Attorney Patrick S. Montoya, partner at the Coral Gables-based law firm Colson Hicks Eidson, has been appointed to the Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association 2020 Board of Directors. Montoya will be installed at the organization’s Annual Installation of Officers Gala on Feb. 29 at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. He will serve a two-year term.

The Miami-Dade Trial Lawyers Association and its members are dedicated to the pursuit of justice, individual rights, access to courts, education and trial advocacy. The organization works to actively protect the rights, health, and economic security of every citizen threatened by the malicious, careless, or criminal behavior of those who seek to escape responsibility for their conduct.

“I am honored for the opportunity to serve on the board of such a vital organization in our community,” said Montoya. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members this year to further the mission of the organization and protect the rights of innocent citizens.”

A fellow of the American Bar Association, Montoya is active within the legal community and protecting the rights of consumers. He currently serves on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice, the world’s largest trial bar and leading defender of civil justice, and is a member of the Dade County Bar Association’s Board of Directors. He previously served as president of the Miami Chapter of the American Inns of Court and on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s Ad Hoc Committee on Rules and Procedures.

He has also been an active member of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers (FAWL) “Good Guys” program and received the prestigious Theodore Klein Award for his steadfast dedication to supporting women’s issues and advancement within the legal profession. Additionally, he received the Dade Community Foundation’s “Donor Next Door” Award for his volunteerism on the executive committee for the National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ), Greater Miami Region.

A seasoned trial lawyer with more than two decades of experience, Montoya represents plaintiffs in personal injury litigation, commercial litigation, products liability, aviation law, construction law, toxic torts, class action, and wrongful death. He has secured numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients, including a recent $52 million verdict in Ocala, the largest in Ocala history, for a family involved in a catastrophic car accident.

Montoya lectures nationally to attorneys and paralegals on a variety of legal issues and is a former adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law in the Legal Research and Writing program. He recently published a book on Florida Evidence and Procedure, a practical perspective on Florida’s evidentiary and procedural codes from a trial lawyer’s point of view.

Montoya earned his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law as a member of the Moot Court Board and Inter-American Law Review. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with a concentration in Ethnic Studies, from Davidson College where he also lettered in football.

ABOUT COLSON HICKS EIDSON

The Law Firm of Colson Hicks Eidson is a trial firm with more than 50 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation, and arbitration. Members of the firm have been involved in some of the country’s most high-profile and landmark cases resulting in impactful and precedential rulings. A mid-size firm with a diverse staff comprised of more than 50 percent women and minorities, Colson Hicks Eidson prides itself on a track record of developing future leaders within the legal profession and its civic and community involvement. Members of the firm have held notable positions serving on the boards of prominent institutions, such as the State University System of Florida and the Florida State Board of Education, and holding high-ranking offices, including President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of 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.