Levin, Papantonio, Proctor, Buchanan, O'Brien, Barr, & Mougey, P.A. is an American

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

based in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, founded in 1955 by David Levin and

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

, originally under the nam
Levin & Askew
It is best known for its prominent role in the field of

mass tort A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few defendants in state or federal court. The lawsuits arise out of the defendants causing numerous injuries through the same or similar act of harm (e.g. a prescription d ...

litigation, where it started and continues to host the biannual conference calle
Mass Torts Made Perfect
In 2016, the

National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly new ...

recognized Levin Papantonio as one of America's Elite Trial Law Firms.

Notable cases and activities

The law firm received national recognition in 1980 after receiving an $18 million jury verdict against

Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of t ...

after one of its trains derailed in

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

, Florida, killing a young doctor and his wife, and leaving their two young children

orphaned An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

. The jury verdict was the largest compensatory damage verdict in U.S. history at the time. Because of the size of the verdict, the firm was featured in an April 1981 issue of '' US'' magazine. The law firm again made national news in 1989 with its creation of the first live, prime-time talk show to air lawyers providing free legal advice. The show became a lightning rod for potential legal ethics issues, with critics stating: "It's obviously advertising for that law firm that is slanted at having the public believe in higher verdicts, more rights of the injury party and anti-doctor." The show resulted in two separate

Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated, or unified bar organization for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States.

investigations, and one prosecution, when a law firm attorney admitted on-air: "I used to enjoy betting on the football games, and now they've arrested my bookie." Another time, a lawyer ranted about the medical profession and accused doctors of having a "

God complex A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as t ...

– they think they are above the law." The law firm's most controversial act occurred in 1993 when it rewrote a Florida statute that allowed the state of Florida to sue the Tobacco Industry, and then orchestrated its passage through the state legislature. After the law was upheld by the US

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, the Tobacco Industry settled with Florida for an unprecedented $13 billion. The secretive legal maneuvering became part of the national debate on whether personal injury law was negatively impacting the American business environment, including a July 2000 article in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine titled "Are Lawyers Running America?" that included a photo of Fred Levin wearing a red blazer and sunglasses and leaning on a vintage Rolls-Royce. In a 2014 book about the firm and the topic of personal injury litigation, Josh Young wrote, "It's rare that any major mass tort in the country does not present itself to Levin Papantonio. The firm clearly is considered one of the very few 800-pound gorillas in the field. It has earned that reputation over many decades . . . ." The magazine ''Action Report'' wrote in 2014, "The restrictions on the rights and recoveries of victims of "single injury" cases ultimately moved many firms into mass torts, with the Levin Papantonio firm leading the way in Florida."

Notable members

Notable members of the firm have included

Fred Levin Fredric Gerson Levin (March 29, 1937 – January 12, 2021) was an American plaintiffs' lawyer who served as chairman of Levin Papantonio Law Firm, Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O'Brien, Barr, Mougey, P.A., a law firm in Northwes ...

Mike Papantonio James Michael Papantonio (born October 24, 1953) is an American torts lawyer, television presenter, radio talk show host and writer. He has been inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. As a trial lawyer, Papantonio co-hosts ''Ring of Fire ...

, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and

Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host and former politician who is the co-host of ''Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. He previously hosted '' Scarborough Country'' ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Law firms based in Florida Law firms established in 1955