Page 15 - Miami Vol 6 No 2

... You can’t get lost at our rm. Our sta is like family. Every- one knows every case. Clients and co-workers alike are al- ways treated with respect. We value hard work and the art of persuasion, but our over-riding principle is kindness. Without kindness who really cares how clever you are as a lawyer ...
Halpern Santos & Pinkert
150 Alhambra Circle #1100 Coral Gables, FL 33134 (305) 445-1111 www.hsptrial.com
Practice Area
Plainti ’s Personal Injury Litigation
Education
Juris Doctor, University of Florida, 1978
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, Pennsylvania State University, 1974
Professional Memberships
Florida Justice Association American Association of Justice Miami-Dade Justice Association ABOTA.
Honors
Selected to Florida Super Lawyers Florida Trend Legal Elite
Speaker at Bar Events & Seminars
Community Involvement
Coached Youth Sports
Beth Am Synagogue
Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Hobbies
Tennis Golf Fitness Reading
co­counsel, and alone. I have tried cases with favorable facts and pleasant clients, and cases with absurd obstacles, that other attorneys rejected.
I have sat at the plainti ’s table with my pen poised over a copy of the verdict form ready to scribble whatever verdict the bai­ li announced, with my heart pounding at 300 beats per minute. I have had to swallow hard and utter three dreadful words – “Poll the Jury.” I have been rewarded by verdicts awarding more money than I had sought.
ere are many litigators, competent and admirable attorneys who le lawsuits and wrestle with the grind of discovery, but true trial lawyers are a rare breed.
To be a member of that distinct frater­ nity is my greatest achievement.
AALM: What case most de ned your practice?
Halpern: I had just opened an o ce as a sole practitioner. My client’s mother and daughter were killed when their tire ex­ ploded on their way home from visiting him at a correctional facility where he was incarcerated. e case had so many warts that Michelin o ered nothing.
e rst trial resulted in a hung jury, and we were reset to try the case three months later. During those intervening months, I was ooded with expenses from the rst trial. I secured a credit line to stay a oat.
We won a $6 million verdict in the re­ trial. A er the favorable verdict was an­ nounced and the courtroom had cleared, I prompted our trial team, our client and his family, to join hands in a circle and sing the gospel hymn “Amen.” e baili looked on in disbelief as we rocked arm in arm and sang together.
AALM: What case taught you a valuable lesson?
Halpern: A female high school athlete su ered a spinal cord injury in a rollover caused by a defective tire.
While the jury deliberating the defen­ dant increased their o er substantially to
$1.5 million. Our client rejected the o er and demanded $2 million.
While the defense attorney was on the phone requesting the money to settle, the baili announced that the jury returned with a verdict.
e jury deliberated only 50 minutes – a sure defense verdict.
e defense attorney hung up the phone and told us he was instructed to withdraw all o ers.
I was 39 years old, married with three kids, and living in a rental a er Hurricane Andrew destroyed our home. We invested $200,000 into the case. I told myself to stand tall and not break down when the verdict was announced.
In closing, I asked for $6 million. ey awarded $6.8 million.
Moral of the story – if you are risk averse don’t be a trial lawyer.
AALM: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Halpern: Expect the unexpected.
On the eve of a trial in Broward a tropi­ cal storm turned our Kendall apartment complex parking lot into a lake. When my car stalled I stripped o my pants, shoes and socks in knee deep water, and returned to our apartment. I hijacked my wife’s car while she called AAA and the judge. is was before cell phones. What­ ever she told the judge worked because when I galloped into court looking like I emerged from a washing machine, the judge and defense attorneys cracked up laughing.
Another time my pregnant wife’s wa­ ter broke at 5 a.m. on the morning I was scheduled to pick a jury again in Broward. When I emerged from the delivery room I called the judge’s chambers. e judge said my client, defense counsel and a jury pool was waiting for me. I told him where I was but he demanded the phone number of the hospital to con rm my story before rescheduling.
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