Page 10 - Miami Vol 6 No 1

Attorney of the Month
John H. “Jack” Hickey
By Jackson Williams
Working Lawyer,
Proven Leader
“Intense,” “determined to win,” and “en- gaging” are words other lawyers use
to describe John H. “Jack” Hickey. Hickey was born and raised in Mi- ami. He went to Miami Palmetto Senior High School and graduated from Florida State Uni-
versity and from Duke Law School.
Hickey began his career on the “other side,”
representing large, self-insured corporations in catastrophic and serious personal injury cases as well as handling complex commercial liti- gation and family law. He started as a summer clerk at Smathers & ompson, a large full- service rm in Miami, before being brought on as an associate. It was in this role that Hickey was rst exposed to maritime law, representing cruise lines.
Hickey was assigned to work for Earl Waldin on his rst day at Smathers & ompson. Ac- cording to Hickey, Earl Waldin was generous with his time and patient with the new lawyer.
“He was a lion of a trial lawyer but congenial and friendly outside the courtroom,” Hickey says. “I couldn’t have had a better mentor. In my rst year of practice, we went to trial four times in cases involving catastrophic injuries, securi- ties litigation and insurance disputes. I tried a case as rst chair nine months out of school. Today, that kind of opportunity is unheard of in civil practice. I was just beyond lucky.”
Hickey took the next step of his career at Hornsby & Whisenand, a commercial litigation boutique rm on Brickell Avenue. ere, he met attorney Gary Jones. Hickey became a partner at the rm but eventually le with Gary Jones and they started their own rm. When Jones moved to Gainesville, Hickey switched his practice to the plainti ’s side. e Hon. Gary R. Jones is now a federal magistrate judge in the
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