Orlando, FL

Ben Crump

Listed amongst the Most Influential People of 2021 by TIME100, Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African Americans, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, and the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, Attorney Ben Crump is referred to as Black America’s Attorney General. Through a steadfast dedication to justice and service, renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Benjamin Crump has established himself as one of the nation’s foremost lawyers and advocates for social justice. His legal acumen has ensured that those marginalized in American society are protected by their nation’s contract with its constituency. He is the founder and principal owner of Ben Crump Law. Crump’s tireless advocacy has led to legislation preventing excessive force and developing implicit bias training and policies. He has represented families in several high-profile civil rights cases including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Stephon Clark. He also represented victims in the Holtzclaw Oklahoma City Police rape case and worked on the Robbie Tolan excessive police force case. More recently, he represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, the residents of Flint, Michigan, who were affected by the poisoned water of the Flint River, as well as the family of Henrietta Lacks in a landmark reparations case. Crump has helped reach historic settlements and verdicts for families that have faced injustices, including a $411 million verdict for Duane Washington, a $641 million settlement for Flint, Michigan, a $27 million settlement for George Floyd's family, a $12 million settlement for Breonna Taylor's family, and over $200 million in banking while Black cases. Crump is the President of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association and previously served as President of the National Bar Association. He was the first African-American to chair the Florida State University College of Law Board of Directors and is the founder and director of the Benjamin Crump Social Justice Institute. In 2023, the College of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, became the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. He has been recognized with the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award, the SCLC Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award, the American Association for Justice Johnnie Cochran Award, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion for Service. He hosted legal docudramas and served as executive producer and writer for a documentary. He is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, CNN, and USA Today. Crump’s book, published in October 2019, Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People, reflects on the landmark cases he has battled, and how discrimination in the courthouse devastates real families and communities. Crump graduated from Florida State University and received his law degree from FSU College of Law. He is married to Dr. Genae Angelique Crump.

John Elliott Leighton

John Elliott Leighton is a board-certified trial lawyer and the Managing Partner of Leighton Panoff Law, P.A., with offices in Miami and Orlando, Florida. He has 40 years of experience successfully trying major personal injury and wrongful death cases, and has won some of the largest verdicts and settlements in Florida, including a $49 million verdict and two $24 million verdicts. He is recognized as a national expert in negligent security and violent crime litigation, authoring 'Litigating Premises Security Cases'. He received the Advocate of Justice Award from the National Crime Victim Bar Association and was recently elected President of the National Crime Victim Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer and teacher at legal programs, including ATLA’s 'Ultimate Trial Advocacy College' at Harvard Law School. Mr. Leighton believes in educating the public and giving back to the community, regularly appearing on media outlets like NBC’s Today show and CNN. He continues to represent victims of sexual assault and sex abuse. He recently received the Daily Business Review 2015 'Verdicts Hall of Fame Award' and American Lawyer Media’s 'Top 100 Verdicts of 2017' and National Law Journal’s 'Elite Trial Lawyer Top 50 Verdicts' in 2018. He also represents victims of legal malpractice. He has served as Chairman of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America’s Motor Vehicle, Highway and Premises Liability Section, chairs the Inadequate Security Litigation Group, and sat on the Executive Committee of the National College of Advocacy Board of Trustees. He is Chairman of the Academy of Trial Advocacy and President of the National Crime Victim Bar Association. He is a member of ABOTA (American Board of Trial Advocates) and has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America continuously since 2008. He has been voted into Florida SuperLawyers every year since 2006 and was honored as one of the Top 100 Florida SuperLawyers since 2009. He has been selected as a 'Top Lawyer' in the South Florida Legal Guide for 13 consecutive years and is listed in Florida Trend magazine’s 'Florida Legal Elite.' He was named 'Orlando Legal Elite' by Orlando Style magazine three years in a row. He has an A-V preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell and a 10.0/10 rating from AVVO.com. He is a board certified specialist in civil trial law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization. He received both his J.D. and B.A. degrees with honors from the University of Florida.

