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Attorney Howard Coker was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (FLABOTA) Saturday night during the organization’s 10th annual convention in Orlando. U.S. Senator Mel Martinez was the keynote speaker at the presentation ceremony attended by FLABOTA members and guests from across the state.
Since the award was founded in 1992, candidates for the Trial Lawyer of the Year distinction have been select attorneys whose reputation and results have been at the highest level — excellent advocates with distinguished careers. Coker is a senior partner in Coker, Schickel, Sorenson & Daniel — a trial law firm that represents plaintiffs in complex civil litigation. He has been actively engaged in both professional and community service throughout his active career.
Coker is past president of The Florida Bar, the Florida Justice Association and FLABOTA. He is also a past president of the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society. In 2006, Coker received the Perry Nichols Award presented by the Florida Justice Association Lawyers in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding and distinguished service in the pursuit of justice.
FLABOTA’s “Trial Lawyer of the Year” award comes to Coker in recognition for his record of results for clients, his work to promote legal professionalism and his unparalleled commitment to ABOTA. Coker helped organize the Jacksonville chapter of ABOTA and served as its president in 1988. By 1997 he was president of FLABOTA, and is now a Diplomate of ABOTA and a Fellow of the ABOTA Foundation.
Tampa Attorney Martin Garcia, a past president of FLABOTA, presented Coker with the award.
“Howard Coker epitomizes those whom FLABOTA seeks to honor with the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. He has successfully tried more than 200 cases to jury verdict and has unselfishly shared his leadership skills through his public service to the legal profession and his community,” said Garcia.
“I look back on my career with amazement and gratitude,” said Coker, who was named the Financial News & Daily Record’s Lawyer of the Year earlier this year. “I am and always have been proud to be an attorney and to be able to help people whose lives have been severely impacted by the actions of others — to help protect and defend their rights under the law. It is a great honor to be recognized for my work in this way by an organization that includes some of the finest lawyers in our country today.”
In addition to “Trial Lawyer of the Year” FLABOTA presents a Jurist of the Year award to a selected judge. The 2007 recipient of this recognition was Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis.