what is fred levin lawyer pensacola net worth

by Dr. Harmon Kerluke 3 min read

Who is Fred Levin?

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

How much money did Fredric Levin give to the University of Florida?

In 1998, Levin gave the University of Florida law school $10 million, the second largest cash donation ever given to a public law school as of that time. In 1999, the law school name was officially changed to the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law. In 1998, Levin contributed $2 million to the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation.

What did Fred Levin say about the law?

↑ 2.02.12.22.32.4"Fred Levin: 'I love the law and it's been good to me.'" Pensacola News Journal, February 21, 1999. ↑ 3.03.1"Are lawyers running America?" Time, July 9, 2000. ↑"Fatal Subtraction."

Did Fred Levin call Pensacola home?

"Editorial: Fred Levin, the world's greatest lawyer, called Pensacola home". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 2021-01-17.

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Who is Fred Levin?

Fred Levin. Fredric Gerson Levin (29 March 1937 – 12 January 2021) was an American plaintiffs' lawyer in the state of Florida, who served as chairman of Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O'Brien, Barr, Mougey, P.A., a law firm in Northwest Florida. The Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida is named ...

How much did Levin's law firm make?

Levin's law firm would end up earning a fee of more than $300 million. Soon thereafter, Levin appeared on ABC's " 20/20 " talking to reporter John Stossel. While interviewing him for the piece, Levin lit up a cigarette, which ABC highlighted in the segment.

What was the Levin case?

Levin received national attention with the case of Thorshov v. L&N. On November 9, 1977, Dr. Jon Thorshov, a thirty-eight-year-old physician, his wife, his four-year-old daughter, and his one-year-old son were at their home in Pensacola when a freight train operated by L&N derailed near their home and released anhydrous ammonia. The family attempted to escape their home, but were overcome by the fumes. Dr. and Ms. Thorshov died, and both children sustained serious physical injuries. In 1980, Levin received a jury verdict for the family in the amount of $18 million. As a result of the verdict, US magazine did a story on Levin in its swimsuit preview issue. On the cover were Randi Oakes from CHiPs, Morgan Fairchild from Flamingo Road, and Donna Mills from Knots Landing. Inside was a half-page picture of Levin standing in front of an L&N railcar under the headline, "I'll Sue."

What was the first case that Levin won?

His first case involved an insurance dispute over a residential fire claim. The case ended up before a jury. Levin won the case and decided he wanted to become a trial lawyer.

Why was Levin not allowed to testify?

Southern Company took the position that Levin was not permitted to testify because his knowledge was subject to attorney–client privilege. Southern Company finally agreed to allow Levin to testify, but only on the limited subject of his conversation with Jake on the morning of the plane crash. Southern Company would not permit Levin to talk to the National Transportation Safety Board or the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

How many jury verdicts did Levin get?

Levin received more than thirty jury ver dicts in excess of $1,000,000 (six in excess of $10,000,000). At various points in his career he held the national record for jury verdicts involving the wrongful death of a child, the wrongful death of a housewife, the wrongful death of a wage earner, and the largest personal injury verdict in the state of Florida. He was listed in every edition of Best Lawyers in America; was a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates; and was inducted into The National Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2009.

What is Fred Levin's life like?

Levin's life was summarized in the weekly medical journal The Lancet. In its December 2014 edition, the author wrote: " And Give Up Showbiz? explores the extraordinary life of a pioneering and often controversial lawyer. Seen as an inspiring innovator by some, and a flamboyant self-promoter by others, Levin's work was not always met with a favourable outcome. Levin was accused of two murders, and often met with controversy because of his relentless fight for justice against big companies. His home life, while loving, was often neglected in his pursuit of business, and this is mentioned several times in the book—bringing a sense of balance to the stories. . . . Love him or hate him, Fred Levin has enhanced the lives of many who needed help, and lived a life that only could be emulated in a Hollywood movie . . . and probably will be."

Who is Martin Levin?

Martin Levin. Fredric Gerson Levin(b. 1937, d. 2021) was a prominent plaintiffs' attorney and principal of the law firm Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Echsner & Proctor, best known for the $13.2 billion tobacco settlement he helped win for the State of Florida.

Why does Levin regret his career?

Levin has frequently said that he regrets dedicating so much time to his career, at the expense of his family life. "My wife raised a family without a husband and it was very difficult for her," he said. "She suffered a great deal and as a result has a lot of physical problems today." [2]He has since devoted himself to spending more time with his grandchildren than he did with his own children.

