Fred Levin
| Fredric G. Levin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 29, 1937 Pensacola, Florida |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Florida |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Known for | Rewriting Florida’s Medicaid Third-Party Recovery Act allowing the state of Florida to sue the Tobacco Industry; Benefactor of the University of Florida Levin College of Law |
| Spouse(s) | Marilyn Kapner Levin (1959 - 2011) |
| Children | Marci L. Goodman, Debra L. Dreyer, Martin H. Levin, Kimberly R. Brielmayer |
Fredric Gerson Levin (born March 29, 1937) is an American plaintiffs’ lawyer in the state of Florida, who serves as chairman of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor, P.A, a law firm in Northwest Florida. The Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida is named for him because of a donation he made to the school in 1999, then the largest gift in the school's history.
Fred (as he is most commonly referenced) is best known for rewriting Florida’s Medicaid Third-Party Recovery Act to allow the State of Florida to sue and recover billions of dollars from the tobacco industry for smoking related illnesses, and making Fred one of the wealthiest individuals in Florida after his law firm earned a more than $300 million fee. His flamboyant and brazen personality has resulted in him being prosecuted by The Florida Bar two times, and investigated two additional times.
A comprehensive biography on Fred's life was written by Five-Time New York Times bestseller Josh Young and published by BenBella Books. The book is called And Give Up ShowBiz? How Fred Levin Beat Big Tobacco, Avoided Two Murder Prosecutions, Became a Chief of Ghana, Earned Boxing Manager of the Year & Transformed American Law. Young summed up his thoughts on Fred, and trial lawyers in general, as follows: "After spending a year researching and writing this book, I have a mixed perception of trial lawyers of Fred Levin's caliber. They can be heroes, yet vulgar. Their actions often are motivated by immense financial incentive, but also often result in colossal societal health benefits that could not be attained without them. They can be self-absorbed and egomaniacal, but at the same time unusually empathetic. Without question, they have been historically needed to preserve and protect individual liberties and freedom, and to promote universal safety improvements in all facets of commercial life."
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