Manuel L. Dobrinsky

Since 1998, Manuel L. Dobrinsky has assisted hundreds of clients in personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and auto accident matters. Manuel has achieved numerous verdicts and settlements that individually exceeded a million dollars. On two occasions, Manuel was named “Most Effective Lawyer in South Florida” (medical malpractice and class action litigation) by the “Daily Business Review.” Manuel began his legal career as an associate with Holland & Knight in Miami, where he specialized in commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense. He also worked on significant civil rights matters such as the widely known Rosewood v. State of Florida case and on one of the largest housing discrimination cases in the nation. In 1994, Manuel was appointed as an Assistant Federal Public Defender where he represented clients in federal criminal litigation and appellate work entailing white-collar, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO), and conspiracy cases. In that capacity, he tried more than thirty cases to verdict and handled numerous evidentiary hearings. Manuel is a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney. He is Peer Rated “AV Preeminent” for the Highest Level of Professional Excellence by Martindale-Hubbell and is consistently recognized in the annual Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers Magazine, Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, and the South Florida Legal Guide as one of Florida’s top personal injury attorneys. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA.) Manuel is fluent in Spanish, serves as an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and has lectured and written articles on various legal topics. Presently, Manuel is the Immediate Past Board President of Legal Services of Greater Miami and serves on the Professionalism panel for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. He is a Past President of the Miami-Dade Justice Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association. Manuel also served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Attorney Admissions, Peer Review, and Attorney Grievance for the Southern District of Florida. As a testament to his stellar reputation in the legal community, Manuel was named the 2023 Best Lawyers® Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” in Miami, Florida. Each year Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” recognizes the individual with the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. Only one lawyer is recognized as the “Lawyer of the Year” for that specialty and location. In addition, since 2009 Manuel has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Litigation-Plaintiffs. Manuel was selected as a Lifetime Achievement Honoree for South Florida Business & Wealth’s (SFBW) First-Annual 2021 Legal Awards. Since 2006, he has been recognized each year by Florida Super Lawyers® as a Top-Rated Personal Injury Attorney and has been listed in the Top 100: Miami Super Lawyers® and Top 100: Florida Super Lawyers® by Super Lawyers® Magazine.

Rajan Joshi

Rajan Joshi is a high-profile attorney and founding partner of Joshi Law Firm, PA, specializing in Criminal Defense and Personal Injury. He has been featured on national news outlets like CNN, Dr. Phil, Fox, and The Today Show. He received his J.D. with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law in 2000 and his B.A. from the University of Central Florida in 1996. He began his career as an Assistant State Attorney and later became a partner at NeJame Law before founding his own firm in 2015. He has received numerous awards including the IACC 2024 Male Entrepreneur of the Year Award, National Trial Lawyers Association's Top 100 Trial Lawyers (2014), and American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys' Top Ten Attorneys in Florida (2016).

Armando R. Payas

Armando R. Payas is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney. For the first ten years of practicing law, he defended insurance companies and medical providers. In the last 20 years, he joined his family’s firm, Payas, Payas & Payas, LLP, focusing on justice for the injured. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida in 1980 and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Florida State University in 1983. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1983.

Armando R. Payas

Armando R. Payas is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney. For the first ten years of practicing law, he defended insurance companies and medical providers. In the last 20 years, he joined his family’s firm, Payas, Payas & Payas, LLP, focusing on justice for the injured. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida in 1980 and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Florida State University in 1983. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1983.

C. Richard Newsome

C. Richard Newsome is the senior partner of Newsome Law, P.A., a trial lawyer representing individuals and families in complex civil litigation. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1989, he previously served as a federal prosecutor before dedicating his practice to victims of catastrophic injuries. He has received numerous accolades, including 'Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year' in 2016, and holds memberships in elite trial lawyer organizations such as the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.