Law Firms in Miami, FL

Hiring a lawyer in Miami: what is different

In March 2023 Florida rewrote the rules for injury claims. The limitation period for general negligence went from four years to two, under section 95.11 of the Florida Statutes, and it applies to causes of action accruing after the change. A great deal of the advice still published online was written before it. If you are reading a page that says four years, check when it was written.

The same reform moved Florida to modified comparative negligence: a claimant found more than fifty per cent at fault recovers nothing, under section 768.81. Florida used to be a pure comparative state where fault only reduced the recovery, so this is a real change in what a contested case is worth.

Miami-Dade hears civil matters in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and federal cases go to the Southern District of Florida. Two local facts shape the practice here more than the statutes do. Florida runs a no-fault auto system, so a car claim starts with personal injury protection and only becomes a lawsuit once the injury meets the statutory threshold. And this is the most Spanish-speaking legal market in this directory by a distance, which is why our profiles record which firms publish in Spanish rather than merely saying they speak it.

What lawyers cost in Miami

Injury work is done on contingency, and Florida is unusual in setting a sliding scale in its Bar rules rather than leaving the share entirely to negotiation. The percentage ordinarily steps down as the recovery rises and steps up once a case is answered or tried, so the number quoted on a first call is not necessarily the number that applies later. Ask which tier applies to your case and what moves it.

Ask the expenses question too. Whether case costs come out before or after the fee is calculated changes the final figure materially, and it is answered in the written agreement rather than on the phone.

Deadlines that catch Floridians out

• Personal injury: two years for causes of action accruing after the 2023 reform, under Fla. Stat. § 95.11. Older claims may still carry the four-year rule.
• A claim against the city, the county or the State: written notice under Fla. Stat. § 768.28, and the agency has six months to respond before suit can be filed, so the practical deadline is earlier than it looks.
• Medical malpractice: two years from when the incident was or should have been discovered, with a longer outer limit, plus a pre-suit investigation period.
• Wrongful death: two years from the death.