Our Attorneys

T. Patrick Ford, Jr., is the senior partner in Ford & Dean P.A. He has been board certified in civil trial law by The Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1983.

Mr. Ford has lectured nationally on medical malpractice and nursing home abuse for the American Institute of Medical Law, The Gerontological Society of America and the Florida Medical Directors Association and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

He is a former director of the Dade County and Coral Gables Bar Associations, a member of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and a sustaining member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Mr. Ford graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1965 and Columbia Law School in 1968. He joined the U.S. Navy JAG Corps in 1969 and served as a military judge in Pensacola and Key West, Florida until he entered private practice in Miami in 1973.

Mr. Ford is a member of the New York and Florida Bars and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1991, Mr. Ford successfully defended the first physician in the country to be charged with medical manslaughter arising out of the death of a nursing home resident. He has written numerous journal articles on nursing home litigation and is the author of the chapter "Punitive Damages in Nursing Home cases in Nursing Home Litigation" Pretrial Practice and Trials, 2nd Edition, Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company (2003).

When Pat Ford is not in court, he spends his time fly fishing in the Florida Keys and is Chairman of the Golden Fly Invitational Tarpon Tournament, a charitable non-profit corporation. He has written articles on fly fishing for Salt Water Fly Fishing, Salt Water Sportsman, Florida Sportsman, American Angler, Salmon, Trout and Steelhead magazines and for the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).

Mr. Ford has held seventeen IGFA fly rod world records ranging from a 14 lb. 8 oz. Tigerfish caught in Africa to a 196 lb. Tiger shark caught in Florida Bay. Mr. Ford has fished all over the world and is dedicated to the protection of the Everglades ecosystem and the preservation of sport fishing in South Florida.

His underwater videos are shown throughout the Keys and Key West.

William A. Dean is the managing partner with the law firm of Ford & Dean P.A.

Mr. Dean was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on October 25, 1970, and grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. Mr. Dean attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, receiving his B.A. in Soviet History in 1992. Mr. Dean then attended New York Law School, graduating Cum Laude and receiving his J.D. in 1997. Upon graduation from New York Law School, Mr. Dean was employed by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office where he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of violent felony crimes. Mr. Dean then became one of the founding members of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office Special Prosecutions - Narcotics Unit, where he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of organized narcotic traffickers.

Upon leaving the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, Mr. Dean entered private practice and engaged in prosecuting nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, wrongful death claims, as well as funeral home and cemetery negligence.

Mr. Dean obtained his first eight-figure jury verdict by the age of 32 totaling more than $17 million and has successfully obtained over 100 million dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients.

Mr. Dean holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Mr. Dean is also a member of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the Miami-Dade County League of Prosecutors.

Mr. Dean is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of New York, the State of Georgia, the United States Supreme Court and numerous federal jurisdictions across the country.

Mr. Dean focuses his practice on prosecuting nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, wrongful death claims, legal and professional malpractice and funeral home and cemetery negligence. In addition, Mr. Dean is available to handle state and federal criminal defense matters.

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