Fred Levin: Leaving a Legacy

Leaving a Legacy Built to Last

Attorney Fred Levin on Practicing Law and What’s Next for His Firm

by Mollye Barrows

The late legal legend Fred Levin sat down for an interview on his larger-than-life legacy just a few months before he passed on January 12, 2021, due to complications from COVID-19. Before the coronavirus hit last year, the headline making attorney was still heading into the office every day and working cases. Fred Levin built his career on innovation, hard work and perseverance; qualities he said remain instilled in Levin Papantonio Rafferty, the practice he helped build into a national law firm.

Fred Levin approached every case expecting to win and whether he was trying a multi-million dollar personal injury case or settling a small insurance claim, he put in the time, work and research it took to be prepared for anything that would stop him from achieving victory for his client. He wasn’t hindered by what others expected or how much was at stake; he plowed ahead anticipating victory, and it’s that innovative drive that helped him succeed. Last fall, he talked about some of his favorite cases and what he sees as the future of personal injury law, including for his own firm.

“When a client came to see me they got it all, there was no B.S., even on the smallest of cases they got full preparation,” explained attorney Fred Levin. “You can ask the judges. Judge Blanchard, who the Pensacola judicial building is named for, he wrote the bar that I was the best in this area and I was best in the State of Florida, maybe even in the nation, as a trial lawyer. It’s not because I had anything special, it’s because of preparation.”

It was preparation and innovation that launched him from everyday personal injury attorney to the cover of People magazine in 1980. That’s when Levin won the biggest wrongful death verdict in the country. A Pensacola doctor and his wife died after an L & N train derailed and spilled anhydrous ammonia near their home and they were unable to escape the toxic fumes. Their two young children survived, but were seriously injured.

Levin and his team were able to show similar accidents had been happening on a regular basis, but until the accident involving Dr. Jon Thorshov’s family, no one had been killed or injured. Despite previous complaints about trains going too fast, little to no action had been taken to remedy the problem that was causing the trains to derail. Fred Levin made his case in court and won.

“We’d been offered two million dollars to settle both death cases and I just thought it was worth a lot more. I worked it like crazy. We knew it was going to be a big case. The train shot the track. Two deaths. Dr. Thorshov died immediately and then his wife died 75 days later and they left two children, a boy and a girl,” Levin recalled. “We ended up getting over $18-million. It was at the time the largest verdict for the death of a housewife in the country and it was also the largest verdict for the death of a wage earner. The biggest wrongful death verdict in the country.”

After the enormous verdict, Levin was invited to be a part of an elite group of attorneys called the Inner Circle of Advocates and he was featured in People Magazine, as well as other national publications like the Wall Street Journal and prominent legal journals. The case made headlines not only for the amount, but also because it was one of the first times a structuredsettlement was used in a personal injury case, which has since become common place.

It was the beginning of what would become a long list of innovative achievements both in and out of the courtroom including orchestrating the legislation that led to Florida’s class action lawsuit against Big Tobacco, resulting in a $13.2 billion settlement; his $10 million dollar donation to the University of Florida in 1999 was the largest private contribution to any law school at the time and resulted in the school being named after him and propelling the Levin College of Law to where it is today; and even his groundbreaking legal advertising.

Fred’s popular “I’ll Personally Return Your Call” ad campaign was named the best legal ad in the country by a national marketing agency and later, after becoming frustrated with the cost of advertising, Fred convinced other members of his law firm to invest in Pensacola’s BLAB-TV in the 1980’s so he could start a legal show, one of the first of its kind. The station eventually developed into a 24-hour cable access channel that gave a variety of professionals a platform to talk about their business.

Fred also became a familiar face on the national cable channel, HBO, as manager of Olympic athlete and prize winning boxer, Roy Jones, Jr., also from Pensacola. Jones, Jr.’s father had come to see Levin’s brother, Stanley Levin, about representing

Fred with professional boxer Roy Jones, Jr.

his son as he made the transition from amateur to professional boxing. Stanley referred him to his brother Fred, who knew nothing about the business of boxing.

“I loved the sport, but I certainly was no boxer or anything. I told him I didn’t know anything about the business, and Roy Jones, Sr. said that’s what he wanted. He didn’t want anybody who knew anything about it to be involved, so that’s how I got into it,” remembered Levin. “In 1994, I was named Manager of the Year by a national boxing association and then the next year I won the Mohammed Ali award for Manager of the Year.”

