Joseph David Magri

Joseph D. Magri is a founding shareholder of Merkle  Magri  &  Meythaler  P.A.  Mr. Magri is an AV® rated attorney and dedicated trial attorney.  He has tried many complex civil and criminal cases, in Federal and State court, before a jury, judge and on appeal.  He has also represented clients in hearings before administrative courts and arbitrators.

Mr. Magri has represented clients in a wide range of legal areas, including federal tort claims, insurance coverage, personal injury, products liability, mold and toxic substances, medical malpractice, employment law, discrimination, whistle blowing, civil rights, health and medicine, mobile homes, business and commercial, lender liability, fraud and limited criminal defense.  In the course of his legal career, Mr. Magri has won verdicts or obtained recoveries of more than one-million dollars in wrongful death, medical malpractice, discrimination/retaliation, toxic tort, products liability and contract/fraud claims.  He has also assisted mobile homeowners in enforcing their legal rights when developers attempted to evict them. 

Mr. Magri started his legal career working as an associate for Cummings and Lockwood, LLC, in its Stamford, Connecticut office, where his practice focused on commercial and administrative litigation for Fortune 500 companies and other large institutions.  He was primarily responsible for handling Texaco's upstream crude oil production work under the Department of Energy's Entitlement Program.  Mr. Magri's other accomplishments include developing the legal theories that: saved a client $120 million in a dispute with the Department of Energy; obtained a $70 million settlement of an insurance coverage dispute; and resulted in a declaration that New York and Connecticut statutes that regulate energy matters were preempted by the Federal Government.  Prior to leaving this firm, Mr. Magri was tasked with helping to establish a branch of the firm in Washington, D.C.

Following his work in the private sector, Mr. Magri joined the Department of Justice in the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.  He initially worked as an Assistant United States Attorney, eventually becoming the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, supervising the Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort Myers offices.  At one point, Mr. Magri served as the Acting U.S. Attorney.  While serving in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Magri prosecuted criminal cases involving corruption, fraud, narcotics and Medicare fraud.  He also prosecuted the first mutiny murder case in several decades.  He often served as the office's media liaison, providing information to local and national media.

Mr. Magri earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.  He received a Bachelor of Arts from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut.  Mr. Magri has been admitted to practice law in the State of Florida, District of Columbia, and the State of Connecticut.  He is licensed to practice in the United States District Courts of the Middle District of Florida, Districts of Columbia, the Eastern District, Southern District and Northern District of New York, and the District of Connecticut.  He has also been admitted to practice in the Second, Fifth, Eleventh, District of Columbia and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals.

In addition to his work in for Merkle  Magri  &  Meythaler  P.A., Mr. Magri donates his time to local groups regarding issues such as choice in education, low and moderate-income housing, the provision of free medical services, and on working with high crime communities and law enforcement in working to protect those communities and address issues such as reducing recidivism.  Mr. Magri also handles selected pro bono cases.

Besides his extensive legal work, Mr. Magri has given presentations and seminars regarding topics such as insurance coverage, mold, healthcare issues and mobile home law.  Furthermore, Mr. Magri has appeared on several television and radio programs to address the Terri Schiavo case and other issues.  He has also had an editorial, entitled "Err on the Side of Life," published in the Tampa Tribune in the March 18, 2001 issue.  Mr. Magri's editorial challenged an earlier editorial which has argued for a change in the definition of death.