How much did Levin donate to the tobacco settlement?

After the firm received around $300 million for its part in the tobacco settlement, an amount Levin conceded was "totally obscene,"[3]Levin announced two major donations: $10 million to his former law school at the University of Florida, and $2 million to the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation.

When did Levin quit representing Juan Diaz?

In 2007 he began representing Juan DĂ­az, offering his services without a fee, but resigned in February 2008. "I can no longer in good conscience represent Juan Diaz," Levin wrote at the time, lamenting his own lack of contact with the boxer. "I have never had a client complain about anything that I have done in the practice of law until now." [11]

Who is Marilyn Levin's son?

In 1992, Levin and his partner Mike Papantonioestablished the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation, a charitable organization that was for many years headed by Levin's son Martin. Martin said that many of his father's donations are made in Marilyn Levin's name. "He doesn't want people to know about this side of him.

Who was Levin's brother?

Upon returning to Pensacola, Levin joined the firm that his brother Davidhad started with Reubin Askewin 1955. His first case was for a woman whose house had burned down.[3] The insurance company was represented by Bert Lane. "Bert was the best defense lawyer probably in the South and he had forced me into a jury trial. I wasn't planning on being a trial lawyer. I was just waiting to go to tax school. … I tried to settle for $18,500 and he had offered me $16,000. The jury came back with $50,000." [2]

Did Levin return calls?

One of Levin's signatures is his willingness to return phone calls personally, which he traces to his law school days; his new daughter Marcihad gotten sick and needed a pediatrician, but none of the doctors would return his calls for several days. This had a "profound effect" on him, and he credits his first verdict of more than a million dollars to the fact that he returned the client's phone call on a Saturday. [2]

How much did Fred Levin give to the University of Florida?

In 2006, Fred gave the University of Florida law school an additional $2 million to help fund the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center, which has become one of the top advocacy centers in America.

Where did Fred Levin practice law?

In 1961, Fred began practicing in the law firm of Levin & Askew (now known as Levin Papantonio Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O’Brien, Barr & Mougey) in Pensacola. The firm was founded by Fred’s brother David and Reubin Askew, who eventually would go on to become a two-term governor of Florida and candidate for President of the United States.

How did Fred Levin become a partner?

After the first semester of law school, Fred was ranked at the top of his class. It was then that Fred found the courage to approach George to become his study partner. One day Fred was studying in the library. George walked in, and everyone started shuffling him. Fred got up and walked over to George, and asked if he wanted to be his study partner, and George said yes. The two remained study partners for the next two years. When the law school was renamed to the Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 1999, George attended and spoke in support of Fred.

How much did Fred Levin donate to Dana-Farber?

In 2019, Fred donated $2 million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to establish the Fredric G. Levin Endowment in Translational Cancer Research. Death. Fred died on January 12, 2021, of COVID; after having survived stage 4 lung and brain cancer.

What is Fred Levin's gift?

The gift was given in honor of Dr. Raphael Bueno for saving Fred’s life after he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.

How much did Fred give Charlotte's Web Holdings?

In 2019, Fred gave 300,000 shares of Charlotte's Web Holdings, LLC stock to the University of Florida Levin College of Law. At the time of the announcement of the donation, the stock was valued at $6 million.

How long were Fred and Marilyn married?

The two had been married for 51 years upon Marilyn’s passing on February 6, 2011. In 1958 Fred entered the University of Florida College of Law. In the first few weeks of law school, he received news that his brother Martin didn’t have long to live, succumbing to the end-stages of leukemia.

Who is Fred Levin?

Legendary Pensacola attorney Fred Levin is remembered for his humor, his flamboyant style, his philanthropy and for the thousands of lives he changed through his legal work that reshaped the American legal system. Born and raised in Pensacola, Levin became one of the nation's best-known trial attorneys and forever changed the practice ...

Where did Fred Levin live?

He also donated his $8 million home called the Tanglewood estate on Bayou Texar, which reflected Levin's eccentric style for which he was known. "Fred was a legend, a lion and larger than life, and I can't imagine a world without Fred Levin," UWF President Martha Saunders told the News Journal.

What happened to Fred Levin?

Levin won punitive damages in another case against the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company in 1980 after a train derailment in Escambia County led to an ammonia leak from one of the railcars that killed a husband and wife who left behind two children. â–ş Fred Levin donates $2 million to cancer research.

