of his winning strategies... and his twin concerns that legal practice has become too contentious and is run too much like a business.

Show Notes:
Troy Rafferty is with the Levin Papantonio law firm in Pensacola, Florida – www.levinlaw.com

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Visit the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation Podcast Webpage for full details and extras on this podcast.

The Titans of Trial podcast, sponsored by the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation, features Florida’s legendary trial attorneys revealing their keys to success – in law practice and in personal life – in their own words. Behind the sometimes tough courtroom veneer lies the heart of a champion advocate. Sometimes whimsical, often inspirational, but always with practical advice and lessons, Titans of Trial shares the personal stories of the men and women who’ve made a demonstrated difference to the practice of trial law in Florida.

On today’s program, something different. We feature someone who is as well known for his political life as his distinguished trial career. Steve Pajcic served Jacksonville in the Florida House of Representatives for six terms in the 1970’s and 80’s, nominated by the St. Petersburg Times as the Most Valuable House Member seven years in a row. As a lawmaker, he shepherded expansion of the property tax Homestead Exemption from $5,000 to $25,000. In 1986, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida, losing to Bob Martinez in a tight race.

A self-described “Florida Cracker”, Steve Pajcic is half of the original Pajcic and Pajcic law firm. His brother Gary passed away in 2006, but the practice remains a family firm, with Steve’s son and Gary’s three sons. Together, the Pajcic family has been a tremendous force in philanthropy and social equality.

Steve Pajcic, now in his 70’s, sat down with Florida Justice Association Radio host Harvey Bennett in December 2017 to share how he’s remained politically active, his resilient idealism, and his personal brand of civil justice.

Show Notes:
Steve Pajcic is with The Law Firm of Pajcic & Pajcic in Jacksonville, Florida – www.pajcic.com

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:
Visit the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation Podcast Webpage for full details and extras on this podcast.

The Titans of Trial podcast, sponsored by the Florida Justice Association Research and Education Foundation, features Florida’s legendary trial attorneys revealing their keys to success – in law practice and in personal life – in their own words. Behind the sometimes tough courtroom veneer lies the heart of a champion advocate. Sometimes whimsical, often inspirational, but always with practical advice and lessons, Titans of Trial shares the personal stories of the men and women who’ve made a demonstrated difference to the practice of trial law in Florida.