It starts with a phone call no one ever expects to make.
A mother goes in for a routine procedure and never comes home. A newborn is deprived of oxygen in the minutes no one is watching the monitor. A cancer that should have been caught is missed, then missed again. And when the family calls the one lawyer they know, that lawyer opens the file and realizes something hard: this case needs a trial team built for it.
For decades, that call has come to MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers. And Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms® continues to rank the firm Tier 1 in Tampa for Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, now in its 2027 edition.
Best Law Firms is ranked by Best Lawyers®, and a firm can’t buy its way onto the list. There are no fees to be considered or ranked. To be eligible at all, a firm must have at least one lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®. For 2027, that honor went to 81,620 lawyers, about the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., each selected through peer review. That’s the first hurdle. And while it’s a major one, MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers has continued to have multiple attorneys recognized for years.
The second hurdle comes in the ranking itself for Best Law Firms. Of the more than 150,000 law firms with employees in the U.S., 15,671 were ranked by Best Law Firms for 2027, and just 10,516 reached Tier 1. That means fewer than 7 in 100 U.S. law firms clear both hurdles. MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers is one of them.
For MANEY | GORDON Trial Lawyers, that question gets answered in practice. “The vast majority of our cases are referred to us by other lawyers across Florida and the country who send us their most serious medical malpractice cases or bring us in as trial co-counsel,” says managing partner and board certified medical malpractice lawyer Jeffrey “Jack” Gordon. “Either way, a colleague has trusted us with their client, and we treat that as the highest compliment our profession can give.”
That trust is why they’re known as one of Tampa Bay’s most referred law firms, and why The Trial Law Firm Trusted by Lawyers is more than just a tagline. It’s a reputation their colleagues have built with them, one case at a time. "When another lawyer sends us a case," he says, "they're trusting us with their client and their own reputation. Recognition from the peers and clients who know our work best means a great deal to us."
Jack Gordon is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar and holds national board certification in medical malpractice from the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, a credential few Florida lawyers hold. He and Fritz Gray are members of the invitation-only American Board of Trial Advocates. Fritz has been Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1989 and has lectured on medical malpractice to medical students at the University of South Florida. Andy Steingold has spent more than 25 years representing victims of medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and wrongful death. Steve Zaloudek brings more than 30 years of trial experience, including time defending hospitals and insurance companies, so he knows how the other side builds its case. All of these attorneys, and more, have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®.
The firm is also backed by leading academic medical professionals, highly qualified experts, trial consultants and video producers, and they travel nationwide to depose experts and meet clients. These resources and credentials add up to experience in the court room which translates to why they are called so routinely.
They also take on the cases many firms avoid. Claims against government hospitals, agencies and other sovereign entities come with strict notice deadlines and hard caps on damages. In Florida, a government entity generally pays no more than $200,000 per person unless the Legislature passes a claim bill for the rest. Mr. Gordon has even fought to overcome tribal sovereign immunity in lawsuits against the Seminole Tribe of Florida. These cases are harder, slower, and less forgiving. They take them anyway, because the people harmed in them deserve a real fight, and they have proved they, and their victims, won’t be bullied out of one.
A ranking doesn’t win a case. Preparation, credentials and courtroom experience do. “We’re grateful to the clients and colleagues who took the time to evaluate us, and to every lawyer who has trusted us with someone they care about,” explains Mr. Gordon.
“If you’re a lawyer with a serious medical malpractice case, refer your case to us. If you or someone you love was harmed by medical negligence, call 1-866-344-LAWS (5297) or request a free consultation.”
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not medical or legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Medical decisions should be made only in consultation with a qualified physician. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
