Keith Mitnik of Morgan & Morgan - One of the Good Guys (Civil Case)

'Mitlock' gives law firm its million-dollar teeth

By Amy L. Edwards, Orlando Sentinel
February 28, 2010


Morgan & Morgan attorney Keith Mitnik hits the law books in the firm's mock courtroom. (Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel / February 15, 2010)

His nickname is "Mitlock" and he's often called John Morgan's "set of teeth."

He has represented judges, world-famous musicians and most recently a Kissimmee woman suing Casey Anthony.

While Morgan is arguably Central Florida's most notorious and recognizable lawyer, it's his legal partner who is known for fierce courtroom battles: Keith Mitnik.

Mitnik's just as at-ease in front of the cameras and reporters as Morgan, and has plenty of high-profile cases to put him there, but you won't see his face on billboards or commercials.

Mitnik is Morgan & Morgan's courtroom warrior — a specialist dispatched to pick jurors and go to battle.

For his part, 51-year-old Mitnik said he doesn't want to be attached to anything that sounds "celebrity."

Mitnik said it's important that jurors know he is "sincere. Real. Not some actor putting on a show."

Mitnik, a Eustis native who graduated from the University of Central Florida and then Florida State University Law School, said he never wants to appear as though he's a big-shot.

"I'm not," he said. "I don't feel important. I feel lucky."

Those who know Mitnik say he really is humble.

"He's one of the most genuinely, sincerely good guys that you'll ever meet," fellow Morgan & Morgan attorney Alexander "Zander" Clem said.

"[Mitnik] believes that a handshake is your bond, and your word is your bond. Being honest and ethical is the way to be," Clem said.

Mitnik certainly has plenty to boast about.

He's a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, designated for lawyers who have verdicts in excess of $1 million. Less than 1 percent of U.S. lawyers are members.

Last year, an Orange County jury awarded one of his clients, a 13-year-old girl paralyzed from a car accident, about $13 million.

"There is not a lawyer in the state of Florida in the last three years that has more million and multi-million dollar verdicts than Keith Mitnik," Morgan said.

Morgan said he spent years trying to recruit Mitnik to join his firm. In 1997, he finally got him.

"I knew then that it was the single most important thing that I'd ever done for my law firm," Morgan said.

Those who have battled Mitnik in the courtroom also applaud his work.

For Orlando attorney Mayanne Downs, her relationship with Mitnik started as a contentious one.

They were on opposing sides in a complicated case involving time-share mogul David Siegel and his ex-wife in the late 1990s.

Downs said she had been working with a team of lawyers and consultants when, all of a sudden, she was "dealing with the flame thrower, Keith Mitnik."

"Keith is a warrior," she said. "And so when he straps on his gear, he fights. That's what the people who hire him want. And it works for him."

Eventually, Downs and Mitnik made peace.

After the judge ruled, Downs recalled, Mitnik walked across the courtroom, congratulated and complimented her.

"It filled my heart with respect and love for him," she said. "I appreciated it. I've tried to emulate it."

Downs, the Orlando city attorney and president-elect of The Florida Bar, said she now considers Mitnik a friend. She follows his success "with pleasure and pride."

Mitnik, she said, has a rare gift. He's comfortable in the courtroom.

"He moves around with ease. When he's comfortable, the people around him are comfortable," she said.

"Keith has a self-deprecating quality. The trick, for those of us in this business, is to have confidence. . . . But you can't let that make one side-step in[to] arrogance. Jurors don't like that."

Mitnik's confidence and humility is a winning combination, she said.

"I think he's emotionally honest. He is who he portrays. He's not putting on an act," she said.

And yet, "He's comfortable attacking when he needs to attack."

Mitnik travels the country and has handled a variety of cases.

Mitnik said he probably tries more cases as a personal injury lawyer representing the plaintiff than any other such lawyers in Florida — about 15 a year.

This summer, Mitnik will likely make headlines again when he and fellow Morgan & Morgan attorneys take on accused murderer Casey Anthony in a defamation suit.

Morgan & Morgan is representing Zenaida Gonzalez, a Kissimmee mother who claims Anthony damaged her reputation by naming her as a babysitter who took Anthony's 2-year-old Caylee. Anthony is accused of killing Caylee in the summer of 2008 and investigators have said no such babysitter exists.

And though he's got plenty of big-figure verdicts, the best work is on the small cases, Mitnik said.

He's just as proud of the nameless cases as he is representing members of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Mitnik said he feels a huge responsibility to head-off injustices and has told countless young lawyers he never tries a case over money.

"If I don't believe in a case, I don't walk in a courtroom," he said.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-keith-mitnik-attorney-20100228,0,2038721,full.story

Thanks Snaz for posting this. It is always interesting to see what makes a man tick. I think he is sincere and that is a quality most lawyers don't have. I was impressed by the lawsuits he has handled and the money he has won for his clients. I think by the sounds of it Zenaida is in good hands. I was impressed with him when he never backed down or let the Antagomies take him off his game. If she has any chance at all it sounds like her is her man.

A rarity..an attorney who truly feels responsible to fight injustices, and doesn't take a case for the amount of money he can make from it.

just wanted to say That the man mentioned in this article is my father and he genuinely is an awesome man! He is always concerned about his clients and getting justice! I have learned so much from him through out the years and am so proud to say that I am his daughter!

Welcome to RC, proudmommy2309!

You are very blessed-from birth!

Hi proudmommy! I agree with Sherry! I read your dad's quote today "We've been on the back burner too long, and we're about to get hot" GO DADDY!

Welcome to RC, tell your Dad he rocks!