John H Hickey

Education

John H. (Jack) Hickey graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in the top 2 percent of his class and received his B.A. from Florida State University in 1976 Phi Beta Kappa; Magna Cum Laude. He graduated from Duke Law School in 1980 and was admitted to The Florida Bar that same year.

Career Experience

Hickey is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in two areas: Civil Trial Law and Admiralty and Maritime Law. He is also Board Certified as a Trial Lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) the only national certification program for trial attorneys accredited by the American Bar Association.

For the first 17 years of his career, Hickey worked at large law firms and then his own firm representing cruise lines, railroads, and other self-insured Defendants as well as insurance companies and engaging in personal injury defense, commercial litigation, and family law. Hickey started his career at Smathers & Thompson and went on to Hornsby & Whisenand, where he became a partner. In 1988, Hickey and The Honorable Gary R. Jones founded Hickey & Jones, P.A. In 1999, Judge Jones left and became a Federal Magistrate in the Northern District of Florida, and the firm changed its name to Hickey Law Firm, P.A.

Sixteen years ago, Hickey made the transition to representing plaintiffs in personal injury suits. The Defendants in those suits include cruise lines and insurance companies. He is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Forum based on the cases in which he has obtained settlements or verdicts in excess of $2 Million.

Hickey has appeared on national TV including cable and the major networks over 50 times in the last 5 years, being interviewed about cruise ship disasters and accidents, and crime occurring on cruise ships including sexual assault and rape. Hickey also has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Commerce Committee about these cruise ship issues.

Since 1980, Hickey has been trying personal injury and wrongful death cases in the areas of admiralty and maritime, railroad, medical malpractice, product liability, and general liability.

Leadership Roles

Hickey is rated A/V by Martindale-Hubbell (the international listing of attorneys, a rating achieved by only 5% of attorneys). The rating indicates that the attorney "has reached the height of professional excellence" and is "recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity". He is also listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Emerging Leaders in America. He has been chosen by other lawyers as a: "Top Lawyer in South Florida" in the areas of personal injury and maritime in the South Florida Legal Guide (2004–Present); "Legal Elite" in Florida Trend Magazine(top 1.7% of attorneys) (2006–Present); and Superlawyer in the area of personal injury in Superlawyers.com (2006–Present).

Hickey is a member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors. The Board of Governors is the governing body of all 95,000 members of The Florida Bar, that is, every lawyer in Florida. He is also a Past President of the Dade County Bar Association (DCBA) (2003 – 2004). The DCBA is the largest voluntary bar association in Florida.

Hickey also is a Lifetime Member of the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents, a Fellow and Lifetime Member of The Florida Bar Foundation, and a Sustaining Member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ)(formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). He also serves on the Board of Directors of the AAJ PAC.

Hickey lectures and writes articles on trial practice and on substantive law including Maritime and Admiralty. He is a past Chair of The Florida Bar Admiralty Law Committee and is Past Chair of the Admiralty Law Section of the American Association for Justice.

Published Articles and Speaking Engagements

Hickey has been mentioned in multiple issues on the Miami Herald regarding his work He has been quoted on the behavior of for profit schools who defrauded the government and worked against its students.

Hickey appears on media such as CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, HLN, CBS FOX NEWS, and Court TV for opinion on cruise ship incidents such as slip and fall incidents, negligence, sexual assault, passenger/crew member disappearances, cruise ship pirates, ship tilts, crimes, fires, captain negligence, gas leaks, passenger rights, and breakdowns. He has been interviewed about cruise ship injury matters on personalinjury.com.