Levin Papantonio Rafferty Law Firm

Bios

• 

  Fred Levin

  Attorney

  Fred Levin is one of the most successful trial attorneys in the country. He has received more than twenty-five jury verdicts in excess of $1,000,000 (six in excess of $10,000,000). At various points in his career, he has held the national record for jury verdicts involving the wrongful death of a child, the wrongful death of a housewife, the wrongful death of a wage earner, and the largest personal injury verdict in the state of Florida. He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization limited to 100 members throughout the country, and has been listed in every edition of the publication "Best Lawyers in America." Mr. Levin received the "Perry Nichols Award" in 1994, which is the highest honor bestowed by the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, and is given in recognition for a person's lifetime achievements in the pursuit of justice. The late Chief Judge in Escambia County, M.C. Blanchard, stated the following to The Florida Bar about Mr. Levin: "He is the best we have in the First Judicial Circuit and probably in the State of Florida. . . . . He has, and deserves, a reputation for being one of the best trial attorneys in the nation." Mr. Levin has managed the careers of many champion boxers. In 1994, Mr. Levin received the Rocky Marciano National Boxing Manager of the year award. In 1995, he was selected as National Boxing Manager of the year by the National Boxing Writers Association. For the year 1999, the National Law Journal named Mr. Levin as the top civil litigator in Florida. This honor encompassed plaintiff and defense counsel. Mr. Levin was also named in the October 4, 1999, edition of the National Law Journal as one of the "Top Ten Litigators for 1999", which again included both plaintiff and defense counsel. Also, in 1999, Mr. Levin was honored at the United Nations by being made a Chief in the Republic of Ghana. This honor was bestowed on Mr. Levin because of his lifetime of dedication to equal justice for people of all races. At the same time, Mr. Levin received a citation honoring him by the United States Congressional Black Caucus. Over twenty years ago, Mr. Levin gifted the first professorship at the University of West Florida, which gift was in honor of his father. Since that time, Mr. Levin, along with his late brother David, and law partner, the late Lefferts L. Mabie, Jr., have gifted a number of professorships and a Chair at the University of Florida law school. Additionally, in 1998, Mr. Levin gave the University of Florida law school the largest cash donation ever given to a public law school. In 1999, the law school name was officially changed to the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law. In 2009, Mr. Levin gave another large cash gift to the law school to have a state-of-the-art trial advocacy facility built. When asked about his greatest accomplishment, however, Mr. Levin states he is most proud of his idea in 1993 of rewriting the Florida Medicaid Third Party Recovery Act to permit the State of Florida to sue the Tobacco Industry to recover expenditures for treating illnesses caused by cigarette smoking. Mr. Levin wrote the legislation, and was instrumental in its passage. Immediately after its passage, the legislation was described as "the single biggest blow against the tobacco industry in United States history." The legislation eventually resulted in a $13 billion dollar settlement for the State of Florida. Mr. Levin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 1958, and graduated number three in his law school class from the University of Florida in 1961. In 2007, Mr. Levin was voted the #1 most influential and powerful man in Northwest Florida by the Independent News. In 2009, Mr. Levin was inducted into the National Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. At the time, he was one of only nine living members. In 2012, Mr. Levin was selected as a trustee for the Florida Democratic Party. In 2014, five-time New York Times bestseller Josh Young released a comprehensive biography on the life of Mr. Levin. It is called And Give Up Showbiz? How Fred Levin Beat Big Tobacco, Avoided Two Murder Prosecutions, Became a Chief of Ghana, Earned Boxing Manager of the Year & Transformed American Law. In 2015, Mr. Levin was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by National Trial Lawyers.

  Services:

  Link: Fred Levin

• 

  Mike Papantonio

  Attorney

  Mike Papantonio is a senior partner with the law firm of Levin Papantonio. He has received numerous multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate malfeasance. His award-winning work handling thousands of mass tort cases throughout the nation has helped make Levin Papantonio one of the largest plaintiff law firms in the country. Mr. Papantonio is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers (past president), American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Association for Justice, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, and the Florida Justice Association (where he served on the board of directors for five years). Mr. Papantonio is one of the few living attorneys inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. He is listed in the publications Best Lawyers in America and Leading American Attorney. In 2017, Mr. Papantonio and the firm’s C8 trial team helped secure a $920 million dollar settlement against DuPont, related to the company’s West Virginia plant discharging the chemical PFOA (C8) into the air and water around the Ohio River Valley and exposing citizens to this toxic Teflon chemical. In 2016, Levin Papantonio won the Special Litigation (Environmental) category in the National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers recognition program, after Mr. Papantonio led the firm’s C8 trial team to one of several successful trials against DuPont. In 2015, Mr. Papantonio was inducted into the National Trial Lawyers' Hall of Fame. He also was awarded the Defender of Justice Award by the American Association for Justice. In 2014, the Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center of Temple University Beasley School of Law presented Mr. Papantonio with the Inaugural Award for Social Justice, honoring him for his outstanding contributions to social justice. In 2012, Mr. Papantonio became President of The National Trial Lawyers. In 2011, Mr. Papantonio was awarded the Perry Nichols Award, the highest honor given by the Florida Justice Association. The award recognizes individuals who fight valiantly and with distinction for justice throughout their lives. In 2008, Mr. Papantonio was selected by the Public Justice Foundation as a finalist for its Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. In 2007, as lead trial counsel in the environmental class action case of Perrine v. Dupont, Mr. Papantonio received a jury verdict for a West Virginia community with an estimated value in excess of $380 million. In 1998, Mr. Papantonio teamed with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Hudson Riverkeepers, and Water Keeper Alliance to establish a Riverkeepers program in Northwest Florida known as the Emerald Coastkeepers, Inc., a full-time organization that serves the community as a public advocate for the waterways of Northwest Florida. Coastkeepers and Riverkeepers are known for their willingness to take polluters to court. Mr. Papantonio has authored and co-authored instructional articles on handling complex litigation for trial lawyers. He is the founder of the cutting-edge conference, Mass Torts Made Perfect, which trains thousands of lawyers on how to better their legal practice. The organization has hosted speakers such as former President Bill Clinton, James Carville, Johnnie Cochran, Bob Woodward, Elliot Spitzer, Jack Kemp, Al Sharpton, Arianna Huffington, Dick Morris, Paul Begala, and Dan Rather. Mr. Papantonio is an author of four motivational books for lawyers, and a series of legal thrillers. He is also co-author of Air America: The Playbook, which was listed by The New York Times as a Political Best Seller. Mr. Papantonio is the host of the international television show America’s Lawyer, where he provides in-depth investigations into major corporate and government corruption. He is also the host of the nationally syndicated radio program Ring of Fire, along with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Sam Seder. Mr. Papantonio has conducted hundreds of recorded interviews with guests including Erin Brockovich, Dan Rather, Helen Thomas, Howard Zinn, Arianna Huffington, Mary Chapin Carpenter, David Crosby, Merle Haggard, Morgan Spurlock, John Edwards, Bill Moyers, Rickie Lee Jones, Alanis Morissette, Pete Seeger, Jackson Browne, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Henry Rollins, Ted Sorensen, and Elizabeth Kucinich. Mr. Papantonio’s role on Ring of Fire is featured in the movie, Jesus Camp, which was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. As a political commentator, he has frequently appeared on MSNBC, Free Speech TV, RT America Network, and Fox News.

  Services:

  Link: Mike Papantonio

• 

  Virginia Buchanan

  Attorney

  Virginia Buchanan is a shareholder at Levin, Papantonio, having joined the firm in 1989. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida in 1985, and received her Juris Doctorate Degree, with honors, from the University of Florida in 1989. She is a member of Florida Super Lawyers and Florida Legal Elite, and listed by Martindale-Hubbell as a Top Rated Lawyer in Personal Injury. While attending the University of Florida, Ms. Buchanan was a Bickel Scholar, Scripps-Howard Scholar and received several jurisprudence awards. She was selected to the University of Florida Moot Court Team and was a Finalist in the Florida Annual Moot Court Competition and Finalist in Benton National Moot Court Competition in Chicago, Illinois. She was selected to the Order of the Coif and to Phi Delta Phi, an honors fraternity, while in school. Ms. Buchanan is a member of the American Bar Association and the sections pertaining to insurance, premises liability and commercial litigation. She has been a member of the subcommittee of the American Bar Association on legislation affecting litigation and was appointed to a special committee of the American Bar Association on health care. Ms. Buchanan is a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America), as well as the Florida Justice Association (formerly Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers). She has served on the Board of Directions of the Florida Bar Foundation and has been Treasurer of ABOTA, Chairperson of the Civil Process Server Grievance Committee and has been a member of the Chief Judge's Council on Children. She currently is a member of the Women's Caucus of the Florida Justice Association, and serves on The Florida Bar Committee on Student Education/Admissions. Ms. Buchanan has served on the Judicial Liaison Committee of the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association and as a member of the Escambia-Santa Rosa County Bar Association Grievance Committee for attorney complaints, and has also been a member of the First Circuit Fee Arbitration Committee. She has served on the Women's Life Center Advisory Board to the West Florida Regional Medical Center and to the Board of Directors to the Shands Home Care Project.

  Services:

  Link: Virginia Buchanan

• 

  Troy Rafferty

  Attorney

  Troy Rafferty is a shareholder at Levin, Papantonio. He litigates mass tort, pharmaceutical, and major personal injury cases throughout the country. Mr. Rafferty has been recognized as one of the country's top lawyers through inclusion in the publication, The Best Lawyers in America, as well as The Legal 500. He has also been recognized as one of Florida's top lawyers by Florida Super Lawyers. Mr. Rafferty has been awarded an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, the highest rating for competence and ethics issued by that publication, and reserved for attorneys designated as outstanding in their field. Mr. Rafferty has been selected by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers. He is a fellow in the International Society of Barristers. Mr. Rafferty has been appointed to handle some of the nation's largest pharmaceutical and mass tort cases. He currently serves as co-lead counsel in the In re: Gadolinium Based Contrast Agent Litigation, which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the In re: Abilify Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida; the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the In re: Benicar Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey; the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the In re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; and the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the In re: Fresenius Granuflo/Naturalyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He also has been appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to serve on the Executive Committee for the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee regarding the Yamaha Rhino defective product litigation. He was appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to serve on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the national Vioxx Litigation, which resulted in a $4.7 billion national settlement. He was also appointed to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the national Zyprexa Litigation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. This litigation resulted in a $700 million settlement on behalf of clients throughout the country. Mr. Rafferty was also one of the leading attorneys in the national Rezulin litigation, which was filed in the Southern District of New York. In 2001, he and his partner obtained a $40 million jury verdict in Corpus Christi, Texas for a woman who took the diabetes drug Rezulin. He has tried numerous complex pharmaceutical cases throughout the country. Mr. Rafferty is board certified in civil trial law by The Florida Bar. He is active in the Florida Justice Association, where he is an officer and in the past served on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. In 2009 and 2010, he was awarded the Gold Eagle Award for "exhibiting a steadfast duty to protect and defend civil justice." Mr. Rafferty is a frequent lecturer throughout the country to trial lawyers on mass tort litigation and general trial practice. He is currently licensed to practice law before all Florida state courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Mr. Rafferty is an active philanthropist, and along with donating to local charities, he also funds two local scholarships under his name (The Rafferty Scholarship/Award), which are awarded annually to two area high school prep athletes. Each of the area high schools also competes to be awarded the Rafferty Cup for excellence in athletic achievement.

  Services:

  Link: Troy Rafferty

• 

  Mark Proctor

  Attorney

  Mark Proctor is the president of Levin Papantonio. He completed his undergraduate work at Emory University and the University of Florida, receiving his degree from the University of Florida in 1972, and his law degree from the University of Florida in 1975. While at law school, he was an editor of the Water Law Journal at University of Florida and was a member of the honorary fraternity, Phi Delta Phi. He is licensed to practice law before all state courts in Florida, before the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, and before the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. He is a former Assistant General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville, and the former General Counsel for the State of Florida Department of Natural Resources. He has been an adjunct professor of Environmental Law at the University of Florida and the University of West Florida, and has authored environmental articles for the Center of Land Use Law. Mr. Proctor is a member of the Florida Bar Association, the Florida Justice Association, the American Association of Justice and the National Trial Lawyers Association. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida and serves on the boards of directors for several charitable organizations.

  Services:

  Link: Mark Proctor

• 

  Tim O'Brien

  Attorney

  Levin Papantonio Rafferty shareholder Timothy O'Brien is a board-certified civil trial attorney who concentrates his practice in the areas of mass tort litigation, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and transactional liability. Mr. O'Brien is rated "A-V Preeminent" by the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell lawyer peer-rating service (the "A-V Preeminent" rating is the highest rating an attorney can receive). In September 2018, Mr. O’Brien was appointed by the United States Southern District of Ohio as Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in MDL No. 2846, In re Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation. He also currently is serving as a member of the Executive Committee for the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in MDL No. 2750, In re Invokana (Canagliflozin) Products Liability Litigation. He previously served as Plaintiffs Steering Committee Lead Counsel for MDL No. 1789, In re Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, as co-chair of the Discovery Committee In re Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2100 as national co-lead counsel in In re Cisco Systems Securities Litig., MDL No. 1527, as Discovery co-chair in In re Accutane Products Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1626, as Discovery co-chair in In re Medtronic, Inc., Implantable Defibrillators Product Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1726, as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in In re Guidant Corp. Implantable Defibrillators Product Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1708, and served on the discovery committee of In re Phenylpropanolamine ("PPA") Products Liab. Litig. , MDL No. 1407. He has been interviewed by and extensively quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Pink Sheet, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and by National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and Air America Radio, as well as several European national news organizations. In recognition of his accomplishments representing the injured, Mr. O'Brien has been frequently chosen as one of the Super Lawyers by the annual publication of the same name. Further, in 2011, he was named by Florida Trend as one of the 2011 Florida Legal Elite, an honor bestowed upon fewer than 100 civil trial attorneys in the State of Florida. After graduating from law school, Mr. O'Brien worked for two years as a law clerk for the Honorable William T. Moore, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia. Mr. O'Brien then entered private practice in Georgia where he concentrated his practice in the area of federal civil litigation. During his period of private practice in Georgia, Mr. O'Brien, together with Judge Moore, coauthored Clients and Fees: Ethical Issues for Criminal Defense Attorneys, Vol 4:4 Georgia Bar Journal 10 (1999).

