Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid is a partner at Podhurst Orseck, P.A., in Miami. He earned his undergraduate degree in only three years at the University of Miami (B.A. cum laude 1997) and his Juris Doctorate at Yale Law School (J.D. 2000) where he was the William S. Beinecke Scholar. While a law student, Ricardo was a director at Yale’s renowned clinical program. He served on the Board of Directors of the Latino Law Students Association and was an editor of The Yale Journal of International Law. Before joining the firm, Ricardo served as a law clerk to the Honorable James Lawrence King on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He joined the firm in 2002 and was named a partner in 2005.
Ricardo is an accomplished trial lawyer, having obtained multi-million-dollar verdicts on behalf of his clients in both federal and state courts. He currently serves as court-appointed lead counsel for all wrongful death and personal injury claims arising from the Champlain Towers building collapse in Surfside, Florida. He also serves as court-appointed leadership counsel for the plaintiffs in In Re: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and on the In Re: Zantac Litigation MDL. He has been named “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend Magazine, “Top Lawyer” by Expert Guides, the South Florida Legal Guile, and “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers Magazine. He was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. According to the National Law Journal, his verdict of over 195 million dollars in the Fondo Vision natter was one of the ten largest jury verdicts of 2010. The Daily Business Review has recognized him multiple times at its Most Effective Lawyers’ event.
Much of Ricardo’s practice involves personal injury, wrongful death, and product liability cases with a focus on mass torts, class actions, and aviation litigation. He is experienced in Multi-District Litigation and currently serves on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for the NFL Concussion Litigation and the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee for the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Litigation. Ricardo also handles select commercial matters.
Ricardo is Board Certified in Aviation Law, thereby accrediting him as an expert within that field of practice. According to the Florida Bar, certification is its highest level of evaluation of competency and experience within an area of law, as well as professionalism and ethics in practice. In addition to handling general aviation cases involving fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, Ricardo regularly represents victims of commercial aviation disasters. He has been appointed lead counsel or otherwise taken a leadership role in many of these cases, including Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (2019); Laser Aereo, Colombia (2019); American Airlines Flight 331, Jamaica (2009); SpanAir Flight 5022, Spain (2008); TACA Airlines, Flight 390, Honduras (2008); Santa Barbara Airlines, S.A., Flight 518, Venezuela (2008); TAM Airlines, Flight 3054, Brazil (2007); GOL Flight 1906, Brazil (2006); Comair Flight 5191, Lexington, Kentucky (2006); Chalk’s Ocean Airways Flight 101, Miami Beach, Florida (2005); Helios Airways Flight 2U522, Cyprus (2005); Tropical Air Flight 1301, Haiti (2003); Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, Milan, Italy (2001); TAESA Airlines Flight 725, Mexico (1999); and Silk Air Flight MI 185, between Jakarta and Singapore (1997).
Ricardo was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court to serve on the Standing Committee on Fairness and Diversity and by the Chief Justice to serve on his Pro Bono Advisory Committee. He has also been appointed by Chief Judges in the Southern District of Florida to serve on numerous Magistrate Judge Selection and Retention Committees. He is Chair of the Aviation and Space Law Committee of the American Bar Association, a Past Chair of the Aviation Law Section of the American Association for Justice, a Past President of the Cuban American Bar Association, and he serves on the Board of Governors of the American Association of Justice and of the Florida Justice Association.
In 2017, he was nominated to the International Society of Barristers. The Society is based at Duke University School of Law. Membership is by invitation only and is proceeded by a rigorous screening process that considers the lawyer’s ability, experience, accomplishments and ethical standards as assessed by trial lawyers and judges. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only association of experienced trial lawyers and judges.
Ricardo has authored and published works for the American Bar Association, the Westlaw Journal, and other periodicals. He is a frequent lecturer on handling complex litigation and general trial tactics. He has also served on the faculty of the Al J. Cone Trial Advocacy Institute.
He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Ricardo was recently interviewed by LAW360.
Recent speaking engagements:
• AAJ Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA Lecture: Recent Developments in Aviation Cases Involving the Doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens, 7/25-7/29/2009;
• ABA Publication for ABA Tips–published in The Brief Transferring a Forum Non Conveniens Case: Practical Consideration, Spring/Summer 2009
• ABA NYC Bar Association, Litigation Section/Program: Aviation on Trial Lecture: Tips for Effective Opening Statements, 6/4/2009;
• AAJ, Aviation Law Section–2009 Annual Convention, Lecture Topic: International Air Carrier Disasters, 7/27/2009;
• SMU, Lecture: Handling Foreign Aviation Cases–From the Plaintiffs’ Perspective (Representing Victims of Aviation Disasters), 2/21-2/22/2008;
• AviCON, Panel Discussion Member: Aviation Disasters–Investigating the Causes, Resolving the Claims, 5/12-5/13/2009;
• ABA, Lecture: Other Act Evidence in Aviation Cases, 10/16-10/17/2008;
• ABA, Panel Moderator: Aviation & Space Law Committee, Topic: Plaintiff’s Marketing Strategies in the New Millennium: Solicitation and other 500 lb Gorillas, 10/26-10/27/2006;
• AviCON/London, Lecture: Handling Foreign Aviation Cases in the United States and Abroad, 10/9/2008;
• Federal Evidence Law on Admissibility of Prior and Subsequent Incidents Involving the Same Products in Product Liability Cases”, Tort and Trial Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association, October 2008.