LAURIE J. BRIGGS has been with Searcy Denney since 1994 and became a Shareholder in 2020. She operates the firm’s tobacco litigation unit, overseeing the day-to-day work on behalf of more than 300 clients and their families.
Ms. Briggs also handles automobile accident, products liability, slip and fall, and personal injury cases, and has been involved in mass tort litigation against a variety of Fortune 500 companies. She was a member of the trial team that gained a settlement of more than $20 million against Honda on behalf of a paralyzed young girl.
A former high school teacher and coach, Ms. Briggs received a master’s degree in educational leadership from State University of New York at Plattsburgh and an undergraduate degree in education from the State University of New York at Albany. She earned her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1993. She is admitted to practice in multiple District Courts and, in 2012, was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Since 2014, Ms. Briggs has been a member of the board of directors of the Florida Justice Association, and currently serves as the Secretary of the organization. She has been honored with that association’s B.J. Masterson Award for professionalism and was the first woman to receive its W. McKinley Smiley, Jr. Award for mentoring young lawyers. In 2021 Ms. Briggs won the Gold Cornerstone Award in recognition of her dedicated efforts in support of FJA’s membership development.
Ms. Briggs is an active member of the American Justice Association, where she was a national finalist for the Trial Lawyers Care Award for dedication to charity work in her community. She has served on the Florida Bar Association’s Student Education and Admission to the Bar Committee and currently serves as co-chair of the Social Justice Committee of the Palm Beach County Justice Association. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Palm Beach County Bar Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
A long-time advocate for women and families, Ms. Briggs is president of Friends of Foster Children of Palm Beach County, Inc., president of her homeowners’ association, and president of the firm’s charity, SDSBS Giving B.A.C.K. She is a member of the Palm Beach County Women’s Chamber of Commerce.