  Link: Tim O'Brien

• 

  Brian Barr

  Attorney

  Brian Barr is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio Rafferty. He litigates pharmaceutical, environmental, mass torts and personal injury cases throughout the country. Most recently, Mr. Barr has focused his practice on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Appointed by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana as one of the four members of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee, one of the nineteen members of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee, as well as class counsel for both the Economic and Property Damages Settlement Class and the Medical Class, Mr. Barr has been one of the leaders of the massive BP litigation. The litigation has resulted in two multi-billion dollar class action settlement agreements and a proposed class settlement with Halliburton. Mr. Barr was honored to serve as trial counsel for Phase 2 of the Limitation and Liability Trial against BP. Prior to his work in the oil spill litigation, Mr. Barr was appointed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida to serve on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the national Trasylol litigation. Mr. Barr was also heavily involved in the national litigation surrounding the drugs Rezulin and Diet Drugs. In 2008, Mr. Barr, along with a trial team led by his partner Mike Papantonio, obtained a verdict of $390 million on behalf of the residents around a Dupont smelter in the town of Spelter, West Virginia. For their efforts, Mr. Barr and the other members of the trial team were named finalists for the 2008 Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year. Mr. Barr received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University in 1996 and graduated magna cum laude from The Florida State University College of Law in 2001. He has been recognized as one of Florida’s top young lawyers by Florida Super Lawyers and as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyer’s Association. Mr. Barr is a frequent lecturer throughout the country on mass tort litigation. He is currently licensed to practice law before all Florida state courts and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts.

  Link: Brian Barr

• 

  Peter Mougey

  Attorney

  Peter Mougey is a shareholder and the Chair of Levin Papantonio’s Securities and Business Litigation department. He concentrates his practice in the areas of complex litigation, financial services, and securities litigation, and whistleblower or qui tam litigation. Mr. Mougey has been recognized as one of Florida’s top 100 trial lawyers and a Florida Super Lawyer and has dedicated his career to championing individuals’ rights against the world’s largest companies. His peers have rated him AV Preeminent, the highest possible rating. Mr. Mougey has represented over 1,500 state, municipal, and institutional entities, as well as tribal sovereign nations, in litigation and arbitration around the globe. In addition, he has represented more than 3,000 individual fraud victims in state and federal court and arbitrations. Most recently, in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL, he was selected to serve as Co-Lead of the Distributor case and serves on the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in what has been called “the largest and most complex case in the history of jurisprudence” by the Washington Post. Mr. Mougey has been recognized as a transformational leader in and out of the courtroom and is often called up to simplify the country’s most complex cases. Mr. Mougey routinely lectures on issues confronting the legal and business industry including, “Bet the Company Litigation,” Broker-Dealer Regulation, Structured Finance, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, Managing Large Datasets for use in Litigation, and Quantitative Modeling. He is frequently quoted in the national press including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Barron’s, Kiplinger, Business Week, and Investment News. Mr. Mougey advocates for the rights of investors as both the past President and member of the Board of Directors of the national securities bar, PIABA. He has also served as Chairman of the NASAA Committee, Executive Committee and FINRA’s Improving Arbitration Task Force. Currently, Mr. Mougey serves on the PIABA Foundation charged with educating investors in conjunction with the SEC. In recognition of his long-term and sustained dedication to promote the interests of investors, he received the PIABA Lifetime Distinguished Service Award from his peers. Mr. Mougey received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Finance, from Creighton University. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Portland and graduated from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Mougey is active with several charities and his local community. He served as President for the “The Arc” (the largest national community-based organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities) and as Chairman of several Arc committees. He was given The Arc President’s Award as Volunteer of the Year. He has served on the Board of Directors for his church, on the Cabinet for the United Way, and as a Junior Achievement instructor in economic business simulation.

  Link: Peter Mougey