About Us

Who You Work With Matters

Work with a team of experts backed by in-depth experience and strong case results.

About Coker Law

Battle-Tested Attorneys Know What It Takes To Win

When you have been injured, harmed or suffered loss through the negligence of others, it is extremely important to know how to choose an attorney. We recommend that you carefully check the accreditation, level of experience and record of success of any civil litigation firm or attorney you are considering to handle your claim. If an attorney has successfully concluded, through trial or settlement, numerous cases similar to yours, it is a good indicator that he or she has the experience and skill to handle your case.


It is also important to work with an attorney who has a good reputation as a trial lawyer, because you may need to go to trial to receive fair compensation for your injuries and damages. In addition, defendants in civil litigation tend to offer larger settlements if your attorney has a reputation as a good trial lawyer, as going to court is an option many defendants want to avoid. A skillful trial lawyer will have the experience and resources to prepare your case thoroughly, give you the type of attention your case deserves and help you obtain the recovery to which you are entitled.

Our Client Stories

A Proven Path to Winning Cases

Experience the Coker Difference

At Coker Law, we’re by your side every step of the way. Call (904) 356-6071 today for a free legal consultation.
More Than 1400 Verdicts
19 Lawyers with Individual Specialties
Handling serious injury and catastrophic cases since 1976
DIrect Communication with Your Attorney
Your Own Dedicated Team of Legal Professionals
Resources to Take Any Case Through Trial

Our Core Values

Experience, Commitment, Integrity

Clients come to our firm because of our unparalleled level of experience, commitment and integrity. We apply these professional essentials to all the cases we handle, small to large, in federal and state court.

 

Experience

 

“Experience is the teacher of all things.” …Julius Caesar

 

Senior Partners of Coker Law have each practiced law for more than 40 years and they have done it together. Our firm has a long and storied history of successfully handling negligence in all its forms – injuries from trucking accidents to dangerous products to unsafe premises to toxic environmental situations, to name a few.

We are trial lawyers. Unlike others who make this claim and never see the inside of a courtroom, we have the skills and resources to take cases to trial. We are experienced in handling cases in state and federal court. Trial preparation begins at the start of each case.

 

Our attorneys are equally experienced at negotiating settlements and have the reputation and skills to get clients the compensation required to meet their individual needs.

 

Our firm employs a precise and time-tested process to bring cases to successful conclusion. There are four main phases including investigation, client's medical status build up, demand, and trial or settlement. Our experience as attorneys, together with our highly trained staff, including a full time investigator, positions us to expertly handle the most complicated and protracted of situations.

 

Commitment

 

Commitment to Clients: In all cases, our firm's commitment is to provide the best possible representation to our clients. This is demonstrated by our complete accessibility and responsiveness to our clients' questions and needs. 

 

We take a team approach to every case, assigning two attorneys, a paralegal, investigator and legal assistant to do everything possible to assist clients during the difficult phases of litigation and to obtain compensation commensurate with their injuries and needs.

 

Commitment to Results: Our firm's steadfast focus is on bringing cases to the best conclusion possible in as timely a manner as possible. We commit our resources in the form of a world-class staff and cadre of legal experts. 

 

Our team of paralegals and legal assistants are seasoned professionals and long time members of the firm – many have been with us for more than two decades. 

 

Our firm uniquely employs a full time licensed private investigator by the State of Florida, Walter Brozowski, who has supported our team for more than 30 years and plays a key role on each client's case.

 

Commitment to Professionalism: The attorneys of Coker Law hold the highest professional credentials, are extremely active in key professional organizations, and have received top recognition in our field. The firm holds an AV-Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the most prestigious legal peer rating organization. 

 

All of our named partners are board certified as Civil Trial Lawyers by The Florida Bar. Howard Coker is Past President of The Florida Bar and the Florida Justice Association. John “Jake” Schickel was a member of the Executive Committee of The Florida Bar Board of Governors and is Past President of ABOTA, Jacksonville chapter. Charles Sorenson is Past President of the Jacksonville Trial Lawyers Association and the Jacksonville Chapter of ABOTA. Matthew Posgay is active in the Florida Justice Association and the Jacksonville Justice Association.

