Why I Chose Grossman Yaffa Cohen After Nearly Four Decades in Law

As I approach my 40th anniversary in the practice of law, I am especially grateful for a new opportunity. Joining Grossman Yaffa Cohen in Coral Gables has given me the chance to work alongside lawyers I have long respected and reflect on what makes a firm a place where clients are well served and people are proud to work.

Over nearly four decades, I have had the privilege of representing thousands of clients. I have also spent much of my career running my own firm and sharing responsibility for cases with lawyers from other practices. Those experiences have taught me that a firm’s reputation is built through daily decisions: how carefully a case is prepared and how thoughtfully a client is treated.

As a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and past president of the Miami Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, I have come to appreciate the value of rigorous preparation, professional collaboration and sound judgment.

After practicing independently since 1996, I began considering what a larger firm could offer. I wanted to devote more attention to representing clients while sharing the demands of management, business development and financing litigation. A brief experience opening a Miami office for a statewide firm helped clarify the environment I wanted for the next chapter of my career. I was looking for the resources to handle demanding cases and a culture that gave lawyers time to know their clients and investigate their claims thoroughly.

That search brought me to GYC.

The firm has served South Florida since 1988. Its work encompasses catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and other complex litigation. These are matters in which families may be confronting the death of a loved one, permanent disability or the loss of the life they had expected. Representing them requires patience, substantial preparation and an understanding of questions that often extend well beyond the law.

I knew the reputations of Stuart Grossman, Andrew Yaffa and Gary Cohen before joining the firm. Their professional records help explain why lawyers and families turn to GYC for difficult matters. Stuart is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a recipient of the Florida Justice Association’s Perry Nichols Award. Andy’s work includes medical malpractice and product liability litigation, along with teaching on the adjunct faculty of Florida International University’s medical school. Gary has devoted more than 40 years to medical malpractice practice and has lectured nationally on the subject.

Those credentials mattered to me. What I have come to appreciate just as much is how the people here work together.

The communal lunch table offers a small but revealing example. Lawyers and staff share a space where conversation is easy and everyone belongs. Colleagues help one another with cases. Questions are welcomed, and experience is shared. I have seen concern for people’s lives outside the office as well as respect for their work within it.

Some employees have been with the firm since its earliest days. There are also family connections across generations among those who have worked here. To me, that continuity means something. People stay where their contributions are valued and where they feel they belong. The welcome I have received has made me grateful to be part of that community.

This culture has practical significance for our work. Complex litigation depends on people being willing to raise a concern, share an insight or help a colleague solve a problem. An office that encourages those habits gives clients the benefit of more than one lawyer’s judgment.

GYC’s investigative resources make that collaboration particularly valuable. Its in-house medical and legal investigators work with attorneys throughout the development of a case, providing continuity as records are reviewed, facts are tested and a case moves toward trial.

In my experience here, the depth of medical knowledge available to the lawyers is a considerable asset. A medical record can contain thousands of pages and still leave the most important question unanswered. Understanding the sequence of care, identifying an omission or recognizing the significance of a clinical finding takes careful study. Having knowledgeable colleagues available to work through those issues helps us ask better questions and prepare more thoroughly.

The firm also draws on a network of medical experts and other specialists. Depending on the matter, that may include treating professionals, life care planners, economists or specialists who can explain technical evidence visually. Those relationships help bring the right expertise to a particular question.

Technology supports that effort. I have been impressed by the attention GYC gives to its systems and the support available to those using them. Organizing extensive records and keeping information accessible can give lawyers more time for analysis and client communication. Artificial intelligence has a role, too, provided lawyers verify the information and exercise their own judgment. Responsibility for the representation remains with us.

The firm’s selectivity is another feature I have come to appreciate. GYC takes a deliberate approach to accepting cases so it can commit the attention and resources each requires. From what I have observed, that commitment is taken seriously. When a family entrusts the firm with a consequential claim, the preparation reflects the importance of that decision.

There is also a wider purpose to the work. GYC’s history includes cases that have led to improvements in healthcare practices and safety procedures. Andy’s representation of the family of Deputy Todd Fatta, for example, resulted in changes to the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s protocols for serving warrants, according to his professional biography. That connection between an individual family’s case and the prevention of future harm is one of the aspects of plaintiffs’ practice I most value.

I came to GYC with experience, but also with much to learn from the people around me. Approaching 40 years in practice has deepened my appreciation for the trust clients place in their lawyers and for colleagues who treat that trust with care.

I am thankful to the partners and staff for welcoming me. This anniversary gives me an opportunity to look back on the clients who have shaped my career. Joining Grossman Yaffa Cohen gives me renewed enthusiasm for the work ahead and the privilege of continuing it with people whose commitment I am fortunate to share.