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a small town, my dad o en helped clients with every legal issue they had in their lives, and I remember how appre- ciative his clients were that he was ‘their lawyer’.”
With singular purpose, Ferrelle set his sights on becom- ing an attorney. An advocate from an early age, he con- tinued to immerse himself in mock trials and debate in school and quickly recognized his interest in passionately pursuing causes in the courtroom in front of a jury.
He o en discussed joining his father in his practice as soon as he graduated law school, but his life took an un- expected detour. Ferrelle met his wife, Amanda, the rst week they were at UGA Law, got married two weeks a er the bar exam and moved to Jacksonville to start their legal careers together in a new city.
Unlike Ferrelle, David Burns was not introduced into law at a young age, thus, the trajectory to his current ca- reer was drastically di erent. In fact, Burns graduated from college with a degree in Religion.
With no intent to become a preacher, his dad asked him, “What’s Next?”
“Religion is heavy on philosophy and writing,” ex- plained Burns. “ ere’s o en no perfect or right answer to any question that is posed which is very similar to the practice of the law. You have to interpret the foundation- al principles and make your arguments with the facts at hand, so I felt it was a good transition. I chose litigation because I’m competitive and determined that litigation would be the best way to represent my clients’ interest.”
Upon graduating from law school in 2004, both Ferrelle and Burns accepted positions with Smith, Hulsey & Busey. “David and I were hired around the same time and were
wrongful death and maritime cases and splits his time be- tween the rm’s Georgia and Florida o ces, while Burns concentrates on complex business litigation matters in- cluding contract and partnership disputes, non-compete cases and business torts.
Although their practice areas o en seem to be on oppo- site sides of the spectrum, both Ferrelle and Burns agree that sometimes working together produces the best out- comes.
“It helps to have an added depth of perspective for our clients,” noted Burns. “We can count on each other as sounding boards and, in fact, because we are both trial- driven, we frequently can be found supporting each other in court as second chairs.”
While the rm continues to expand its business litiga- tion and personal injury practice areas, Ferrelle and his father continue to dedicate a large portion of their practice to handling maritime injury cases.
“Situated in the border towns spanning two states in which boat use, water sports and maritime activities are preva- lent,” explained Ferrelle, “our rm is in a unique position to take on a wider scope of plainti ’s injury matters that general personal injury rms can’t handle. John worked in the shipping industry growing up, we are regularly in- volved with the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute and Florida Bar Admiralty Law Committee, and we are both designated Proctors in Admiralty by the Maritime Law Association.”
A fairly niche market, they recognize the growing need for maritime injury trial lawyers in north Florida and south- east Georgia.
supposed to start on the same day,” explained Ferrelle. “David, however, decided to go in a day earlier and was able to claim the last premium window o ce available for associates. So, the next day, he had the o ce and I got set up in an interior cubicle. Of course, I did get him back for that later on, but the method of retaliation is unfortunately beyond the bounds of this publication.”
Despite this somewhat humorous disparity, Ferrelle and Burns quickly became friends. Sharing a mutual respect for each other, similar interests outside of work and hav- ing similar situations at the onset, the two remained close friends.
Over the years, their careers diverged a bit in that Fer- relle transitioned more into personal injury, wrongful death, and product liability practice areas while Burns continued to hone his skills in the business and commer- cial litigation arena; however, both were singularly adept at all types of litigation and still enjoy that variety in their practices today.
THE PRACTICE
In 2012, Ferrelle and his father, a 45-year law veteran, rekindled their discussion of joining forces and Burns’ name came up immediately as a prospective partner with the perfect integrity, temperament and experience. Soon a er, the rm Ferrelle Burns was created with Rice, David and John leading the new endeavor.
Today, Ferrelle continues to focus on personal injury,
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
rough the years, both Ferrelle and Burns have made a name for themselves as pro bono litigators, recognizing their duty to give back to the community and frequent- ly counselling with each other on such cases. In 2008, a board of local judges recognized this e ort and presented one of them with a prestigious pro bono award for excep- tional representation of a client in a commercial case.
“As the Judge stood at the podium and detailed the work that went into this particular case, including a key piece of information that indicated that the recipient did not o en take this type of case, I knew that Rice was going to receive the award,” recalled Burns. “As I was looking around the room to o er my congratulations on his honor that eve- ning, the Judge said, ‘Congratulations to this year’s recipi- ent, David D. Burns’.”
Burns recalls that he later found out from the judge that the award was, in fact, intended for him a er all, but Fer- relle still has his doubts.
“To this day, David still claims ownership of the award and has the audacity to display it prominently in his o ce,” laughed Ferrelle.
It’s all in good fun, though. Whether this particular award was mistakenly awarded to the wrong recipient or not, both Ferrelle and Burns know that pro bono work is not about the accolades, but instead, about giving a voice to those who need help speaking for themselves.
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