Bob was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1959. He graduated from the Yale Law School in 1962, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1962.
Here's some more of his bio, which does not do justice to the impact he had on this community:
Bob is one of Dade County′s premiere trial lawyers. He has been listed annually since 1987 in the Best Lawyers in America in two categories–Business Litigation and Criminal Law since 2003 and from 2003 he has been listed in Chambers and Partners as one of the top four commercial litigators in Florida. In 2006 he was listed #1 trial lawyer in Florida by Super Lawyers. He has received the Dade County Bar David Dyer Professionalism Award, the Bnai Brith 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 in (2009-2010) and the Florida Bar Foundation’s Medal of Honor Award in 2013.
In 2012, he was awarded the Florida Bar Criminal Law Section’s Selig I. Goldin Memorial Award, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Theodore “Ted” Klein Special Recognition Award, named as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers organization, inducted to the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and named a Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist for outstanding contributions to the public interest through his work in the Checking Account Overdraft Class Action litigation.
Bob was a gentle giant. He will be missed.
22 comments:
Bobby was a legend, a gentleman, and a giant. Our entire community was better off for having him among us.
Another good guy gone. But died telling a story during a deposition at a law firm. Long, stellar life , great -grandfather, mentor to many, spoke at my County Court investiture in 1986, took care of his old boss and my boss Bill Meadows in my first job out of law school, superb trial lawyer. I will miss him. My sympathy to Marlene and his large family and his law partners. May his memory be a blessing. FAM
I had the great privilege to successfully handle a DUI Manslaughter case with Bob many years ago. His mind was brilliant and his manner thoughtful and gentlemanly. It was such a pleasure to work with him, and I thoroughly enjoyed when we would talk over the years. He was truly one of the giants of criminal defense, and he will be missed greatly by his family and his family of criminal defense lawyers in Miami. RIP, Bob. You one one of a kind.
Sad that another legend is gone.
Such a good man. If you knew him, you loved him.
It was in the mid 1980s and I was involved representing an employee of a major corporation in the Keys who had been criminally charged with Clean Water Act violations along with other officers and the corporation. Our defense team was doing well with all types of pre trial motions with Judge Aronovitz, but not really overwhelming , until we had the corporation hire Bob to represent the corporate entity. At Bobs first appearance in court with us the character and demeanor of the court and courtroom changed. During days of boring expert testimony on both sides, Bob would be passing post it notes to the defense team of lawyers, giving you a thumbs up for a good line of questioning, making a critical point, and even odds on how the judge would rule on objections! Some notes were very funny and it was hard to not laugh and one time the judge caught me laughing and asked me what was so funny! I could not give Bob up so I gave some nonsense answer and was admonished , Bob just smiled at me! We won several of those motions and the felony charges were all reduced to misdemeanors low fines and no jail time! No doubt in my mind Bobs presence helped us get that result. He was a giant in the Miami law field and a great person.
Sad news. So grateful to have known him and to have enjoyed his wonderful sense of humor.
Sad news. So fortunate to have known him and enjoyed his wonderful sense of humor.
One of the absolute greatest trial lawyers of his generation. And he did it as a gentleman. I never heard anyone say a bad word about him. He was so good, so compelling, and such a decent man, I once heard a federal prosecutor who opposed him in trial tell him, while the jury was out, that he hoped Bob would win the case (he did). He is one the legendary great ones of our profession of trial lawyers. He was the lawyer we all wanted to be. I hope his family is comforted by a life well lived.
Bob was such a wonderful man and lawyer. I knew him from way back in the 1980's. He showed all of us that a lawyer can be a great trial attorney without being a jerk. So sad he is no longer with us. Truly a life well lived.
I have known Bob as a gracious kind person eager to help anyone requesting his help. We lived at Deering Bay and would meet frequently in the restaurant and the Gym. Bob was always upbeat and with a gracious smile. Generous with legal advice and wise and nice. A loss, so sorry.
Bob was larger than life, in many ways. He could turn on his charm, and made skiing with him in Beaver Creek an adventure. He joined Podhurst Orseck when I was a law clerk there. Later, I tried a jury trial against him in front of Judge Phil Knight. His daughter Karen and her dedication to Put Something Back coordinating pro bono efforts is his greatest legacy. My condolences to her, their family and friends.