 

Commitment to The Community: Commitment to clients and professionalism is equaled only by our team's decades-long commitment to community involvement and service. Actively supporting important organizations and causes is part of the fabric that defines Coker Law. 

 

In over 45 years of practice, our attorneys have served as members and officers of organizations too numerous to name. Representative examples include the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens, The Florida Supreme Court Historical Society, WorkSource, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Child Cancer Fund, the Florida Conservation Association, and the Habijax committee for the Jacksonville Bar Association, as well as numerous child and adult literacy initiatives. For more information, visit our Community Involvement page.

 

Integrity

 

“Integrity is the essence of everything successful.” …R. Buckminster Fuller

 

Another cornerstone of our reputation as a premier Florida trial firm is our unwavering integrity in all aspects of the practice of law. We are honest with all clients, apprising them from the beginning of the course their case will likely take and the potential challenges to be overcome along the way. We set realistic expectations on the time a client's case will take and its foreseeable outcome, based on their individual set of circumstances.

 

Our attorneys work candidly and closely with co-counsel to keep them up to date on all case developments. While lawsuits by nature involve adversarial proceedings, we handle all dealings with our legal opponents ethically and with civility. Nothing less than honor in all processes and with all parties is acceptable at Coker Law. 

Professional Accomplishments

Certifications

The Florida Bar
Experience, evaluation and testing are part of the strict requirements of achieving board certification as a specialist and expert in any of the practice areas recognized by THE FLORIDA BAR. Firm Partners Howard Coker, Jake Schickel, Charles Sorenson, Matthew Posgay and Dan Iracki have each been certified as specialists in Civil Trial Law and Jake Schickel has achieved this distinction in Workers’ Compensation Law.
National Board of Trial Advocacy
The NATIONAL BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCACY is a non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of trial advocacy and to aiding clients to choose experienced legal representation. Firm Partners Howard Coker, Jake Schickel, Charles Sorenson and Matthew Posgay are all certified members of this important organization.

Peer Rating Organizations

Coker Law was named one of the Best Law Firms in Florida by U.S. News and World Reports for 2014. These rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.
Super Lawyers
SUPER LAWYERS The Super Lawyers list recognizes the top five percent of attorneys in each state as determined by independent research and peer review evaluations. The Rising Stars list recognizes the top 2.5 percent of attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been in practice 10 years or less. Multiple members of Coker Law have been selected to the Super Lawyers list every year since its inception; Howard Coker (since 2006), Charles Sorenson (since 2006), Jake Schickel (2006 – 2022), Rufus Pennington (2006, 2008-2010, 2013 – 2022), Matthew Posgay (2010-2022), Lindsay Tygart (Rising Star 2011, 2015 -2015) (Super Lawyer 2017-2022), Dan Iracki (Rising Star 2015-2020), (Super Lawyers 2021-2022), Stefano Portigliatti (Rising Star 2017-2022), Joel Harris (Rising Star 2019-2021), (Super Lawyers 2022), Fraz Ahmed (Rising Star 2010, 2019-2020), (Super Lawyers 2021-2022), David Thompson (Rising Star 2019-2022), Dana Jacobs (Rising Star 2022), Chase Sorenson (Rising Star 2020-2022), Chelsea Harris (Rising Star 2016), (Super Lawyer 2021-2022), Steve Watrel (2018-2022).
Martindale-Hubbel
One of the most respected attorney directories, an AV-rating from MARTINDALE-HUBBELL denotes that peers recognize a firm or attorney as being at the pinnacle of the legal profession. The firm and Partners, Howard Coker, Jake Schickel, Charles Sorenson and Matthew Posgay hold an AV-rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Best Lawyers
BEST LAWYERS is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Only a single attorney in each practice area in each community is named “Lawyer of the Year.” For 2010 and 2014, Howard Coker has been recognized by Best Lawyers as the “Lawyer of the Year” in Personal Injury Law.
The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers is an invitation-only organization composed of the premier trial lawyers who meet stringent qualifications as civil plaintiff trial lawyers. Selection is based on a thorough multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third-party research. Membership is extended solely to the select few of the most qualified attorneys from each state who demonstrate superior qualifications of leadership, reputation, influence, stature and public profile. Howard Coker, Charles Sorenson, and Matthew Posgay are all members.

