Founded in 1952 by Charles Boyd Jr. and Noah Jenerette Jr., Boyd & Jenerette recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
WHAT DOES THE FIRM DO?
It represents and advises clients in admiralty and maritime, employment, insurance, labor, litigation and appeals, mediation, personal injury and workers compensation law throughout Florida. “We do civil litigation on the defense side, representing insurance companies and self-insured employers,” said partner Glen McClary. “We do workers compensation, longshore work and all types of liability litigation. We do not handle any criminal or family law litigation.”
WHO IS IN THE FIRM?
The partners are McClary, E. Robert Williams, Benford Samuels, Kristen Van der Linde, Mark Eckels, Joseph Vaughn and Robert Schrader. The associates are Kirby Geraghty, Christopher Ritchie and Linda Wagner. The contract attorneys are Carle Felton and Gregg Wirtz. Each attorney has a secretary and they have a staff of paralegals, giving the firm a total of 30 employees.
WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED?
At 221 and 231 E. Adams St. “When the firm was opened, Boyd and Jenerette wanted to have a law firm that had its own building, which at the time was pretty unheard of. They built the building that we are in today [221].” They sold 221 and moved next door to 231 and added a second level. As the firm grew, they needed more room, so they bought back 221,” said McClary.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR CLIENTS?
AIG, Claims Center, USF&G, Crawford & Co. and The St. Paul Companies.
RECENT BIG CASES?
“We have a large toxic chemical exposure case going on right now.” They also have several slip-and-fall cases. “The jury verdicts tend to get pretty big on those. What you think may be a small case can turn into a big case.”
HOW DO YOU FIND OUT IF THE CASES ARE LEGITIMATE OR NOT?
“We do surveillance and investigative work, including a records check or data check to see if they have had previous claims. You obtain some previous discovery from looking at medical records and those type of things.”
INTERESTING CASES
One of the partners, Ben Samuels, had a case where the injured said they had Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy, a medical condition which can result in the skin turning red. “The claimant went into see the doctor and the doctor questioned it. The patient had painted his leg, so the doctor took an alcohol swab and removed the paint. We were able to get out of that one,” said McClary.
HOW IS YOUR FIRM UNIQUE?
“Since we have been here for 50 years, that says a lot for us. A lot of the attorneys have been here their entire career. We’ve had secretaries retire with over 30 years of service. Our current receptionist has been here about 30 years. We think we treat people pretty fairly and we think we have a good practice. We encourage our attorneys to develop a personal relationship with their clients, so it’s a one-on-one deal. They are not shuffled off to other people or looked at as just another client.”
GROWING THE FIRM?
“We are currently looking to hire two new attorneys, but it is a long process because we are really trying to concentrate and find the right person. We are a close knit firm, so the right person will have a combination of the right personality, intellect and drive.”
WHERE DO YOU LOOK FOR
NEW HIRES?
“Generally we get people right out of law school, but we are not opposed to looking at someone who has some years of experience and may be able to assist us in handling our work load.”
DO YOU HAVE ROOM FOR MORE ATTORNEYS?
“Space is a concern for us. Hopefully, we will have that addressed within the next year or so. We are looking to probably get some more space, maybe a building that we could all be in together. But also a building that would meet our hiring needs. We can’t really commit one way or the other between leasing or buying. We have a lot of parking here, which is really nice and convenient. We haven’t really reached a conclusion as to whether we are going to knock the buildings down, move to another building downtown or lease space in one of the high rises. We’d like to stay downtown if we could. Because of what we do, we want to stay near the courthouse and to be available to the activities in downtown. We wouldn’t be opposed to looking in the San Marco or Riverside area if we can’t stay downtown.”
VISIT FROM THE PAST
The firm has a weekly Friday luncheon and sometimes Jenerette will visit to share his stories of the early years.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
Many of the firm’s lawyers have their own civic involvements. The firm is involved with the United Way and the Jacksonville Bar Association. It receives many letters from charities needing help and the partners review the requests to decide who they can help. The firm also supports many other local fundraisers.
WEBSITE
http://boyd-jenerette.lawoffice.com.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis