Colson Hicks Eidson Partner Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson Awarded The Anti-Defamation League Prestigious 2013 Jurisprudence Award

December 10, 2013 / 3:03 am

The nation’s premier human relations organization honors Eidson for his outstanding ethical leadership in the legal profession and the Miami-Dade community

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2013) – Attorney Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson, partner at the Coral Gables-based law firm Colson Hicks Eidson, was recently honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) with the distinguished 2013 Miami Jurisprudence Award in recognition of his passion for excellence, high ethical standards, dynamic leadership and social responsibility.

Eidson was recognized during the ADL’s annual Miami Jurisprudence Award Luncheon on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the InterContinental Miami. The luncheon, which also commemorated the ADL’s centennial milestone, drew a crowd of nearly 500 from Miami’s corporate, legal and financial communities. Armando Codina, chairman and CEO of Codina Partners, and Richard C. Milstein, partner at Akerman, served as Luncheon Chairs and Former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh delivered the keynote address.

“I am extremely honored to have received this award,” said Eidson. “I am a firm believer in the mission of the Anti-Defamation League and its fight against discrimination, hatred, and bigotry. I have great respect for the powerful impact the organization has had on our society in its quest for fairness, equality and justice over the past 100 years.”

Founded in 1913, the ADL is one of the nation’s premier human relations organizations, dedicated to combating anti-Semitism, bigotry and hatred, and to building positive intergroup relations. The prestigious Jurisprudence Award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the legal profession and the community at large, while exemplifying the principles on which the ADL was founded.

“ADL is proud to salute Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson, 2013 Miami Jurisprudence Award recipient, whose passion for excellence, high ethical and professional standards, dynamic leadership and social responsibility are all values embodied in this award,” stated Hava Holzhauer, ADL Florida Regional Director. “Mr. Eidson has joined ADL as an ally in building a world where hate is not fostered, where being different is not a liability and where diversity is a cherished strength.”

nationally recognized trial lawyer, Eidson concentrates his practice on litigation, primarily in the fields of products liabilitymedical and legal malpracticeaviationclass action and multidistrict litigation. He has tried more than 125 cases to jury verdict during his career and is best known for his work in some of the largest automotive recalls in U.S. history.

He has volunteered on a multitude of professional and community boards, including serving as president of the American Association for Justice, president of the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, and president of the Miami Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Recently, he was installed as chairman of the American Association for Justice Foundation and was awarded the Florida Justice Association’s Al J. Cone Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to his national public service and professional activities, Eidson is committed to service in the Miami-Dade community. A longtime supporter of the performing arts in South Florida, he currently serves as chairman for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, a position he has held for the past three years. He is also a founding member of the Town Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to creating and sustaining a vibrant urban area surrounding the Arsht Center, and currently serves as chairman emeritus for the Miami City Ballet, where he has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1999 and previously served as president and chairman of the board for nine years.

In addition to his work in the visual and performing arts, Eidson provides support to numerous charitable organizations including, Miami Children’s Hospital, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Kristi House, and The United Way’s Tocqueville Society, among others.

Eidson endowed the renowned Emory Law School Kessler-Eidson Trial Technique Program as well as the University of South Carolina Foreign Exchange program. Eidson and his firm have supported scholarships for minority law students at the University of Miami and Florida International University.

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About Colson Hicks Eidson

The injury attorneys of Colson Hicks Eidson have more than 40 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation. Partners at the firm have had the distinction of holding the following offices: President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; President of the Dade County Bar Association; President of the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers; United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. For more information, call 305-476-7400 to contact our accident lawyers.

About the Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. For more information, call 212-885-7700 or visit www.adl.org.

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A Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently awarded all four family members compensatory damages totaling $3 million.

Colson Hicks Eidson, P.A. and co-counsel BartlettChen LLC filed a complaint on behalf of a three-generation family who experienced a harrowing near-death incident on a United Airlines flight. The event occurred due to a miscommunication between the Captain and First Officer, resulting in the plane suddenly losing altitude and plunging toward the Pacific Ocean, coming within seconds of crashing and subjecting the passengers to extreme G-forces and terror.

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Shortly after takeoff during heavy rain, the Captain asked the First Officer to reset the wing flaps, but the First Officer heard “15” instead of “five,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the incident was “the flight crew’s failure to manage the airplane’s vertical flightpath, airspeed, and pitch attitude following a miscommunication about the captain’s desired flap setting during the initial climb.”

“To some extent, encounters with bad weather or turbulence are unavoidable when you fly, but no passenger should ever have to endure such a terrifying experience due to pilot error while traveling on a routine commercial flight.” Curtis Miner, Counsel for Plaintiffs said. “Our clients’ entire, three-generation family was subjected to this terrifying, near-miss incident.  We are committed to seeking justice and fair compensation on their behalf.'” Austin Bartlett, Counsel for Plaintiffs, commented: “This nearly catastrophic flight was horrific and traumatic. The Maltz family and all airlines passengers deserve better.”

The complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois where United Airlines is headquartered.

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a boutique litigation firm serving clients in local, national, and international matters. Our multilingual team of highly experienced attorneys is dedicated to providing our clients with top-tier legal representation backed by a commitment to hard work, creative thinking, responsiveness, and professionalism. From our offices in Miami, we have handled a broad range of significant legal matters around the world for over 50 years.