Invitation Only Memberships

American Board of Trial Advocates
Membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates is limited to attorneys selected by peers and who have tried at least 20 civil jury trials. Firm Partners Howard Coker, Jake Schickel, Charles Sorenson, Matthew Posgay and Daniel Iracki are all members of this organization. Mr. Coker is Past President of ABOTA statewide and of the Jacksonville Chapter. Mr. Sorenson, Mr. Posgay and Mr. Schickel are all Past Presidents of the Jacksonville Chapter.
The International Academy of Trial Attorneys
The International Academy of Trial Attorneys is a group of truly elite trial lawyers representing both sides of the Bar. The Academy’s purposes are to promote reforms in the law, facilitate the Administration of Justice, promote the Rule of Law internationally, and elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession. The Academy includes lawyers from more than 30 countries. Fellowship is by invitation only, limited to 500 members who have been invited to become Fellows only after an extremely careful vetting process that includes discreet inquiries of both judges and other trial lawyers of high standing. Howard Coker is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Attorneys.
The International Society of Barristers
The International Society of Barristers is an honor society of outstanding trial lawyers chosen by their peers based on excellence and integrity in advocacy. It seeks to preserve trial by jury, the adversary system, and independence of the judiciary. As individuals, the Fellows of the Society are committed to the highest of ethical standards and to civility in all their personal and professional relationships. With a limited membership, the Society has Fellows from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and from Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, and Mexico, with the great majority from the United States. Members (the Fellows) are elected by the Society’s Board of Governors on nomination by a Fellow and after inquiry directed to other Barristers in the nominee’s region and to judges before whom the nominee has tried cases. Howard Coker, Charles Sorenson and Jake Schickel are Fellows of the International Society of Barristers.

Membership Organizations

American Bar Association
THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION (ABA) provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public. All firm attorneys are members of this organization.
American Association for Justice
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE promotes a fair and effective justice system for all persons injured by the misconduct or negligence of others. Howard Coker, Charles Sorenson, Matthew Posgay, Daniel Iracki, Stefano Portigliatti are members of this association.
Florida Justice Association
THE FLORIDA JUSTICE ASSOCIATION (FJA) is dedicated to strengthening and upholding Florida’s civil justice system and protecting the rights of Florida’s citizens and consumers. All of our partners and litigation attorneys are Eagle members. Firm Partner, Howard Coker is Past President. Matthew Posgay is currently a member of the FJA Board of Directors.
Jacksonville Justice Association
THE JACKSONVILLE JUSTICE ASSOCIATION is a non-profit organization of civil justice attorneys that represent those injured by negligence or malpractice. Howard Coker, Charles Sorenson, Dan Iracki and Matthew Posgay are all Past Presidents of this organization. Lindsay Tygart is the past and current Vice-President
The Jacksonville Bar Association
THE JACKSONVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION serves as a professional forum that is willing to take action and better serve the public in facing law-related community issues. All firm attorneys are members of this organization.
The Florida Bar
THE FLORIDA BAR is one of the leading organized bars in the nation. Howard Coker is a Past President of The Florida Bar and all firm attorneys are members in good standing. Jake Schickel is a past member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors.
The Florida Bar Foundation
THE FLORIDA BAR FOUNDATION is the only statewide organization that provides funding for Legal Aid and addresses the civil legal needs of financially challenged citizens. Jake Schickel is a former member of the Florida Bar Foundation Board of Directors, both he and Howard Coker are current Fellows of the organization.
Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group
WORKERS’ INJURY LAW & ADVOCACY GROUP (WILG) is a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families who, each year, suffer the consequences of work-related injuries or occupational illnesses and who need expert legal assistance to obtain medical care and other relief under workers’ compensation programs. WILG is a network of like-minded advocates for workers’ rights, sharing information and knowledge, a sense of commitment and kinship, and networking to help each other and our clients.

Start Here

If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, let us help. Contact us by phone or online form to discuss your options or work with our team of trial attorneys. There are no fees unless we win your case.

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