In Memory

Perry Nichols - Class Of 1932 VIEW PROFILE

 

Notes for PERRY AUGUSTUS NICHOLS:
THE NICHOLS FAMILY 1770 - 1978, Thomas Heflin Compton 1978

IN HONOR OF PERRY NICHOLS

Perry Nichols was born on February 1, 1915, in Timpson, Texas, a town of about twelve hundred people. His father was a country lawyer, and his mother was a school teacher. Receiving a football scholarship, Perry left Timpson to attend Marshall Junior College in Marshall, Texas. Terry played center on the Marshall team, which won the State Championship of Junior Colleges on Christmas day, 1933. The coach of the Stetson University football team happened to attend the game and offered Perry a scholarship. Perry accepted and played football for Stetson while attending school there.
The day after Perry graduated from law school, he married Inez Hill in Cocoa, Florida. Perry had no job. Inez's father gave the young couple a 1931 Chevrolet and they drove to Texas. Perry had thoughts of practicing law. Looking over his father's books, Perry noticed that he was scraping out a living charging five dollars for a deed and ten dollars for a will. Perry decided Ather was no future for him in Timpson. He had enjoyed Florida, so Perry decided that he would go to Miami, the largest and most prosperous city in the state, on the premise that if he wanted to make money, he had better go where there was some money. He borrowed fifty dollars from his mother and went to Miami, which he had visited twice before playing football. Perry had seven flat tires driving from Texas to Florida and when arriving in Miami, he drove the wrong way down Flagler Street, which was then a one-way street, and wondered why Miami had so many crazy drivers.
Inez took a job as legal secretary for fifteen dollars a week and the couple lived on this for three or four weeks while Perry looked for work. He eventually took a job with fire Companies Adjustment Bureau, now General Adjustment Bureau, as an adjuster for one-hundred dollars a month and a car. The company trained him in investigating automobile and fire cases, and he spent a year and a half from about 1939 until sometime in 1940 in this work. He quit in 1940 to practise law. After a year or so he formed a partnership with Billy Gaither. The firm of Nichols and Gaither grew and prospered and by 1955 had become the largest and unquestionably the finest personal injury trial firm in the United states. Ultimately, the firm established branch offices in Tampa, fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, and was in the process of opening an office in Melbourne when the partnership dissolved. Perry feels a tremendous affection and respect for the old firm. He said they had more fun practising together than any other law firm he had ever seen He takes great pride in the success that virtually all of the old firm members have enjoyed.
Perry organized and was the first president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, 1950-1951. He has served as President of Dade county Bar Association, 1955-1956. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, 1957-1958, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1964- 1965. Perry was appointed by two Governors to serve on the Judicial Council, which rewrote the Constitution of Florida dealing with the courts, 1953-1958. He is a member of The Florida Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Perry helped organize and was the first president of the Stetson Law Center in Saint Petersburg, Florida. He served as President of The Board of Overseers of Stetson Law School, 1960-1961, and was presented an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Stetson Law School in 1963.

Thomas Heflin Compton

Perry enjoyed fishing and hunting and had been on several African Safaris, and has hunted in the Amazon. Perry leased 15,000 acre of land in Florida for hunting and had a ranch in Arcadia, Florida that breed French Charlis Cattle.
Perry had a law office in Coral Gabels, Florida where he practiced law with a son

 

Biography courtesy of Family Tree Maker Genealogy.

 

 

 


Perry Augustus Nichols

Biography:

Legendary to the legal profession, Perry Augustus Nichols was a political figure and a potent mover and shaker. He is considered a pioneer of personal injury law and was the first attorney to obtain a $100,000 verdict in the state of Florida. Soon after World War II, Perry spearheaded the organization of the Negligence and Compensation Lawyers of Florida, the predecessor of the Florida Justice Association. In 1954, he became one of the founding fathers of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and was elected president of the organization in 1965.

In 1977, the Florida Justice Association created the prestigious Perry Nichols Award given to the attorney whose perseverance, commitment and unmatched dedication to the civil justice system is at the forefront of their lives. Perry died in 1983 at 68 years of age.

Also courtesy of Triallawyerhalloffame.org

 

 





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