Louis J. La Cava

Louis J. La Cava is a shareholder at La Cava Jacobson & Goodis and an accomplished trial lawyer with more than four decades of courtroom experience. He focuses his practice on defending medical professionals, hospitals, and insurance companies in complex civil litigation, including medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases throughout the state of Florida. He has tried more than 250 jury trials.

Mr. La Cava earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of Florida in 1976 and his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Nova University in 1985. While in law school, he served on the Nova Law Journal and received multiple American Jurisprudence Awards in Evidence, Trial Advocacy, and Federal Income Tax, establishing the academic foundation for his litigation career.

Mr. La Cava began his career in 1985 at Stephens, Lynn, Chernay & Klein, later serving as managing partner in Tampa and then co-founding La Cava and Jacobson in 2010. He has built a distinguished reputation defending physicians, dentists, nursing homes, and other professionals against negligence claims, as well as handling bad faith insurance actions and administrative proceedings.

A Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates and Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, Mr. La Cava has also been honored as Florida Trial Lawyer of the Year by FLABOTA. He is consistently recognized by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America, with multiple selections as Lawyer of the Year in the field of medical malpractice defense. His peers have rated him AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

Beyond his trial work, Louis J. La Cava lectures at risk management seminars for healthcare providers and supports numerous charitable organizations. His dedication to professional excellence and community service underscores his role as one of Florida’s most respected trial attorneys.

Law Office Affiliations

• Shareholder, La Cava Jacobson & Goodis
• Member, Hillsborough County Bar Association
• Member, West Coast Claims Association
• Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Member, Trial Law Institute
• Member, Diversity Law Institute
• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• Member, Florida Board of Trial Advocates (FLABOTA)
• Member, International Society of Barristers

Licensed State

• Florida

Education

• Nova University
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• University of Florida
  BA with Cum Laude

Awards & Badges