from staff
Jacksonville lawyers A. Graham Allen, Jeptha Barbour, and Rodney Margol have become Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), considered a premier professional organization composed of pre-eminent trial lawyers in the U.S. and Canada.
They were three of the four Florida attorneys inducted in front of about 700 people during the recent 2008 Spring Meeting of the College in Tucson, Ariz. The fourth attorney was Francis McDonald from Orlando.
Founded in 1950, the College is composed of trial bar members from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation to “experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality,” a release stated.
Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years trial experience before being considered for Fellowship. Fellowship in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently about 5,675 Fellows in the U.S. and Canada, including active fellows, emeritus fellows, judicial fellows (those who ascended to the bench after their induction) and honorary fellows.
Allen is an attorney at Rogers Towers, where he serves as chair of the litigation department, and practices in the areas of commercial and construction litigation. Barbour is an attorney at Marks Gray P.A., where he practices primarily in the areas of civil litigation, including products liability, medical malpractice, disability, life and health insurance litigation and commercial litigation. Margol is a member of the firm of Margol & Pennington, specializing in the areas of medical negligence and personal injury litigation.
All three are board certified in civil trial law by The Florida Bar.