In Memoriam
Joel Eaton
Joel received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Yale University and his Juris Doctorate Degree (cum laude) from Harvard Law School. He was admitted to practice before the Florida Bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits, as well as the United States Supreme Court.
Throughout his career, Joel dedicated himself to appellate litigation. His work took him before every appellate court in Florida, including countless appearances before the Florida Supreme Court. He also argued numerous cases before the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits of the United States Court of Appeals and appeared several times before the United States Supreme Court.
Joel contributed significantly to the field of legal scholarship. He authored “The American Law of Defamation Through Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. and Beyond: An Analytical Primer,” published in the Virginia Law Review in 1975, as well as Chapter 6, “Making a Proper Record,” in Florida Civil Trial Practice, Eighth through Twelfth Editions. His article, “Jumping Through the Hoops to Meaningful Appellate Review: Protecting the Record at Trial,” published in the May 1988 Florida Bar Journal, was honored with first prize as the best Journal article of that year.
He was also deeply involved in professional organizations devoted to appellate practice. His service included a term as Chairman of the Appellate Court Rules Committee of the Florida Bar, Adviser to the Reporter of the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law of Torts (Third), and two terms on the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases. He was a member of the American Law Institute, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American Association for Justice, and he was a Diplomat of the Florida Justice Association.
Before beginning his legal career, Joel served his country as a Lieutenant and Naval Aviator in the United States Navy from 1965 to 1971, flying 150 combat missions during two tours in Southeast Asia.
Bobby Orseck
At the time of his death, Robert Orseck was the firm′s appellate attorney. He inspired both friendship and respect, and his loss is felt personally and painfully by all who knew him.
In the fifteen years in which he practiced, Bobby established himself as the premier appellate practitioner in Florida. Although his services were sought by a large variety of clients, he chose to devote his career primarily to the representation of tort plaintiffs, and he often appeared on behalf of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers as amicus curiae in major appeals affecting the rights of accident victims. His deep sense of compassion for the rights and lives of others, combined with his legal genius and abounding energy, produced an impressive anthology of case law containing important decisions familiar to every trial and appellate attorney in Florida. They include Holl v. Talcott, West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., Inc., Metropolitan Dade County v. Dillon, Compania Dominicana de Aviacion v. Knapp, Gates v. Foley, Auburn Machine Works Co. v. Jones, Lincenberg v. Issen, Mathews v. Ranger, Wood v. Camp, and Markert v. Johnson. The Southern Reporter and Federal Reporter contain over 350 reported decisions in which Bobby appeared as counsel.
Many memorials have been and will be dedicated to Bobby Orseck. His presence will continue to be felt in the appellate process for many years to come, because of his intelligent and untiring efforts in shaping the law of Florida.
Robert C. Josefsberg
Bob was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1959. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1962 and was admitted to the Florida Bar that same year and to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1970.
Over the course of his career, he received numerous honors, including the Dade County Bar’s David Dyer Professionalism Award, the B’nai B’rith Professionalism Award, the Florida Defense Lawyers Rodney Thaxton “Against All Odds” Award, the American Bar Association Senior Section Pro Bono Award, the Florida Bar Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award (2009–2010), and the Florida Bar Foundation’s Medal of Honor Award in 2013.
In 2012, Bob received the Florida Bar Criminal Law Section’s Selig I. Goldin Memorial Award, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Theodore “Ted” Klein Special Recognition Award, recognition as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers organization, induction into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame, and recognition as a finalist for Public Justice’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for his work in the Checking Account Overdraft Class Action litigation.
Bob also served the profession through leadership roles in many legal organizations. He was Past President and Dean of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a fellow and state chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, and Past President of the Peter T. Fay American Inns of Court. He was also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Judiciary, chaired the Southern District of Florida Judicial Evaluation Committee, and was a member of both the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission and the Florida State University Law School Board of Visitors.
In addition to his work in commercial litigation, Bob led the firm’s white-collar criminal defense practice, building on his earlier service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Special Counsel to the Dade County Grand Jury, and participant in numerous commissions and task forces on criminal law. He served on the U.S. Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules, chaired the Florida Bar’s Criminal Law Certification Committee, and in 1980 served as General Counsel to Governor Robert Graham.
Bob lectured widely across the United States on substantive law, ethics, professionalism, and civility. His 1994 article on civility was reprinted in more than 20 legal journals and periodicals. He was also deeply engaged in community service, with a special focus on preventing drug and alcohol abuse among young people.
Throughout Bob’s distinguished career, he was honored by the Judicial Circuit Historical Society as a “Legal Legend,” and received the Miami Today Gold Medal Award. His career was highlighted in Daily Business Review’s Profiles in Law, and he was further recognized with the Miami Coalition of Christians & Jews Humanitarian Silver Medallion Award and the American Inns of Court Judicial Luminaries Award.
Walter Beckham
At the time of his death, Walter Beckham was Of Counsel to the firm. Along with Aaron Podhurst, Walter Beckham was a founder of our firm, and it is fair to say that few other lawyers in America have as distinguished a record or reputation. He maintained his close association and long relationship with the firm until his death.
In 1941, Walter received his B.A. degree with honors in American History from Emory University. Immediately after graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Walter was on active duty from 1941-1946 in the Pacific Theater of World War II. By the end of the war, he had earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Walter continued his service in the U.S. Naval Reserve after the war and retired with the rank of Captain after 28 years.
After leaving active duty in 1946, Walter entered Harvard Law School where he graduated cum laude in 1948 with a L.L.B. degree. While at Harvard, Walter was awarded the James A. Rumrill Scholarship and served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review (Vol.61). After graduating from Harvard, Walter returned to Miami and joined the University of Miami faculty as an Associate Professor of Law. In 1949 he was admitted to the Florida Bar as one of its 151 charter members and joined the law firm of Dixon, DeJarnette and Bradford of Miami; he continued on the faculty of the Law School for 2 years, teaching classes at night. In October, 1950, he joined the Law Firm of Nichols, Gaither & Green, making partner in 1952. When the firm dissolved in 1967, Walter became Of Counsel to his then-associate Aaron Podhurst’s new firm.
In 1967, Walter also returned to teaching at the University of Miami as a professor of Law. He taught torts, medical-legal trial tactics, and with the assistance of Dean Fred Lewis, he started the school’s civil trial advocacy course. While there, he also founded the Medical Institute for Attorneys and served as its Director for 15 years. He retired in 1982 as a Professor Emeritus. Walter and his wife, Ethel, established a scholarship at the University of Miami School of Law – the Walter and Ethel Beckham Scholarship – for students enrolled in the J.D. Program.
During his extraordinary career as a trial attorney, Walter was widely recognized as one of the best trial lawyers in the nation. He was accepted to membership in the American Law Institute, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Inner Circle of Advocates, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, where he served as President. He was a founding member and trustee of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and served as Chairman respectively of the Aviation Law Section of the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Trial, Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. Walter is the only non-judge to have served as Chair of the National Judicial College. Walter was also a member and frequent speaker in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association from 1979 – 1995, during which time he served a four-year term as Secretary of the Association.
Walter received several awards for his contributions to the legal profession: in 1984, he received the Perry Nichols Award from the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; in 2004, he was the recipient of the William M. Hoeveler Award from the Center for Ethics & Public Service at the University of Miami School of Law; and in 2009, he received the Legal Legends Award from the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society. Walter was listed in both Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.