Shareholder Benford l. Samuels jr.
Shareholder / Practice Group Leader Benford L. Samuels, Jr.

Benford L. Samuels, Jr.

Shareholder / Practice Group Leader

Areas Of Practice

Mr. Samuels concentrates his practice on workers’ compensation disputes in Florida state courts. He also regularly defends claims brought under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act throughout the southeastern United States. Mr. Samuels’ breadth of experience in the employer liability arena allows him to provide practical, in-depth knowledge of the law when counseling employers, manufacturers, insurers, servicing agents, and self-insured entities on a diverse spectrum of employer liability issues.  Mr. Samuels has lectured extensively on a wide range of topics in workers’ compensation and longshore forums.

Mr. Samuels received the E. Robert Williams Inn of Court’s John J. Schickel Professionalism Award in 2013. The E. Robert Williams Inn of Court is comprised of lawyers, judges, mediators, and law students who are significantly involved in the workers’ compensation area of law in Jacksonville. The Inn’s mission is to promote professionalism, provide tutelage and mentoring among its members, while playing an active part in North Florida’s legal community. Mr. Samuels, one of the founders and past presidents of the chapter, is active in promoting the organization’s mission for its members, his clients, peers, and in practice.

Admissions

  • Florida, 1988
  • United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2005

Awards & Recognition

  • AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, 2016
  • E. Robert Williams Inn of Court’s John J. Schickel Professionalism Award, 2013
  • Listed in 904 Magazine as “Lawyer of the Year,” 2010
  • Listed in Florida Trend Magazine, Florida’s “Legal Elite” (2006, 2007)
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America® for Workers’ Compensation, (2021-2025)

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • The Florida Bar, Worker’s Compensation Section
  • The Jacksonville Bar Association
    • Worker’s Compensation Section, Chair, (1991-1993), Co-Chair, (1994-1995)
  • Longshore Claims Association
  • E. Robert Williams Inn of Court
    • President (2009-2010)
    • Vice President (2007, 2008)
  • Florida Theatre Board of Directors
  • Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
  • Council on Litigation Management, please see web site at www.litmgmt.org

Kim Hanapel

Publications and Seminars

  • Adjuster and Claimant Depositions: Legal and Practical Considerations – Webinar, August 2020
  • The Legal Implications of Physical Therapy & FCEs in the Workers’ Compensation Process and Defense of Claims, Speaker, 2019 WCCP Holiday Conference
  • Responses to Petition for Benefits – Webinar, April 2019
  • Timelines and Penalties for Adjusters, June 2018
  • Social Media and the Law, October 2017
  • Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act in Florida
  • Jones Act
  • Adjuster Ethics
  • Overview of Florida Statute 440.09 and Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
  • Instructor, State of Florida, DFS, Bureau of Licensing
    • 3-24a – Adjuster Law & Policy
    • 3-24b – Adjuster Ethics
    • 3-24c – Adjuster Optional
  • Instructor, Association of Workers’ Compensation Professionals
    • Featured speaker, The Complete Survival Guide to Florida Workers’ Compensation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, October, 2006
    • Guest speaker, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Program, Jacksonville, FL
  • Jacksonville office – use of mediation in the Longshore forum

Education

  • B.A., Mercer University, 1985
  • J.D., Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law, 1988
    • Phi Delta Phi

Comprehensive Services

Many cases overlap several areas of law. As a full service law firm, we are able to recognize how one legal discipline impacts another. We work as a team on complex issues that require knowledge of a variety of state and federal laws. This multi-disciplinary approach allows clients to receive the large-firm advantage of access to multiple attorneys in a wide scope of practice areas as well as the hands-on customer service offered by a boutique law firm. In addition to civil litigation, employment law, workers’ compensation defense, commercial law, construction law and appeals, our firm also handles professional liability claims.

Our bilingual staff is available to assist with immigration matters, including consular and removal defenses.