JOSEPH P. MILTON was Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by The Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He was a Board Certified in Admiralty & Maritime Law by The Florida Bar. He was a proctor in Admiralty certified by the Maritime Law Association, and a member of the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute. Mr. Milton founded the firm in 1990 after having been a senior partner at Howell, Liles and Milton.
Mr. Milton concentrated on representation of both plaintiffs and defendants and was well recognized for his expertise in handling heavy exposure personal injury cases. He was a past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association, past president of the Florida Council of Bar Presidents, past president of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, past chair of the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar and a member of the National Board and Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was a past president of the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), which was recognized as the best chapter in the country during his tenure. He was also past president of FLABOTA, the Florida ABOTA organization for the eleven chapters in Florida. Mr. Milton was a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and the American Bar Foundation. He was a past member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors and the Fourth Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission; and past chairman of the Admiralty & Maritime Law Board Certification Committee of The Florida Bar. He was a Master Emeritus in the Chester Bedell Inn of Court. Mr. Milton also served as a past president of the Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates (2006 and 2007).
Mr. Milton was named by the Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit as Chairman of the Fourth Judicial Circuit Committee on Professionalism, which was established at the direction of the Florida Supreme Court. During his chairmanship, The Florida Bar Award for Outstanding Professionalism Program was presented to the Fourth Judicial Circuit. In addition, during his chairmanship, the American Bar Association Award for the most outstanding professionalism program nationwide was presented to the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
During the past decade of his career, Mr. Milton was one of The Florida Bar’s most honored lawyers having received the Daily Record / Jacksonville Bar Association Lawyer of the Year Award for 1999, the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for 2000, the FLABOTA Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for the State of Florida in 2000, and the Outstanding Past Volunteer Bar President Award from the Florida Council of Bar Presidents in 2001. In 2004 he received the National Master in Trial Award from the American Board of Trial Advocates. In 2006 he was named as a Super Lawyer of Florida in the 1st edition of that publication; less than 5% of all attorneys in Florida are included. Also in 2006, he received the prestigious President’s Award from FLABOTA. In 2010, Mr. Milton received the Medal of Honor from The Florida Bar Foundation, the state Bar’s most honored recognition.
In honor and memory of Mr. Milton’s lifelong commitment to professionalism, civility and the highest degree of ethics, in 2011, FLABOTA created the Joseph P. Milton Professionalism and Civility Award, to be given from time to time to a Florida lawyer who exhibits the same level of integrity, honor and courtesy in the practice of law.