About BartlettChen LLC

Based in Chicago, BartlettChen LLC represents individuals in aviation, wrongful death, and immigration matters across the nation and internationally. Austin Bartlett of BartlettChen has practiced aviation law for more than two decades and brings the unique perspective of a former aviation defense attorney to help victims and their families secure full compensation for their losses.

Colson Hicks Eidson is pleased to announce that nine attorneys have been named in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. Lawyers for this guide are selected through Lawdragon’s process of independent journalistic research and submissions.  Their selection process emphasizes lawyers who have demonstrated consistent excellence and have made notable impacts in their fields.

Click here to read the full guide.

The Firm’s recognized attorneys are listed below.

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a boutique litigation law firm based in Miami, Florida, serving clients in local, national, and international matters across multiple languages. Practice areas include complex civil and commercial litigation, catastrophic personal injury, medical negligence, product liability, class action, mass tort, and white-collar criminal defense for the most serious and challenging of cases.  Since 1971, the firm and its lawyers have consistently worked to be respected by the state and federal judiciary – securing numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of clients. Learn more at www.colson.com.

MIAMI (November 2, 2023) – Colson Hicks Eidson announced today that it has been named in the 2024 list of The Best Law Firms in America. The Miami-based firm has once again received this honor at both the national and metropolitan level. This follows a recent announcement where seven of the firm’s attorneys were named as Best Lawyers in America” for 2024 across a range of fields.

“We strive every day to provide the best possible representation for our clients, and we are honored to continue to receive this recognition for our work,” said Dean C. Colson, Managing Partner of Colson Hicks Eidson.

Best Lawyers, a distinguished peer-review legal publication company, develops The Best Law Firms in America listings through individual lawyer and law firm surveys and firm recognition history. Colson Hicks Eidson is recognized in the following areas.

National Tier 2 (Represents national clients and smaller companies)

  1. Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs

Metropolitan Tier 1 (Scored within a certain percentage of highest-scoring firms in area)

Miami

  1. Bet-the-Company Litigation
  2. Commercial Litigation
  3. Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  4. Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
  5. Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
  6. Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
  7. Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs
  8. Insurance Law

Metropolitan Tier 2 (Scored within a certain percentage of the next highest-scoring firms in area)

Miami

  1. Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
  2. Professional Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs

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About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a boutique litigation law firm based in Miami, Florida, serving clients in local, national, and international matters across multiple languages. Practice areas include complex civil and commercial litigation, catastrophic personal injury, medical negligence, product liability, class action, mass tort, and white-collar criminal defense for the most serious and challenging of cases.  Since 1971, the firm and its lawyers have consistently worked to be respected by the state and federal judiciary – securing numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of clients. Learn more at www.colson.com.

Colson Hicks Eidson (CHE) is proud to announce its recent involvement in a significant legal matter with statewide implications. Sabrina Saieh, an attorney at CHE, has filed an amicus brief in the First District Court of Appeal in the case of State of Florida, Agency of Health Care Administration v. Alfredo Ivan Murciano, M.D. in support of Dr. Murciano’s brief.

The amicus brief was filed on behalf of CHE senior partner Roberto Martinez, who served on the most recent Florida Constitution Review Commission and was the primary sponsor of an amendment to the Florida Constitution, now found in Article V, Section 21, titled “Judicial Interpretation of Statutes and Rules.” This amendment explicitly prevents courts and Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) from deferring to administrative agencies’ interpretations of state statutes or rules.

The brief urges the First District Court of Appeal to recognize that Article V, Section 21 was added to the Florida Constitution to prevent executive branch agencies, such as the Agency of Health Care Administration (ACHA), from imposing their legal interpretations on the courts and ALJs. The Florida Constitution prohibits ALJs and the courts from accepting mandates from ACHA to adopt their findings of fact or issue orders based on ACHA’s interpretations of statutes and rules that contradict those determined by the ALJs or courts during a de novo review.

This amicus brief underscores CHE’s dedication to defending the integrity of the Florida Constitution and ensuring that judicial interpretation of statutes and rules remains impartial and independent from administrative agencies.

Organizing Committee Appointee  Stephanie Casey formally honored by Judge Altman

MIAMI (September 9, 2023) –  Colson Hicks Eidson, a multilingual complex civil and commercial litigation law firm based in Miami, FL, today congratulated Stephanie A. Casey for her leadership as an ad-hoc organizer of the Florida Southern District’s 6th Biennial Bench and Bar Conference. She was recognized formally by Judge Roy Altman for her remarkable service at the event in Miami Beach on September 9, 2023. 

The Bench and Bar Conference of the Southern District – a collaborative effort between the US District Court and the South Florida Chapters of the Federal Bar Association – brought together legal professionals, judges, and experts in a sold-out event, attracting more than 1,000 attendees. Casey played a pivotal role in organizing this prestigious gathering, which featured a day-long program of engaging panel discussions with esteemed judges, legal experts, and members of the Southern District of Florida’s Bench and Bar.

One of the highlights of the conference was the “Supreme Court Roundup,” featuring distinguished speakers Miguel A. Estrada and Neal Katyal. Additionally, a thought-provoking panel discussion marked the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision, with Yale Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams, and the Honorable Robert N. Scola, Jr. 

“We are immensely proud of our partner Stephanie Casey for her exceptional contributions to the 6th Biennial Bench and Bar Conference,” Senior Partner Curt Miner said. “Her leadership and commitment to advancing the legal profession are exactly in line with our firm values, and we look forward to her continued success.”

Casey was appointed to the Southern District’s Bench and Bar Committee by Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in May 2022.  

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com.