The nation’s premier human relations organization honors Eidson for his outstanding ethical leadership in the legal profession and the Miami-Dade community
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2013) – Attorney Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson, partner at the Coral Gables-based law firm Colson Hicks Eidson, was recently honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) with the distinguished 2013 Miami Jurisprudence Award in recognition of his passion for excellence, high ethical standards, dynamic leadership and social responsibility.
Eidson was recognized during the ADL’s annual Miami Jurisprudence Award Luncheon on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the InterContinental Miami. The luncheon, which also commemorated the ADL’s centennial milestone, drew a crowd of nearly 500 from Miami’s corporate, legal and financial communities. Armando Codina, chairman and CEO of Codina Partners, and Richard C. Milstein, partner at Akerman, served as Luncheon Chairs and Former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh delivered the keynote address.
“I am extremely honored to have received this award,” said Eidson. “I am a firm believer in the mission of the Anti-Defamation League and its fight against discrimination, hatred, and bigotry. I have great respect for the powerful impact the organization has had on our society in its quest for fairness, equality and justice over the past 100 years.”
Founded in 1913, the ADL is one of the nation’s premier human relations organizations, dedicated to combating anti-Semitism, bigotry and hatred, and to building positive intergroup relations. The prestigious Jurisprudence Award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the legal profession and the community at large, while exemplifying the principles on which the ADL was founded.
“ADL is proud to salute Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson, 2013 Miami Jurisprudence Award recipient, whose passion for excellence, high ethical and professional standards, dynamic leadership and social responsibility are all values embodied in this award,” stated Hava Holzhauer, ADL Florida Regional Director. “Mr. Eidson has joined ADL as an ally in building a world where hate is not fostered, where being different is not a liability and where diversity is a cherished strength.”
A nationally recognized trial lawyer, Eidson concentrates his practice on litigation, primarily in the fields of products liability, medical and legal malpractice, aviation, class action and multidistrict litigation. He has tried more than 125 cases to jury verdict during his career and is best known for his work in some of the largest automotive recalls in U.S. history.
He has volunteered on a multitude of professional and community boards, including serving as president of the American Association for Justice, president of the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, and president of the Miami Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Recently, he was installed as chairman of the American Association for Justice Foundation and was awarded the Florida Justice Association’s Al J. Cone Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to his national public service and professional activities, Eidson is committed to service in the Miami-Dade community. A longtime supporter of the performing arts in South Florida, he currently serves as chairman for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, a position he has held for the past three years. He is also a founding member of the Town Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to creating and sustaining a vibrant urban area surrounding the Arsht Center, and currently serves as chairman emeritus for the Miami City Ballet, where he has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1999 and previously served as president and chairman of the board for nine years.
In addition to his work in the visual and performing arts, Eidson provides support to numerous charitable organizations including, Miami Children’s Hospital, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Kristi House, and The United Way’s Tocqueville Society, among others.
Eidson endowed the renowned Emory Law School Kessler-Eidson Trial Technique Program as well as the University of South Carolina Foreign Exchange program. Eidson and his firm have supported scholarships for minority law students at the University of Miami and Florida International University.
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About Colson Hicks Eidson
The injury attorneys of Colson Hicks Eidson have more than 40 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation. Partners at the firm have had the distinction of holding the following offices: President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; President of the Dade County Bar Association; President of the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers; United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. For more information, call 305-476-7400 to contact our accident lawyers.
About the Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. For more information, call 212-885-7700 or visit www.adl.org.