Name: Thomas S. Edwards, Jr.
Item: Thomas S. Edwards, Jr.
Author: wma

Bio

Thomas S. Edwards, Jr. is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, the highest specialty recognition given by The Florida Bar for attorneys who handle litigation of civil litigation. As Jacksonville Attorney his honors include:

AV by Martindale Hubbell 1995-2015
Best Lawyers in America – 2012 & 2015 Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers in America 2012, 2013 & 2014
National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyer 2013
Jacksonville Bar Association – Justice Raymond Ehrlich Trial Advocacy Award 2013
American Board of Trial Advocates – Trial Lawyer of the Year, Jacksonville Chapter 2009
North Florida Trial Lawyers – Spartans at Thermopylae Award 2009
Florida’s Super Lawyers 2007-2015
Florida Justice Association
Gold Eagle Award 2007-2008

Lawyer to Legacy Award 2009

Eagle Legend Award 2009

Horseman Award 2014

B.J. Masterson Award for Professionalism 2014

Florida Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite 2006
FL Lawyer’s Action Group Leadership Award 2006
Academy of Trial Lawyers:
Bronze Eagle Award 2001, 2002, 2006

Legislative Leadership Award 2002-2003

Gold Eagle Award 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

FLAG Award 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

Saving the Civil Justice System Award 2005

Tiger in the Bush Award 2005

Silver Eagle Award

Florida Bar Award, Barbara Sanders Top Legal Writing 1993
Tom has held numerous prestigious positions for service to the public, his community and the Bar including:

President Florida Justice Association – the state trial lawyer’s association
President of the Jacksonville Chapter of American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) -membership restricted organization of trial attorneys
President of The Jacksonville Bar Association– elected by all of the attorneys in The Jacksonville Bar Association
President of the Jacksonville Trial Lawyers Association
Master of the Bench Inns of Court– highest standing available
Numerous Florida Supreme Court Appointments-including serving on the committee that creates the legal instructions that Judges give to Jurors during trials.
Tom was selected by The Florida Bar and the Florida Supreme Court to serve as a member of the North Florida Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee is responsible for investigating and prosecuting attorneys who are accused of unethical conduct. Ultimately, he served as chairman of this committee and was responsible for overseeing the prosecution of unethical attorneys. In addition, Tom served for two terms on the committee that was responsible for rendering legal opinions to judges throughout the state regarding how to ensure their conduct was ethical. As part of those duties, he assisted in writing the code of ethics that applies to the way in which judges conduct themselves. Tom has testified before the legislature about the legal system on multiple occasions. He has published numerous legal book chapters and legal articles and previously won The Florida Bar Award for top legal writing and has lectured other lawyers in seminars all over the country on a wide variety of subjects, including how to handle the trial of cases and how to present cases effectively to maximize their value and ethics.

Tom attended Sewanee – The University of the South and graduated with a degree in Economics. He then attended Stetson University College of Law, where he was awarded his law degree. A lifelong native of Jacksonville, Florida, Tom is consulted by lawyers from around the country and has won verdicts in Florida and in other states. In 2012 in the case of Chandler v. Memorial Hospital, Tom and his partner, Eric Ragatz won a verdict for the Chandler’s in the amount of $178 million. Due to statutory sanctions against the defendant, the resulting Judgments were approximately $232 million and believed to be one of the largest malpractice awards in the history of the state. Tom is admitted to all Florida Courts, the United States Middle District Courts, United States 11th Circuit Court and the United States Supreme Court.

Areas of Practice:
Nursing Home Litigation
Professional Liability
Product Liability
Personal Injury
Premesis Liability
Insurance Litigation
Commercial Litigation
Medical Malpractice

Certification/Specialties:
Civil Trial Lawyer, Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education
Bar Admissions:
Florida, 1984
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1986
U.S. Supreme Court, 1993

Education:
Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1983 J.D. Honors: President, Stetson Moot Court Board Honors: Member, National Moot Court Team
University of the South, 1981 B.A. Major: Economics
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Florida Justice Association-State Trial Lawyers President
American Board of Trial Advocates President, Jacksonville Chapter
Jacksonville Bar Association President
Jacksonville Justice Association President
Bench Inns of Court (Highest Standing Available) Master
Florida Bar Trial Lawyer’s Section “ Executive Council
Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers

Fraternities/Sororities:
Phi Alpha Delta

Thomas S. Edwards, Jr.

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