The Daily Business Review Profiles Roy Black ~ The Trailblazer with “Jury Magic”

On October 14, 2024, the Daily Business Review profiled Black Srebnick’s Founding Partner, Roy Black, describing him as a visionary and “a trailblazer for his generation and maybe even those years younger.” The profile showcased interviews with retired Judge Phillip Hubbart, Bennett Brummer, and Kendall Coffey, who have known Roy for decades and spoke about him with admiration.

Judge Hubbart has been Roy’s lifetime friend and a mentor since the 1970s when Judge Hubbart was running the public defender’s office in Miami and Roy was a young public defender who needed direction and an opportunity to try cases. Judge Hubbart gave Roy that guidance and opportunity, and their friendship continues to this day.

Bennett Brummer, who would later run the public defender’s office with distinction for three decades, joined that office when Roy was already working there and, in Bennett’s words, it was 1971 and “Roy was already a star.”

And Kendall Coffey, Roy’s adversary when Kendall was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, described Roy as a “very, very strategic,” “meticulous,” and “singularly effective” lawyer. Kendall later founded Coffey Burlington, a law firm of national and international reach, and became one of Roy’s colleagues, not only in the courtroom but also at the University of Miami School of Law, where Roy and Kendall both teach.

In a recent interview by Miami Law, which you can read here, Roy described his mindset when he takes on a client’s representation: “You get into that kind of thinking where it’s you and your client against the world, against the state, and later on, against the federal government. It’s a mindset one adopts to survive.” As Kendall Coffey told the Daily Business Review, Roy is known to the world for his “jury magic,” but to his colleagues Roy is also known for his relentless and tireless commitment to his clients. “You can see in his eyes how much he cares . . . He does indeed carry the agonizing concern of the clients with him.”