The Law Offices of Kubicki Draper is a 40 year-old Miami-based firm with roughly 60 lawyers in locations throughout Florida including Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Tampa. Attorney/partner Matthew Posgay, who heads up the Jacksonville operation, spoke on the firm’s behalf.
WHEN WAS THE JACKSONVILLE OFFICE ESTABLISHED?
Their location on the Southbank was formed two-and-a-half years ago by Posgay when the company decided to expand statewide. He has been with the firm since 1995.
WHAT TYPE OF LAW DOES THE FIRM HANDLE?
“People typically call it insurance defense but I think you will get pigeon-holed when you say ‘insurance defense’ because we do more than that. We defend civil lawsuits. That’s not just insurance companies. It can be corporate entities that are self-insured or that have situations come up where they want advice from outside counsel. We also have an in-house workers’ compensation defense group, an in-house security litigation group, people that do civil rights work, an in-house appellate department and an in-house real estate department. Not every department is at every location but all of those departments are able to serve our clients on a statewide basis. We can serve a client from the very beginning of a lawsuit all the way through an appeal.”
WHY SET UP SHOP HERE?
“The companies that refer work to us said this was a need of theirs. They told us ‘You do great work for us in South Florida. We’d love to send work to you from other parts of the state but the travel costs would be prohibitive.’ Most insurance companies we work with have put an emphasis on using only a limited number of firms throughout the state.”
HOW IS BUSINESS IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA?
“We’re trying to expand and get more business. More work comes in every week. It seems like every six to nine months we hire somebody else, whether it’s a paralegal or a secretary or an attorney. Within the next year, we’ll probably have to hire another paralegal and at least one other attorney. The building next door, we already have space there and we’re working on the lease details.”
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON THE PAYROLL?
In addition to Posgay, the Jacksonville branch employs one associate attorney, Heath Stokley, who was hired in March. On staff they have one paralegal and two secretaries.
WHAT AREAS WITHIN THE FIRM’S SPECIALTY
DO YOU PRACTICE?
“I defend auto accidents, slip-and-falls, construction defect cases, medical malpractice and nursing home malpractice cases and product liability. The work that I get in is for local companies.”
STAFF EXPERIENCE
Both Stokley and Posgay graduated from the University of Florida. Before joining the firm, Posgay worked at his father’s law firm in his hometown of Ft. Lauderdale until he passed the bar examination.
Born in Wakulla Springs, Fla., Stokley worked for a civil defense firm in Orlando prior to moving here.
WHAT’S CHALLENGING FOR YOU?
“Trying to remain objective about some of the cases I work on and knowing that the attorney on the other side is doing their best job for their client. When I was a younger attorney, that was something that was difficult to deal with. It’s very important to separate the way someone acts in a trial or deposition versus the way they are as a human being. Just because you disagree with an individual on a case doesn’t mean you have to disagree on everything.”
WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN THE PROFESSION?
“Every attorney has to be able to market themselves for themselves and for their firm to bring in new business, to be involved with community activities, to get to know business and political leaders in the community but also, to be able to help their firm do better and to have their firm gain a better presence in whatever field they choose.”
—by Monica Chamness