How much money did Levin donate to the University of Florida?

Levin used $10 million of his fee in the tobacco case to donate to the University of Florida law school, which agreed to name the school after him. The donation caused an uproar in legal circles as attorneys across the state threatened to withhold donations to the school because of the decision.

How much did Levin settle with tobacco companies?

Other states followed suit and Levin found himself agreeing to a $13 billion settlement with the tobacco companies in 1997. Levin's firm received a $275 million fee in the case.

Why was Levin criticized?

Levin was criticized by other attorneys for using advertisements and appearances in the media, but he knew the attention helped his law practice.

What was the irony of Levin's death?

Proctor said the deep irony of Levin's death is that he was scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on the day he ended up dying from the virus. "It's just tragic that COVID got him," Proctor said. "I know his family wants everybody to remember him by saying, 'Go wear a mask.'.

Who is Fred Levin?

Fred Levin is a complex fella. You know, one of those riddles wrapped in a mystery inside a yacht-full of charisma and a mansion-full of cash. The legendary Pensacola trial attorney is hated and loved, sometimes by the same people. His ego is as big as his bank account. He was an absent husband and father who is now beloved by his children ...

What is Fred Levin's story?

Fred Levin's story is told in biography, warts and all. Fred Levin is a complex fella. You know, one of those riddles wrapped in a mystery inside a yacht-full of charisma and a mansion-full of cash. The legendary Pensacola trial attorney is hated and loved, sometimes by the same people. His ego is as big as his bank account.

What was the law that Levin sued for?

His most celebrated case was in 1993, when he rewrote the Florida Medicaid Third Party Recovery Act to permit the State of Florida to sue the Tobacco Industry to recover expenditures for treating illnesses caused by cigarette smoking. The legislation eventually resulted in a $13 billion dollar settlement for the State of Florida. Of course, Levin got his cut. Shortly after the landmark legislation, Levin was profiled by George Magazine in a flashy green tuxedo, drinking Crown Royal and, of course, smoking a cigarette.

What did Levin's family want?

Levin said his family wanted for "nothing" when it came to material goods. They had the fancy cars, the clothes, all the money they could spend. But Dad was rarely around.

Where does Martin Levin live?

Martin Levin agreed. "That would be correct,'' he said from his home in Boston, where he oversees the firm's own legal needs. "Money cannot bring you happiness, but it can certainly eliminate a lot of issues in life that cause tremendous stress.". Still there are regrets.

Who was the senior vice president of Gulf Power Company who died in a plane crash in 1989?

Levin listened to Young on the speakerphone during the recent interview with the Pensacola News Journal and just chuckled and shook his head as he heard Young talk about the rumors about Horton and Junior. (Horton was a senior vice president of Gulf Power Company who died in a plane crash in 1989.

Is Levin still working?

Levin still works daily, and is currently working on a case that will take him to California for a few months. "I not only enjoy it, but people think I'm great at it,'' he said of his law career. "I feel like I'm a better trial lawyer than ever.". Besides, it keeps him in the spotlight.

How much money did Levin give to law school?

Shortly after the tobacco case, a representative from the University of Florida sought Levin’s assistance in soliciting another person for a $6 million gift, which would include naming a building for the donor. After the representative quipped that for $10 million, they’d name the Law School after the donor, Levin decided he wanted to do that, with some of his funds he earned from the tobacco case. The second largest cash gift to a public law school at that point, it was unusual in that the gift was unrestricted.

What law did Levin write?

Levin wrote the Medicaid Third-Party Recovery Act , then had a friend in the Senate introduce and pass it in the last moments of the final day of the session.

Why did Levin want to turn his house into a Jewish club?

As his fame grew, he sought to purchase a home by the entrance to Pensacola Country Club, leading to a visit by some of his would-be neighbors, who tried to convince him it would not be fair to his kids to look over the fence at other kids swimming and playing tennis at a place where they could not be members because they were Jewish. Not taking the bait, Levin suggested that he planned to turn the property into a Jewish social club, after which a group of neighbors bought the home instead.

What is Levin known for?

While Levin was known for numerous high-profile cases and transforming trial law, he is best known for taking on Big Tobacco, opening the floodgates for billions of dollars in judgments against the tobacco companies.

What was Levin's biggest case?

His biggest case was against the tobacco companies. Rather than suing on behalf of one client, whose illness may or may not have been tobacco-related, and determining which company would be liable, Levin thought the state could sue for Medicaid costs for treating tobacco-related illnesses. This way, the case would be based on smokers’ illnesses in the aggregate, with responsibility based on market share.

How much did Teri Levin donate to the YMCA?

In 2015, he and sister-in-law Teri Levin gave $1 million to the YMCA of Northwest Florida for its new facility in Pensacola. The next year, he gave $1 million to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition for its work on artificial intelligence.

How much did Levin donate to the University of Florida?

With a “give it now, while you’re living” philosophy, Levin donated over $35 million to various causes, especially the University of Florida and the University of West Florida. In 2013, he gave $1 million in memory of his wife to the Chabad student center at the University of Florida, which he believed was the donation of which she would have been most proud.

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Overview

  • Fred Levin is most popular as a Legal advisor. He was brought into the world on Walk 29, 1937 in Pensacola. He is one of the effective Legal counselors. Fred Levin has positioned on the rundown of those celebrated individuals who were brought into the world on Walk 29, 1937. As of 2022, Fred Levin Net Worthis approximately $160 million. He is one o...
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Personal life

Legal career

Tobacco litigation

Florida Bar

Fredric Gerson Levin (March 29, 1937 – January 12, 2021) was an American plaintiffs' lawyer who served as chairman of Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O'Brien, Barr, Mougey, P.A., a law firm in Northwest Florida. The Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida is named for him because of a monetary donation he made to the school in 1999.

Death of Jake Horton

Levin was born in 1937, in Pensacola, Florida. He grew up in a conservative Jewish household, with his mother (Rose), father (Abe), and brothers (David, Herman, Stanley, Martin, and Allen). His father was a pawnbroker catering to the large military presence in the Pensacola area, and also ran the concessions at the Pensacola Greyhound Park and at a store on Pensacola Beach. Levin atten…

Career in boxing

In 1961, Levin began practicing in the law firm of Levin & Askew (now known as Levin Papantonio Rafferty) in Pensacola. The firm was founded by his brother David and Reubin Askew, who eventually would go on to become a two-term governor of Florida and candidate for President of the United States.
Levin began his legal career in family law, but once a client explained that her h…

Fighting racial injustice

Levin played a significant role in the litigation brought by numerous states against the tobacco industry during the 1990s. Levin was at a trial lawyer conference when another attorney saw Levin drinking whiskey and smoking a cigarette. The attorney told Levin that smoking was going to kill him, and that he was working with the State of Mississippi to sue the tobacco industry for compensation for all the money Mississippi was spending in Medicaid dollars treating smoking …

Early Life & Education

Levin had a lengthy and hostile relationship with the Florida Bar whom he often and openly referred to as "lily-white elitists, country club, men". He has been prosecuted by the Florida Bar on two occasions, and formally investigated on another two occasions. In the first investigation, Levin stated on his primetime, live, call-in, television show that doctors have "this God-complex--they think they are above the law." The investigation did not result in bar charges. In the second inves…

Boxing Management

On April 10, 1989, at approximately 1:00 p.m. C.S.T., a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 200 crashed within minutes of takeoff from Pensacola Regional Airport, killing the two pilots and the single passenger, Jacob F. "Jake" Horton. The plane was owned by Southern Company, an American electric utility holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company is currently the 16th largest utility company in the world, and the fourth largest in the U.S.

Philanthropy and Donations

In 1989, Levin began managing the boxing career of Roy Jones Jr., who had just returned from Seoul, Korea, having earned a silver medal in the 1988 Olympic Games. The fact that Roy did not win the gold medal became an international issue after it was discovered that three of the judges had been subject to inappropriate contact, and yet awarded the gold medal to Roy's opponent or ru…

Personal Life

When Levin entered the University of Florida College of Law in 1958, George Starke, the first African American student to enter a public institution in the state of Florida, entered with Levin's class. Levin described the first day as follows: "They had all of us on one side of the auditorium and he was all by himself, except for all the Secret Service people. Up to that point, I had not thought muc…

Published Works

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Fred Levin was born in 1937 to and Rose and Abe Levin, a South Palafox Street pawnbroker who was president of the B'Nai Israel Synagogue when it moved to its 9th Avenue location. Levin attended Pensacola High School and in 1954 was among the first class to graduate from the school's new Maxwell Street location, …
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