Episode #7: Chris Searcy in The Heart of Law

Written By Guest User

Faithful to the beating rhythm of her show, Mirena Umizaj invites prime among primes, Chris Searcy, to mark the seventh episode of The Heart of Law. As our keen anchor draws us into their heart-rending conversation, we discover an exponent defender true to his legendary name. 

Plunging into the deep dive, Chris shares two monumental  (yin and yang-like) events, paradoxically defining him and his purpose: “ ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’  just like A Tale of Two Cities, ” he says.  First, Chris reminisces childhood aspirations of becoming a cowboy, a baseball player, and later a gladiator; he takes us back to an idyllic oeuvre of family memories living by the beach and watching ball games, all rivaling a Norman Rockwell painting—that is, until the day his mother's old Fleetwood Cadillac spun out of control on June 1, 1961. His sister, Angie, suffered a traumatizing brain injury; his brother, Henry, lost his life. Almost mysteriously, the day after the tragedy, he met Priscilla, his future bride. Horrifying pain one day and exhilarating bliss the next … Second, Chris takes us years later to Priscilla suffering during the birth of their firstborn son, Henry, and recounts the unnerving details of the roughly mishandled delivery. Unknown to the couple then, the medical negligence eventually caused the mental handicap of their son. Overwhelming elation one moment and crippling helplessness the next.

Shrouded in the mystery of sorrow and joy, these two pivotal events planted seeds of a valiant, purpose-driven career in catastrophic injury law. Sometime during his practice, he encounters two cases mirroring the loss his loved ones faced, lending him the rare opportunity to give the victims an unrivaled defense. All for the sake of yielding justice to injured victims—and over four decades of indomitably winning millions in verdicts—Chris breaks record victories year after year and becomes a consummate legend.   Alongside legal champions like Bill Colson, J. B. Spence, Murray Sams Jr., Robert J. Beckham, and Ted Babbitt, they become fissures of light, calibrating the American justice system, one case at a time.  

Chris may not realize it, but he extends beyond his childhood heroes. Better than a cowboy, he becomes the perfect marksman avenging the weak in blazing glory. Better than a baseball player, he epitomizes the slugging outfielder, making perfect home runs out of every case he represents. Better than a gladiator, he salutes the crowd in the arena of justice, facing every courtroom battle with stalwart fearlessness and chanting deeply into our souls: "Morituri te Salutamus."  . . . So with Mirena, we proudly cheer him on.

EPISODE SURVEY

[00:09:41] Two defining moments of Chris’ life that sets his trajectory
[00:10:13] One tragic accident with death echoing through Chris' life to this day
[00:15:51] The hard birth of Chris’ eldest son causing a traumatic brain injury
[00:23:18] When Chris decided to turn to God and the amazing hope he finds
[00:32:00] Navigating the beginnings of a career in law while nurturing a young family
[00:59:23] Deja vu case, part 1
[01:14:06] Deja vu case, part 2
[01:37:12] A law firm refusing the ⅓ cut

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

  • “My disgust [of] my fear is greater than my fear.”

  • “The most important thing in running any business is to compensate everybody fairly … If you can get that right, doesn't matter how much you screw up. ”

  • “It's not God's fault. He's even sadder than I am because he's so much more capable of pain than I am.” 

  • “I'll be scared to death every time I have some type of challenge or crisis … I can overcome it  … with help of God.“

  • “I don't care what happens going forward, I'm going to give it all I got.”

  • “I think that as far as being great trial lawyers for our clients, I think the professional detachment is way overrated. I think we need to get as attached as we can. We need to try to know what it feels like being in their shoes because we can teach it best when we do.”

  • “I got to try three cases with my dad and he was so proud of me that he was the best PR guy anybody ever had. He'd go around telling people, ‘I've been practicing [law] for 40 years and my son was already better than I was.’ He was a great dad.”

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

  • President and CEO of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A.

  • Vice President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Foundation

  • Graduated with a Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law in the top ten percent of his class

  • The youngest lawyer in the nation to get a million-dollar verdict in 1977

  • Member of the elite, invitation-only Inner Circle of Advocates

  • Recipient of the 2006 War Horse Award

  • Honored with the Florida Justice Association’s Perry Nichols Award

  • Named in Harvard’s The Best Lawyers in America

  • Member of the world-renowned, exclusive International Society of Barristers

  • Holds the title of “Lawdragon Legend”

  • Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America

  • Serves on the Florida Justice Association’s Constitutional Revision Committee

LINKS FROM THE SHOW



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Episode #8: Martin Shellist in The Heart of Law
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Episode #6: Susan Ramsey in The Heart of Law