by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Jacksonville has a new law firm downtown.
Wicker, Smith, O’Hara, McCoy, Graham & Ford opened earlier this summer in the Bank of America tower. Primarily focused on medical malpractice defense, the office marks the seventh Wicker, Smith location in Florida.
“For many years, clients have been asking us when we were going to open a branch in Jacksonville,” said Rick Ramsey, managing partner. “A lot of our clients are statewide. Insurance companies, if they use one particular law firm, would like to use them across the entire state because there’s that familiarity. Our most northern office was in Orlando so we were leaving a lot of people out. Last summer we decided the time was right. It was something we had been batting around for a few years.”
Ramsey has been with the firm for 12 years. The office has five lawyers and about 95 statewide. All of the attorneys and staff members, except one, were hired locally. The firm chooses to select associates fresh out of law school, unencumbered by “bad habits” they may have learned elsewhere. Three of its four associates are lateral transfers. One hails from a federal court clerkship; another has a year and a half of experience in New Orleans; while the third has five years experience in Jacksonville, doing similar work.
Though it’s just now getting settled, the office may be looking for larger accommodations in the near future.
“It’s certainly possible [to expand],” said Ramsey. “We signed a five-year lease and we’re almost out of space already.”
Ramsey says the firm defends general practitioners and hospitals. The insurance company, through medical malpractice policies, actually hires the firm’s attorneys on behalf of the doctor or hospital.
“Statistically, juries have found for the doctor and against the patient probably greater than 50 percent of the time, but times are changing,” he said. “We get a lot of sympathetic cases against us where people are badly injured, but it’s not the doctor’s fault. It’s just a complication of the procedure. Doctors are now coming under attack in many different ways. HMOs are squeezing them, jury verdicts are greater and insurance premiums are rising. It’s always difficult, never easy. You can never predict what a jury is going to do.”
Civil litigation is the firm’s niche. Aviation, breach of contract, nursing home, trucking company defense and employment discrimination are a few examples of what cases the firm handles.
However, the firm refuses plaintiff work.
“A lot of firms mix plaintiff and defense work,” said Ramsey. “There would be conflicts of interest. We want to be known for our defense work. It’s quite a temptation, though; plaintiff work can be very lucrative.”
Wicker, Smith has offices in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Naples, West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. Their goal is to have 100 lawyers statewide by the end of the year — which is reachable, according to Ramsey.
In the Jacksonville office, Ramsey juggles cases and files in addition to his new administrative and technical duties. A graduate of Catholic University in Washington, D.C., he developed a passion for the law after watching his brother’s legal career develop. Now a resident, he expressed delight in the legal environment of which he is now part.
“When I go to hearings in Jacksonville, quite often the judges will sit around with the lawyers after the hearing, shooting the breeze,” he said. “The judges really read the pleadings and prepare for hearings like the lawyers do, which is unusual and really gratifying. It seems to be a very friendly, laid back legal community where people will advocate hard for their position but will do it without becoming antagonistic. I’m very impressed with the professionalism I’ve seen.”