Henry E. Gare is a sole
practitioner with a newly-established accident and injury law firm in the Morris Building in Riverside. He opened July 1.
ORIGINS
Before striking out on his own, Gare was a partner in the San Marco law firm of Nooney & Gare. He also worked for Anderson & Howell in Jacksonville Beach, and for the first five years of his career, Gare worked for attorney Fred Abbott.
WHY HANG OUT HIS
OWN SHINGLE?
“I love personal injury law and I always wanted to own my own business. It was a good opportunity to do both. This space came open and it was exactly what I needed.”
WHY SPECIALIZE IN PERSONAL INJURY?
“In law school, I clerked for an attorney who did exclusively asbestos. I found that I enjoyed the litigation and learning about different medical issues. So all I’ve ever done is plaintiff personal injury. Right now, about
70 percent of my practice
deals with automobile
accidents. The rest is premises liability and some product liability or negligent security issues.”
LAW SCHOOL
University of Miami.
WHY CHOOSE THIS CAREER?
“My uncle was a career public defender up North. That fascinated me, so I thought I wanted to go into criminal work. But when I clerked for that attorney in Miami, I saw that what I really enjoyed was personal injury.”
ARE YOU FROM MIAMI?
“Yes. I was born up North, but I grew up in Miami. My wife Karen grew up here.”
DOES HE HAVE
ANY CHILDREN?
“My little boy, Jack, is six, and my little girl, Carly, is three.” Gare and his family live in Mandarin.
WHAT IS HIS GREATEST CHALLENGE?
“With a new firm, the challenge is learning how to do the administration of the firm and practice law at the same time. With personal injury, each day you learn something new. Learning about the different medicine involved can be challenging.”
WHAT IS REWARDING ABOUT HIS WORK?
“I enjoy learning about the medical aspects. We learn about accident reconstruction, machinery, how products are made, the details of that.”
TO WHAT GROUPS
DOES HE BELONG?
Gare is a member of the
Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the Association
of Trial Lawyers of America,
the Jacksonville Bar Association and on the board for
the Jacksonville Trial Lawyers Association.
GIVING BACK
Through his clientele, Gare has become involved with Concord Christian Family Center. He routinely volunteers his time to counsel children there about their careers.
DOES HE THINK THERE IS A GLUT OF P.I. LAWYERS?
“There is a lot of competition, absolutely. But, if you do a good job for your clients, they can be loyal to you.”
HOW DOES HE
DISTINGUISH HIMSELF?
“It is a smaller office. I deal directly with the clients from start to finish.”
HOW BIG IS HIS STAFF?
“I have one paralegal and we share staff in the building. Being a sole practitioner, I miss the camaraderie, but there are three other attorneys in the building.”
WHAT ARE HIS
OUTSIDE INTERESTS?
Snowskiing, trips to the North Carolina mountains and coaching his son’s soccer team top Gare’s list of hobbies. He also enjoys tinkering with computers and electronics or catching repeats of “Seinfeld.”
WHO’S HIS HERO?
“My dad. I think he’s very courageous because in the middle of his life, he risked everything to change careers. He went from owning retail stores to becoming a stockholder, something he always wanted to do. It was scary, but he worked hard and became successful. It taught me, with what I’m doing now, that success doesn’t happen overnight. It’s setting goals and working hard every day.”
— by Monica Tsai