Joseph P. Milton selected to receive 2010 Medal of Honor

by Nancy Kinnally
For his leadership in promoting professionalism and ethics to fellow members of the bar, Joseph P. Milton will receive the highest honor bestowed upon a lawyer by the legal profession in Florida.

The Florida Bar Foundation will present the Medal of Honor Award at its 34th annual reception and dinner, to be held June 24 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in conjunction with The Florida Bar Annual Convention.

After being notified of his selection, Milton said he was proud to be a member of a profession whose members give so unselfishly of their time.

"I have always felt that in addition to helping our clients solve their problems,
we should also do whatever we can to help our communities and our profession
improve," Milton said, adding that he was grateful to the many family members and
colleagues who have supported him in his work on behalf of the bar.

"I also want to thank The Florida Bar Foundation for the marvelous work it does,
and has done for years, for those who are disadvantaged in this state," Milton said.
"They have certainly set the bar for service and funding to Legal Aid."
Senior partner with Milton, Leach, Whitman, D' Andrea & Milton, P.A. in Jacksonville, Milton has been a pioneer in mandating that professionalism be the driving force in the legal community. His chairmanship of the Fourth Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee led to the circuit and the Jacksonville Bar Association being jointly recognized not only as outstanding professionalism program of The Florida Bar in 1999, but also as the outstanding professionalism program in the United States by the American Bar Association in 2001.

He also worked on the code of professionalism as chairman of the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar and served on The Florida Bar Board of Governors when ideals and goals of professionalism were adopted. Milton also has been a strong
advocate for the legal needs of the less fortunate. He was recognized in 1981 with the Outstanding Service Award of
the Jacksonville Area Clients Council for Individual Contribution in Support of Legal Services for the Poor.

His many leadership roles have included serving as president or chairman of: the Judicial Nominating Commission of the Florida Supreme Court; the Jacksonville Bar Association; the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents; the United States Federal Magistrate Selection Committee for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division; the Jacksonville and Florida chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates; and the ABOTA National Foundation. In this last capacity he greatly expanded the "Justice by the People" program to more than 30 million American schoolchildren.

He has been recognized previously with Lawyer of the Year awards from the Jacksonville Bar Association in 1999 and
the Jacksonville Chapter of The American Board of Trial Advocates in 2000, the same year he was named Outstanding Trial
Lawyer of the Year by FLABOTA, which has also recognized him with its highest public service award.

"The Medal of Honor recognizes those singular lawyers in our profession who consistently put the needs and welfare of others ahead of their own. Joe Milton is the latest in a series of honorees whose whole life has been to serve the greater good," said Bruce Blackwell, a past president of the Foundation and one of Milton's nominators.
"His commitment to serving others lives out our Oath of Admission as lawyers. His approach should be emulated, and he is to be congratulated for bringing out the very, very best in our profession."

The Florida Bar Foundation Medal of Honor Award Program was established in 1977 to recognize outstanding achievements by members of The Florida Bar in duty and service to the public, improvement of the administration of justice and advancement of the science of jurisprudence in Florida. The award can also be bestowed upon non-lawyers whose accomplishments warrant The Florida Bar Foundation's highest recognition.