Fred’s success and determination helped him to take the law firm started by his brother, David Levin, in 1955, to a position of national prominence in the practice of personal injury law, including mass tort and class action litigation. The firm has since grown to more than 40 attorneys and has won more than $4 billion in jury verdicts and settlements. Even as 2021 was approaching and a new name for the firm was on the horizon, Levin was proud of the firm’s growth and that his grandson, attorney Brenton Goodman, was now part of the team.

“When I started practicing law my brother had started a law firm, my brother David, and he had looked forward to me coming with him. I joined the firm first then my brother Stanley came in. I’ve got to remember that on that firm name it’s Levin Papantonio,” Levin said last fall, emphasizing the name Levin, “and I’m hopeful the name will continue long after I’m gone. Even though my grandson that is now with the firm is named Goodman, I think he’ll always be a Levin when it comes to practicing law.”

“It’s truly an honor to work at the firm that my grandfather helped build,” said Levin’s grandson, attorney Brenton Goodman. “Like everything that he did, he set the foundation and set a high standard and it’s now up to us to continue that standard and push it forward and continue his legacy.”

Previously called Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty, and Proctor, P.A., the recent retirements of Leo Thomas and Clay Mitchell resulted in the opportunity to recognize other firm Shareholders who had contributed to the firm’s success and the name was changed to reflect that. It’s now Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O’Brien, Barr, and Mougey, P.A. and for marketing purposes will be known as Levin Papantonio Rafferty.

Attorney Troy Rafferty is proud to have his name on the title of his mentor’s firm. Rafferty has achieved state and national recognition for his work and success as a trial lawyer and has been appointed to handle some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical and mass tort cases. In addition to being appointed to lead several other national litigations, Rafferty currently serves as Liaison Counsel in the national prescription opiate litigation.

“He inspired people, and it was amazing to me to see how many people attribute their wanting to become a trial lawyer to Fred Levin,” said award-winning trial attorney, Troy Rafferty. “He was a tremendous mentor. I can’t begin to tell you how much I learned from him about everything, whether it was the practice of law, how to try to cases, about the importance of community. I am proud to be a part of continuing the firm’s success.”

The other Shareholders included in the new name are LPR firm President Mark Proctor, and attorneys Virginia Buchanan, Tim O’Brien, Brian Barr, and Peter Mougey, recognized for their extraordinary contributions to the firm as litigators and members of the community.

Virginia Buchanan was also a longtime friend of Levin’s and worked for him for more than thirty years. She is Co-Chair of Levin Papantonio Rafferty’s Class Action Department and Chair of the Medical Malpractice Department and is now the first woman to be named to the firm’s new title. She fondly refers to her late mentor as “FGL.”

“One of the many things that stands out in my mind when I consider the innovative way that FGL approached legal cases was his mindset—he had NO mindset,” said Buchanan. “He was not limited by ‘this is the way we have always done it.’ He could not care less if something had never been done before. He was able to assess the evidence, see a great outcome for a plaintiff and work to make it happen.”

Rafferty, Buchanan and the other attorneys and staff at the firm are looking forward to continuing Fred Levin’s work, including recordsetting verdicts delivered when he was at the helm; venturing into new areas of the law led by attorney and shareholder Mike Papantonio’s vision; and fearlessly challenging the status quo as harbingers for justice. As a woman, Buchanan is also grateful to Levin for the opportunity to work for him and build her own successful career at the firm.

“It is a remarkable gift to look forward to my work every day and feel as though I am working in tandem with all of our LPR team to make a positive difference,” said Buchanan, “Now having my name as the first woman in the firm’s title is a giant step for me and my fellow female lawyers. Women often do not have the same opportunities as their male counterparts and the world has far to go to equalize that difference. I am proud of LPR for welcoming diversity and inclusivity, and I am eternally grateful to Fred Levin for all the opportunities he gave me along the way.”

Fred’s son, attorney Martin Levin, lives in Boston but remains actively involved with helping to run his dad’s firm. He says Levin Papantonio Rafferty will continue as it has and clients can be assured they are going to get the absolute best result possible for their case because the firm has the experience, resources and commitment to fight for them no matter how much the litigation costs or how long it takes.

Martin Levin says his father’s legacy will continue as long as Levin Papantonio Rafferty continues to fight for the underdog and for what’s right, no matter how challenging.

“It was Dad’s success and biggerthan-life personality that brought the law firm national attention and credibility that allowed the firm to grow and succeed,” said Martin Levin. “For as long as the law firm is around, Dad will always be known as one of the key figures in its history.”

Fred posing in front of the University of Florida’s College of Law, named in his honor.