Page 12 - First Coast Vol 4 No 3

ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH
LINDSAY
TYGART
Bringing Justice to
Tragic Situations
WRITTEN BY VICKI HOGUE-DAVIES
Trial attorney Lindsay Tygart shows a dedication to help- ing victims of medical mal- practice, nursing home
abuse and other personal injuries that is founded in the lessons she learned growing up in her Jacksonville home.
Tygart, head of Coker Law’s medi- cal malpractice division, absorbed her father’s many stories of making a positive di erence in people’s lives through the law — he was a civil trial attorney in the city for over 50 years. She was inspired by the way her mother showed support and un- conditional love for her family, and today models her mother’s example in her own family life. She points to her maternal grandmother’s in uence as a true “Southern lady.”
“She was a so spoken, delicate ower who would turn into a rattle- snake if anyone tried to mess with her children or grandchildren,” Tygart says.
is strong and supportive foun- dation helped Tygart become a self- described “trusting and optimistic” person who can turn on the tough- ness whenever necessary. It also drove
a passion in Tygart for helping oth- ers that would eventually lead to her choosing a practice area in which she couldhelpshepherdpeoplethrough what could be some of the most dif- cult and challenging times of their lives.
“It is incredibly rewarding to help injured individuals and their fami- lies obtain even a little bit of justice in some truly tragic situations,” Tygart says. “I am incredibly humbled by the fact that these families trust me to lead them through some extremely di cult times.”
CHOOSING THE LAW
e law runs deeply in Tygart’s family. In addition to her father, her two brothers are attorneys. She has two uncles and a cousin who are cir- cuit judges. Tygart’s husband, Fraz Ahmed, also practices at Coker Law, representing plainti s in auto colli- sions and other personal injury mat- ters.
In spite of her family ties to the le- gal profession, practicing law wasn’t Tygart’s rst career choice. rough- out her middle and high school years, she was heavily involved in theater
and the performing arts. Following high school, she continued pursuing her dream of becoming a stage actress bymajoringinperformingartsand art history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
It was her father who, perhaps not so subtly, o ered her a di erent career path.
“When I graduated from college, my dad basically said to me, you can either go to New York and eat beans outofacanandliveinashoebox,or I will pay for you to go to law school,” she laughs. “I don’t like beans much, so it was sort of a no-brainer. Plus, throughout my life I saw how pas- sionate my dad was about trial work and how much he loved what he did. So now I perform in front of people in a di erent capacity.”
ere is no doubt that the acting world’s loss was the legal profession’s gain. Once she decided on the law, Tygart pursued law school and build- ing a legal practice with a perfection- istic dedication that is her trademark today in arguing cases for her clients. She earned her Juris Doctor at Florida Coastal School of Law.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · FIRST COAST · VOL. 4 NO. 3 12