Ira Leesfield, founder and managing partner of the Florida trial law firm Leesfield & Partners, has been selected as a board member of the Greater Miami and Broward Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. In this capacity, Mr. Leesfield will support the organization’s financial goals, provide direction and guidance on major policy issues and programs, identify and recruit future leaders and supporters for AJC, and serve as an ambassador of the organization in the community.
AJC is an international advocacy organization that seeks to enhance the well-being of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.
As a Miami-based trial attorney, Leesfield focuses his practice on cases involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, aviation, resort torts, cruise ship and maritime litigation, motor vehicle accidents, product and premises liability, negligent security, medical malpractice and nursing home litigation.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Leesfield has been involved in a number of professional and community organizations, including the American Bar Foundation, Anti-Defamation League, Miami Project for the Homeless, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Leesfield Family Foundation, which he founded to support groups that work to enrich and enhance the lives of the underprivileged throughout South Florida and the world. Most recently, he was recognized by AJC with the organization’s prestigious “Judge Learned Hand Award” for his work in advancing the rights of individuals and democratic values.
Through the Leesfield Family Foundation, Mr. Leesfield has also provided a number of scholarships for educational programs, such as the Florida Association of Women Lawyers Scholarship (FAWL), American Trial Lawyers Association Law Student Annual Scholarship, and individual scholarships with the University of Miami School of Law, Nova Southeastern, and the University of Alabama.
Leesfield is a past president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and has been serving as Senior Florida Governor for the American Association of Justice (formerly named the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) for more than 20 years. He served in the administrations of President Bill Clinton and Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, and has served two terms as Chair of the Third District Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Committee and as a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.