Page 11 - Miami Vol 8 No 1

BLACK: Napoleon Hill wrote: “Edu- cation comes from within; you get it by struggle and e ort and thought.” I have spent a lifetime in reading and self- study. When I started as a public de- fender there was little or any training in trial advocacy. is is long before YouTube and DVDs full of practice tips. I had to learn it the old-fashioned way – out of books.
I devoured F. Lee Bailey’s practice manuals: “Investigation and Prepara- tion of Criminal Cases” and “Success- ful Techniques for Criminal Trials.” I learned how to analyze the crime scene evidence from Paul Kirk’s books: “ e Crime Laboratory” and “Crime Investigation.”
I learned forensic pathology by studying the trials of Carl Coppolino, a doctor accused of murdering his wife and his paramour’s husband by injecting them with succinylcholine chloride. One of the best true crime books, “No Deadly Drug” by John D. MacDonald, describes in detail the legal and medical issues and facts in Coppolino’s trials. Reading about the Coppolino case caused me to hunt for and nd other texts like “Legal Medi- cine: Pathology and Toxicology” by Milton Helpern, the medical exam- iner, and Charles Umberger, the toxi- cologist, from the Coppolino trial. It is an exhaustive text on autopsies, full of photographs and diagrams. My copy is worn and beat up, but the 1350 pages sit in an honored place in my library. I spent many hours dissecting these books and many other which I lled with e usive marginalia.
AALM: What do you most hope to accomplish in the future?
BLACK: I have taught courses in evi- dence and trial advocacy at the Uni- versity of Miami for the past 45 years. I enjoy working with students then pushing the best of the best on a path to becoming the next generation of great trial lawyers. is legal commu- nity has always been blessed with great trial lawyers. I want to see that tradi- tion not only continue but surpass its excellence.
PHOTO BY ROBERT KLEMM
Black, Srebnick, Kornspan &
Stumpf P.A.
201 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 1300
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 371-6421 www.royblack.com
PRACTICE AREAS
Criminal Defense Civil Litigation Appellate Practice
EDUCATION
Juris Doctor, University of Miami School of Law, 1970
Bachelor of Arts, University of Miami, 1967
BAR ADMISSIONS
Florida
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Life Member
Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
International Academy of Trial Lawyers
American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
The National Trial Lawyers,
AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com
Executive Committee American Bar Association Miami-Dade County Bar
Association
Eugene Spellman Inns of Court
HONORS
U.S. News Best Lawyers, 1987- 2018
Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2018: “The Top 10,” Florida Super Lawyers, 2006, 2009-2010, 2013 (Ranked #2), 2014 (Ranked #2), 2015 (Ranked #3), 2016 (Ranked #3), 2017; “Top 100 Miami Super Lawyers,” 2010-2018; “The Top 100,” Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2018
Florida Legal Elite Hall of Fame, Florida Trend, 2009-2018
Florida Legal Elite, Florida Trend, 2004-2018
Chambers and Partners:
Star Individual - Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2004-2018; Star Individual
- Florida Litigation: General Commercial, 2012; Short- listed nalist (Top 10 in the US) Chambers USA Awards for Excellence, 2008, 2010
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At a Glance