In the early '90s, Big Tobacco was making a killing. There was no entity more powerful, and national tobacco-related deaths numbered in the hundreds of thousands each year. The economic loss from smoking-related illnesses was billions of dollars.
And yet, Big Tobacco had never paid a nickel in court. Until one trial lawyer discovered he could revise part of a Medicaid law so that it would enable Florida to sue Big Tobacco to reimburse the state for health care costs. The end result? Hundreds of thousands of American lives have been, and will continue to be, saved because one lawyer found a loophole and ran with it.
Meet Fred Levin.
Called by his son "a philanthropist and a cockroach," Fred Levin is no clean-cut lawyer pulled from the pages of a John Grisham novel. "And Give Up Showbiz?: How Fred Levin Beat Big Tobacco, Avoided Two Murder Prosecutions, Became Chief of Ghana, Earned Boxing Manager of the Year, and Transformed American Law" gives readers a glimpse into the extraordinary and entertaining life of the top trial lawyer who was a pioneer in establishing American personal injury law.
"And Give Up Showbiz?" presents the extraordinary life of a lawyer of a different breed. Seen as an inspiring innovator by some and a flamboyant self-promoter by others, Levin once called his profession "the most exciting damn thing in the world."
With victories for women, African Americans, workers, and his famous win against Big Tobacco, Levin's unprecedented legal career is just one aspect of his rollercoaster life story. From civil rights, to boxing management, to avoiding multiple disbarring attempts and murder investigations, Levin's story reads like a novel suitable for the silver screen. Levin worked closely with "New York Times" bestselling author Josh Young to create a memoir that is both shockingly candid and surprisingly funny.