Willie E. Gary

Willie E. Gary is an American lawyer.[1]

Early life and education

Born Willie Edward Gary on July 12, 1947, in Eastman, GA he is the son of Turner, a sharecropper, and Mary Gary.[2] He attended Shaw University on a football scholarship graduating in 1971.[3] He earned his Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law.[4]

Career

In 1995, Gary filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mississippi funeral home operator Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe against Canadian businessman Raymond Loewen after Loewen reneged on a contractual agreement with O'Keefe. Gary won the case, with a jury awarding O'Keefe $500 million in punitive damages; although the case was settled afterward for $175 million, Gary's victory would eventually lead Loewen to resign from his firm, which later would be reorganized after a bankruptcy filing and be sold to a competitor, Service Corporation International.[5][6] The Loewen funeral company case formed the basis of the 2023 movie The Burial starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.[7]

In 2000, Gary won a $240 million verdict against Disney for stealing the concept of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.[8]

In 2019, a $23 billion case Gary won against R.J. Reynolds was overturned on appeal. The case stemmed from the death of Michael Johnson of Escambia County, Florida in 1996, who died from lung cancer.[9]

Memberships

Gary is a member of the American Bar Association, The Florida Bar, National Bar Association, and NAACP.[10][11]

Awards and honors

General Assembly of the State of South Carolina recognized him as one of the United States’ most respected and accomplished lawyers.[12]

In 2019, the American Bar Association awarded him the Spirit of Excellence award at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.[13]

Personal life

Gary owned two personal jets named "Wings of Justice I & II".The first (Gulfstream II - N901WG) was scrapped in 2010. Gary's Boeing 737 (N902WG) was mothballed in 2017 and the registration lapsed in 2018. It is currently in storage at Witham Field, Stuart, Fl. He is listed as one of the richest lawyers in the world.[14]

He is married to Gloria Gary and has 4 children: Kenneth, Sekou, Kobe, and Ali.[15][16]

References
  1. "Willie Gary". williegary.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  2. "Willie Gary | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  3. Writer, JIM SCHLOSSER Staff. "MILLIONAIRE ALUM SHARES SUCCESS WITH SHAW". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  4. "Famous HBCU Alumni". Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  5. Harr, Jonathan. "The Burial". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  6. "How A Mississippi Funeral Home Showdown Freaked Out The White House". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  7. "The Burial: Jamie Foxx to Star in and Produce Amazon Studios' Legal Drama". ComingSoon.net. 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  8. Staff, Jerry Jackson of The Sentinel. "NOT EVEN DISNEY CAN TOP THIS LAWYER". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  9. Caplan, Andrew. "Jury sides with tobacco company in $23.6 billion case". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  10. "Willie Gary". Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary, P.L.L.C. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  11. "::Attorney Willie E. Gary - WCP Communications Speakers Bureau ::". www.wcpcommunications.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  12. "2003-2004 Bill 5050: Willie E. Gary - South Carolina Legislature Online". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  13. "Florida attorney Willie E. Gary to receive ABA 2019 Spirit of Excellence Award". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  14. SeventhQueen (2017-01-07). "The top 20 Richest Lawyers of the World". Legal Desire. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  15. "Kobie Gary imprisoned after plea in drug case | Video". www.tcpalm.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  16. "1999 Horatio Alger Award Recipient".
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