Kendall Coffey

Practice Areas

General Commercial & Complex Litigation

Law Firm Defense

Federal and State Government Investigations

Appellate

Federal and State Criminal Litigation

Election Law

Health Care Litigation

Financial Transactions and Lender Litigation

Partnership Disputes

International Arbitration

International Law

Anti-Bribery and FCPA Compliance and Defense

Career

Kendall Coffey is a founding member of the law firm Coffey Burlington, PL, based in Miami, which handles matters in Florida and throughout the United States. Mr. Coffey served from 2009 until 2019 on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission for South Florida, appointed by both of Florida's United States Senators, and was the Chair of the Southern District Conference from 2009 to 2017. Mr. Coffey previously served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the nation's largest federal prosecution office at that time. As U.S. Attorney, he was responsible for thousands of federal criminal prosecutions as well as civil lawsuits involved the United States. After his public service, he resumed private law practice with major litigation roles in such high-profile cases as the Elian Gonzalez international custody battle, and the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election Recount.

Today, Mr. Coffey's practice areas include governmental issues, business disputes and litigation, national and international litigation, fraud cases, contract and loan agreement enforcement, compliance issues, and defense in government investigations. His firm represents businesses as well as individuals facing financial and personal disputes.

A frequent teacher and guest lecturer, he has been a Guest Legal Analyst providing legal commentary over the years for international networks: CNN International, Telemundo, Univision; national networks: CNN, CNN Headline News, FOX, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC; and local television: Telemundo-51 and Univision-23. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Florida International University School of Law, where he has taught International Litigation, Administrative Law, and Negotiations. Additionally, he has taught Florida Constitutional Law, Trial Advocacy, and International Corruption at the University of Miami School of Law, and Florida Criminal Procedure and White-Collar Criminal Law at St. Thomas University School of Law.

Mr. Coffey has been recognized by "Best Lawyers in America" in multiple categories, including being named the 2024 Lawyer of the Year in Miami for Professional Malpractice. He is consistently recognized as one of Florida Trend's Legal Elite, a Florida "Super Lawyer," and a "Top Lawyer" by the South Florida Legal Guide. He was also named one of the National Law Journal’s Lawyers of the Year for 2000 as a member of the Gore legal team.

Publications

Mr. Coffey has written extensively on a wide range of legal topics; he has published two books.

Books:

- Spinning the Law: Trying Court Cases in the Court of Public Opinion, Prometheus Books (2010)

- Foreclosures in Florida, LexisNexis (2008)

Articles:

Mr. Coffey has written almost forty articles that have been published from The Wall Street Journal to the Yale Law and Policy Review, some of his work has been widely cited in numerous court cases.

- Inherent Judicial Authority and the Expert Disqualification Doctrine, Vol. 56 Florida Law Review 195 (2004), cited in BP Amoco Chem. Co. v. Flint Hills Resources, LLC, 500 F.Supp.2d 957, 960 (N.D. Ill. 2007), and American Empire Surplus Lines v. Care Center, Inc., 484 F.Supp.2d 855, 857 n.2 (N.D. Ill. 2007)

- The Due Process Right to Seek Asylum In The United States: The Immigration Dilemma And Constitutional Controversy, 19 Yale Law and Policy Review (May 2001), portions reprinted in Refugee Law and Policy: Cases and Materials (2d Ed.), reprinted in 22 University of Cincinnati Immigration and Nationality Law Review (Fall, 2002)

- Non–Compete Agreements Under Florida Law: A Retrospective and a Requiem! 19 Florida State University Law Review, 1105 (1992), quoted in, Health Care Financial Enterprises, Inc. v. Levy, 715 So.2d 341 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); cited in Bradley v. Health Coalition, Inc., 687 So.2d 329, 1997 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1997); Kupscznk v. Blasters, Inc., 647 So.2d 888 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1994); and Jewett Orthopedic Clinic, P.A., 629 So.2d 922 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)

- The Expansion of Lender Liability in Florida, 40 University of Florida Law Review (1988)

- Freezing Cash Before Judgment, The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5 (May, 1983)

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association (Section of Litigation)- Co-Chair, Task Force on Expert Witness Code of Ethics (2010-2011); Member, Special Committee on Haiti (2010-2011); Section of Litigation (2001-2002); Advisory Committee to the Standing Committee on Elections Law (2010-2011); Special Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (1991-1993)

The Florida Bar - Legislation Committee (1991-1992); Rules of Civil Procedure Committee (1985-1987); Legal Assistance to the Poor Committee (1991-1996)

Dade County Bar Association - President (1990-1991); Officer (1985-1990)

Experience

Bar Admissions- Florida; Supreme Court of Florida; U.S. District Court, Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida; U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits; Supreme Court of the United States

Education