We are all really lucky to have known and loved Bob. He was a mentor to me and to HUNDREDS of attorneys. Not in a generic way, I mean a REAL mentor who not only improved our careers, but built us into better professionals and individuals. I am eternally grateful to his lovely wife Marlene and his wonderful family whom he loves so much for so generously allowing Bob to share a substantial portion of his time, kindness, and love with the rest of us. He was the greatest man I've ever known and I will miss him very much, but I know he strategically left a piece of himself with all his disciples who will follow his example and always pay it forward. I know we'll make him proud and carry on his legacy. Your friend, Adam Stolz.
So sorry to hear of Bob Josefsberg's passing. He was the first to recognize and then himself offer seminars on "Civility," the precursor to the "professionalism" efforts we see today. His own good humor and wonderful trial skills were, as we see in the comments today, both a gift to clients, and a worthy example to be followed.
In the late 80s and early 90s, he was even known to assist, pro bono, lawyers who faced bar complaints.
Adam got me to think. Who was the greatest person you have ever known? Hard to think of anyone at the A level other than Bob either. What a loss.
So sad to hear of Bob's passing. He was retained and was trying a high-profile case in Palm Beach and asked me to represent a co-defendant. I told him I would immediately drive to Palm Beach to meet with the co-defendant. He said just go to Watson Island and he sent a helicopter to transport me to Palm Beach. He was certainly one of a kind. A gentle giant, a top-drawer trial lawyer who could try both civil and criminal cases as few could. He will be missed and is a legal legend who never will be forgotten. His ethics were beyond approach as a man and an attorney.
I am profoundly saddened by this news. I first met Bob as a law clerk to Judge Gonzalez in the early '80s. He defended an individual in a criminal jury trial in WPB. I got to watch him up close for days in front of the jury. The jury returned a defense verdict – of course, it was Bob. During my periodic "Bob" encounters over the years since then, he always had a smile and a wonderful sense of humor. To me, among his most important qualities were his humility and compassion. Here was a wicked smart and best in class trial lawyer, and yet he treated young lawyers and experienced lawyers and adversaries all with the same respect and dignity without an ounce of ego. I’m not sure “they” make ‘em like Bob anymore. He already is sorely missed.....
All the comments here are accurate. Bob was a one-of-a-kind person, and no one ever had a bad thing to say about him. I met Bob 25 years ago when he was opposing counsel in a high-profile case. Robbie Landon and I represented the defendants and took a number of depositions of well-known local media personalities. (Now I am the only surviving lawyer from that case.) Bob would bring a stack of Daily Business Reviews and magazines to every deposition and catch up on his reading. Every now and then, when we were asking about something interesting, he would look up and pay close attention. At the time I thought he was revealing too much. But Bob knew the case would be decided on the merits of the facts no matter what, and it did not matter if he showed what he was actually interested in. And maybe part of him was letting Robbie and me know, as two young lawyers, when we were doing a good job. The Miami legal community is a lot less bright today, without Bob.
Bob Josefsberg was a true hero. I had the honor of working for him in law school, and he was a person who cared for others and did whatever he could to help somebody out--whether a stranger, friend, or colleague. He mentored hundreds of lawyers and taught them how to be a person and a lawyer. He treated everyone with the same level of respect. Whether you were his opposing counsel, client, or a stranger, he treated you the same. He taught everyone he crossed paths with that you can be successful and happy by being nice, family oriented, community oriented, and authentic. Thank you for all you did. Rest in peace.
I have known Bob for many years. He represented the high road on how lawyers should conduct themselves at all times. If you had to select one lawyer from Miami who represented the right way to practice law, it would be Bob. We lost a legend who can't be replaced.
Early in my career, I negotiated the sale of a commercial property with Bob. His professional and civil approach during this transaction. served as a beacon to me for the rest of my career. Truly a great attorney and even greater person!
This community is going to miss Bob J.! What a gentlemen. What a mensch. He reached out to me at two significant points in my practice and had a major impact on me, all out of the goodness of his heart. He is the gold standard on how to conduct oneself as a lawyer and a man.
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