Practice Areas:
John F. Romano was born in 1949, in Framingham, Mass. In 1954, his family moved to Lake Worth and West Palm Beach, Florida. John graduated from Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, in June 1967. In his senior year of high school, he served as Senior Class President and he received numerous athletic honors, including being named to several high school football All-America Squads as a running back.
Upon graduation from high school, John accepted a football scholarship from Florida State University and went on to attend law school at South Texas College of Law in Houston, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in August 1973.
Following law school, John clerked for the law firm of Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson & McKeown while preparing for the Bar exam. He was admitted to practice law in the state of Florida on May 10, 1974. He then fulfilled his military obligation, serving for three years in the United States Marine Corps, an experience which John recalls as "one of the greatest and most fulfilling experiences of my lifetime." During his years with the Marine Corps, he served as a trial lawyer with the "J.A.G. Corps" as a Captain with the Second Marine Division. He received numerous honors in the Marine Corps, including recognition for trial advocacy, leadership, and organizational skills.
In October 1977, John returned to Florida where he went to work with the personal injury and general trial attorneys at the law firm of Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson & McKeown, a firm that was ultimately named Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson, Roth, Romano, Eriksen & Kupfer. In May of 1991, John formed the Palm Beach County law firm of Romano, Eriksen & Cronin with his partners and close friends, Dr. Joel Cronin and Mike Eriksen, and his younger brother, Rodney Romano. In 2007 the firm became the Romano Law Group and includes John Romano's sons Eric Romano and Todd Romano, and attorney Maureen Martinez-Schwab. Dr. Joel Cronin and Mike Eriksen, and Stanley E. Preiser are Of-Counsel to the firm.
John is a board certified civil trial lawyer and litigation attorney with concentrations in insurance law, auto accidents and truck accident cases, fall–down/premises liability cases, product liability, medical malpractice, and business litigation.
He has successfully litigated to a verdict virtually every type of civil and criminal case, including cases involving:
John has given more than 500 lectures across America on trial advocacy and tort and criminal law, and has published more than 100 articles in national publications or papers for national presentation. He is a co-editor of The Trial Diplomacy Journal, the author of Strategic Use of Circumstantial Evidence and the Florida Editor of Depositions.
John is past President of the Florida Justice Association, the Southeast Florida Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Civil Justice Foundation, Gold Coast Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Palm Beach Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the Melvin M. Belli Society. He was the Founder, chairman and member of the board of governors for the Military Law Section of the American Association for Justice; and the founder and first president of Camp LeJeune –Cherry Point, North Carolina Marine Corps Trial Lawyers Association.
John received the Association’s highest honors for his outstanding contributions to the cause of civil justice, including the Perry Nichols Award in 1997 and the Al J. Cone Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
John lives in West Palm Beach with his wife, Nancy. They have four sons and nine grandchildren.
In July 2006, John and Nancy let their passion for environmental preservation serve as the motivator for designing his law firm’s new offices in Lake Worth, Florida. EcoCentre, the Living Building, is Florida’s first, green, “living” office building, incorporating the latest technologies for environmentally responsibility.
Bar Admissions:
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Specially admitted in several states ("Pro Hac Vice") on specific cases (i.e., Alabama, Georgia, New York, Kansas, Texas, and Illinois)
Education:
- Florida State University (Sigma Alpha Epsilon), B.A., 1970
- South Texas College of Law (Phi Alpha Delta), J.D. degree, 1973
- U.S Naval Justice School, 1975
Certifications / Specialties:
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Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education
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Board Certified Trial Advocate, National Board of Trial Advocacy
Awards and Honors:
- Martindale Hubbell – AV Rating
- Catholic Lawyers Guild for Diocese of Palm Beach – Catholic Lawyer of the Year
- Florida Justice Association – Al J. Cone Lifetime Achievement Award (2005)
- Florida Justice Association – Perry Nichols Award for Lifetime of Achievement and Service (1997)
- Florida Super Lawyers – Top 5% of Attorneys in Florida
Florida Trends’ Legal Elite - International Academy of Trial Lawyers – Fellow (1997)
- President’s Award for "Lawyer in Preceding Year
- Contributed Most to the System of Justice in Florida”
- Southern Trial Lawyers Association – War Horse Award
Professional Memberships & Leadership Roles:
Publications:
"Opening Statements: Winning the Jury," published by Professional Education Systems, Inc., 2004
"The Deposition Field Manual," (co–author); published by Professional Education Systems, Inc., 2002
"Trial Toolbox" a legal outline series (co–authored with Eric Romano); published by Trial Toolbox Publishing Co.:
"Florida Voir Dire – The Law," January 2002
"Opening Statements," April 2002
"Voir Dire – Sample Questions in a Product Liability Case," July 2002
Editor: "Trial Lawyer" Magazine, 1992–2002
Author: "Strategic Use of Circumstantial Evidence," Kluwer Law Book Publishers, Inc., September 1986
Co–Author: "Depositions," textbook/guidebook, Knowles Law
Book Publishing Company, Spring 1984
