Attorney Profiles
Martin H. Levin
Martin Levin is an attorney with Levin, Papantonio, where he has served in the positions of CEO, CFO, Director of Information Systems, and Director of Quality Assurance. He received his economics degree (with distinction) from Stanford University in 1985, and graduated number one in his law school class at the University of Florida in 1988. While at law school, he served as a senior editor on the Florida Law Review, a member of Phi Delta Phi honorary fraternity, and installed as a member of The Order of the Coif. After law school, he worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward B. Davis, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. In 2004, he received his Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School; and in 2010, he received his Master of Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health.
Martin has received more than ten jury verdicts in excess of $1 million, including four jury verdicts in excess of $20 million. Twenty of his writings (including a book on closing arguments) have been published in legal journals. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell; earned his board certification with the National Board of Trial Advocacy and The Florida Bar; and is the designer and developer of SmartJURY™, the most comprehensive and integrated jury selection software ever developed. Additionally, Martin has served as an adjunct professor of trial law at Boston University School of Law and New England School of Law.
In 2001, Martin was awarded the Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association President's Award for Dedication to Quality and Professionalism in the Legal Community. In 1993, he received The Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award for Escambia-Santa Rosa Counties. And in 1992, he was selected by the American Bar Association Young Lawyer's Division as one of twenty young attorneys in the United States to make a difference in the legal profession.
In 1998, Martin established (and serves as president of) the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation. This non-profit foundation promotes individuals and organizations that care for and assist children with the basic needs of life--food, shelter, clothing, a safe home environment, and education. In 2001, the West Florida Association of Fundraising Professionals honored the Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation as West Florida's "Outstanding Philanthropic Organization." To date, the Foundation has contributed more than $3 million dollars to organizations such as: (i) Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen and Catholic Social Services, providing shelter and food to indigent families in Northwest Florida; (ii) Habitat for Humanity, building homes for the poor in Northwest Florida; (iii) Northwest Florida Legal Services, providing free legal services to the indigent; (iv) Sacred Heart Children's Hospital and Shriners Hospital for seriously ill children; (v) Escambia Westgate Center, providing special education to disabled children in Northwest Florida; (vi) Escambia County Kids Home, building a child abuse facility in Northwest Florida; and (vii) Miracle Camp, a recreational facility in Northwest Florida for disabled and seriously ill children.
Martin is presently licensed to practice law before all Florida, Alabama, and District of Columbia state courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern District of Florida, the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern District of Alabama, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Martin limits his practice to civil trial litigation.
Year Joined Organization:
1989
Areas of Practice:
100% Civil Trial Litigation
Bar Admissions:
Florida
District of Columbia
Alabama
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama
U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama
U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida
U.S. Supreme Court
Education:
Harvard University School of Public Health, 2010
Master of Public Health
Harvard University Divinity School, 2004
Master of Theological Studies
University of Florida College of Law, Gainesville, Florida, 1988
Honors: Graduated Number One in Class
Honors: Phi Delta Phi Honorary Fraternity
Honors: Member, Order of the Coif
Law Review: Florida Law Review, Senior Editor, 1987 - 1988
Stanford University, 1985
Honors: With Top Honors
Major: Economics
Published Works:
Opening Statement, Florida Civil Trial Practice ch. 8 (LexisNexis, 4th ed. 1997, 5th ed. 1998, 6th ed. 2001, 7th ed. 2005).
Closing Arguments: The Last Battle (Seville Publishing Company, 2003).
Closing Argument in an Adult Brain Injury Case (in Jacob Stein, Closing Argument Forum Selection: The Art and The Law § 463 pp. 256-268 (West Group Oct. 2001 Supplement)).
Predicting Jury Results: An Art or a Game of Chance? 13 Trial Excellence 5, 8-12 (May 2001).
I Thought My Closing Argument Was Proper, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyer Journal pp 15-17 (Aug. 1996).
Sample Jury Questionnaire in Personal Injury Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 2 Ch 22 Subsec 221A, Supplement, 1995
Sample Voir Dire Questionaire in Personal Injury Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 2 Ch. 22 Subsec 221B, Supplement, 1995
Form Deposition Questions to Independent Medical Examiner, Handling Handling Accident Cases Vol. 4 Ch. 54 Subsec. 47A, Supplement, 1995
Source List for Non-Party Production, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 1 Ch. 17 Subsec. 162A, Supplement, 1995
Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents in Trucking Accident Cases, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 4 Ch. 54 Subsecs. 48 & 49, Supplement, 1994
Formal Settlement Demand in Trucking Accident Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 5 Ch. 66 Subsec. 192, Supplement, 1994
Wrongful Death Complaint in Motor Vehicle Accident Case, Handling Accident Cases Vol. 5 Ch 66 Subsec. 192, Supplement, 1994
Sample Complaint Against a Truck Driver and His Employer, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Forms Subsec. 4:18.50, Supplement, 1994
Deposing the Drivers, Passengers, Witnesses and Investigators in an Automobile Collision, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Forms Subsecs. 4:41, 3:81.50; 3:81.75, Supplement, 1994
Settlement Demands in an Automobile Case, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Forms Subsec. 5:08.50 Supplement 1993-1994
Discovery Techniques in Trucking Accident Cases, Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases; Forms Subsecs. 3:73.50 & 3:82.50, Supplement 1992-1994
A Plaintiff's Guide to Effective Opening Statements, 9 Verdicts, Settlements & Tactics 280-87 (Co-Author with Levin), September, 1989
Reclaiming Marital Gifts Upon Dissolution, Family Law Commentator, 7-10, May, 1989
The Jury in a Criminal Case: Obstacles to Impartiality, Crim. L. Bull. 492-520, Nov./Dec., 1988
The American Judicial System: Should it, Does it, and Can It Provide an Impartial Jury to Criminal Defendants? Crim. Just. J., 89-124, Fall/Wtr., 1988
I Thought My Closing Argument Was Proper, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Journal, August, 1996
Honors and Awards:
Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association President's Award for Dedication to Quality and Professionalism in the Legal Community, 2001
Received The Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award for Escambia-Santa Rosa Counties, 1993
Selected as 1 of 20 Attorneys in the Country to Make a Difference in the Legal Profession, American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, 1992
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Dean’s Council, Harvard Divinity School, 2005-present.
Levin & Papantonio Family Foundation, 1993 - 2007
President
Past Employment Positions:
Adjunct Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA: 2007-2008
Adjunct Professor of Law, New England School of Law, Boston, MA: 2006-2008
United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Hon. Edward B. Davis, Law Clerk, 1988 - 1989