“The interesting thing about what we do is that when we help our clients we also help the larger community and often help eliminate dangerous conditions that prevent other people from being similarly injured,” says James Hannon, partner in Hannon & Boyers, P.A.
His partner, Robert Boyers, says, “In protecting one, we’re actually protecting many.”
Hannon &Boyers, P.A. is a civil trial firm handling cases in the areas of medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, professional malpractice, premises security, maritime negligence and business litigation. The firm is based in Coconut Grove and serves clients throughout the state of Florida, although clients also come from other states and even from outside the United States.
Boyers says, “Because we have clients who have been terribly injured, we’re trying to help put the broken pieces of their shattered lives together again.”
A History of Shared Values The partners met while serving as board members in the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association. Hannon was managing his own practice and Boyers was a partner in a law firm. They discovered a mutual respect, the enjoyment of discussing cases with each other, and similar values when it came to taking care of clients. They soon realized that they would make a great team and in 2005 formed Hannon & Boyers, P.A.
“I was really impressed with Jim’s honesty, decency and compassion for people,” Boyers says. “He was obviously the kind of person who put other people’s needs and interests first. I always felt that way about my father as well. He is a real role model for me in that way. I saw certain qualities in Jim that I immediately identified with and respected. I knew that this was the kind of person with whom I wanted to be partners. I also knew that he was a very smart person and a talented lawyer.”
Hannon offers similar thoughts about his partner. “I saw, after getting to know Rob, that he really cared about his clients. Unlike a lot of trial lawyers, Rob really cared not only about being the best possible advocate for his clients that he could be, but relentlessly worked to take his skills as a trial lawyer to a new and higher level. He’s constantly honing and improving his skills and abilities as an advocate. He’s done that all the years we’ve been together. He’s always getting better and that’s impressive because he was an outstanding trial lawyer to begin with.”
Hannon earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and his Juris Doctor at the University of Miami School of Law. He has achieved numerous multimillion dollar awards for his clients in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, negligent security, medical malpractice, wrongful death and defective products. Hannon holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has been repeatedly voted one of The Best Lawyers in America by his peers and is listed among The National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Florida. He has also been continually recognized as one of Florida’s Legal Elite in Florida Trend Magazine, as a Florida Super Lawyer in Super Lawyers Magazine, as a Top Lawyer in the South Florida Legal Guide, and was named a Legal Impact Leader in Business Leader Magazine. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum. Hannon has served as a director on the boards of the Miami Dade Justice Association and Dade County Bar Association and remains active in the Miami community.
Boyers earned his Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, has repeatedly been voted one of the Best Lawyers in America for personal injury and medical malpractice and has been consistently listed as one of Florida’s Legal Elite in Florida Trend Magazine, a Top Lawyer in the South Florida Legal Guide, and as a Super Lawyer in Florida Super Lawyers Magazine. He was named one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Miami, Fla. for 2012 and is recognized as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Florida by The National Trial Lawyers Association. Boyers was also named a Legal Impact Leader in the 2008 and 2010 issues of South Florida’s Business Leader Magazine and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum, having obtained numerous multimillion dollar awards for his clients. Boyers sits on the board of the Dade County Bar Association and is a member of the civil rights committee of the Anti-Defamation League. He is a past president of the Miami Dade Justice Association and was a director of the Florida Justice Association.
Sticking to Their Principles “We’re committed to not being out-worked or out-spent by our adversaries,” Hannon says.
Boyers says, “We do everything possible to stick to one of our founding principles, which is to make sure we give every client and every case all the resources and attention that they need and deserve. We know that our clients come to us because they have suffered great harm and depend on us to achieve just and often desperately needed compensation. We take our obligations to them very seriously.
The partners also stress the gratification they derive from their work.
Hannon says, “If we sue a hospital for neglecting and harming a patient, not only are we getting compensation to help that patient, but, hopefully, that hospital’s risk management people will try to avoid being sued in the future by fixing the problem that caused the our client’s injuries. When we see that occur, it’s very satisfying.”
Boyers says, “When our efforts culminate in our clients receiving significant financial compensation that is going to dramatically improve their lives, and protect their children or other loved ones from a future that would, otherwise, have been far more difficult, that makes all the challenges we had to face along the way worthwhile.”
