Morgan and Morgan is a personal injury law firm based in Orlando, Florida founded and led by Democratic political donor John Morgan. The firm is heavily focused on personal injury, medical malpractice, and class action lawsuits. The firm is among the largest personal injury law firms in the United States, employing over 800 attorneys and 4,000 total employees with over 100 offices in 49 states and the District of Columbia. The firm has also been criticized for its advertising practices, its internal culture, and founder John Morgan’s extensive Democratic political giving and ties to the Biden family. ^{1 2 3 4}

Morgan and Morgan, along with similar firms, has been criticized by the right-leaning Alliance for Consumers for the political donation activity of persons reporting the firm as their employer being 100 percent aligned with Democratic campaigns and candidates and for the firm’s receiving of government contracts. ⁵

Background

Morgan and Morgan was founded in Orlando by John Morgan in 1988 as Morgan, Colling and Gilbert. In 1989, the firm began advertising on radio and television. In 2005, amid disagreements with his firm partners, Morgan bought out the partners’ shares of the firm and added his wife, Ultima Morgan, as a partner, renaming the firm Morgan and Morgan. Morgan later added three of his sons as attorneys at the firm. ⁶

The firm is well known for its aggressive advertising on billboards, television, and radio and its “for the people” tagline. Since its founding, the firm has grown beyond Florida and operates 105 offices in 49 states and the District of Columbia. ⁷

Former Florida Governor and U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D) worked as an attorney at Morgan and Morgan following his time as governor and before he launched a comeback attempt as a Democratic candidate for Governor in 2014. John Morgan was a “key adviser” to Crist’s 2014 campaign and described Crist as being a “magnet for lucrative cases — from BP oil, to sinkholes, to a pollution case where damages could approach $100 million” while working for the firm after being Governor. ⁸

Political Activity

Morgan and Morgan founder John Morgan is active in Democratic political circles, particularly in Florida. He and his firm provided over $15 million in funding to the United for Care campaign to pass a medical marijuana ballot initiative in Florida in the 2016 election. Morgan and Morgan also contributed $1.5 million towards a 2020 Florida ballot measure to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. ⁹

John Morgan reportedly considered running for Florida Governor in the 2018 election but ultimately decided against it, and in 2017, announced he was leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent, although he continued to fund Democratic campaigns and causes, including giving $355,000 to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. Morgan, whose net worth was estimated to be over $500,000 in 2019, has also contributed money and hosted fundraisers for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. ¹⁰

John Morgan is “close friends” with Frank Biden, brother of President Joe Biden. Morgan stated that he and Frank Biden flew to the 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden on Morgan’s private jet. ¹¹

Criticism

Morgan and Morgan has been criticized by the right-leaning Alliance for Consumers for the political donation activity of persons reporting the firm as their employer being 100 percent aligned with Democratic campaigns and candidates and for the firm’s practices launching class action lawsuits and securing government-backed litigation contracts. The firm is referred to by the Alliance for Consumers as among the “shady eight” group of firms that generated $15 to Democratic candidates from 2017 to 2020. Morgan and Morgan and its employees gave over $4 million to campaigns and advocacy groups from 2017 to 2020 with 99 percent going to Democratic candidates and left-of-center organizations. ¹²

The firm has also been criticized by former employees. A 2021 layoff that terminated half of the firm’s marketing department was described by some former employees as possible retribution against several employees who criticized a national ad campaign as inappropriate. An investigation by Orlando Weekly about the matter reported that former employees described the Morgan & Morgan Brooklyn office as a “dictatorship” and “hostile,” a work environment with “great pay” but a high turnover rate, and low diversity. ¹³

In 2018, a former client of the firm won a $5 million verdict for legal malpractice against Morgan and Morgan for its representation of a couple whose child was injured during birth. ¹⁴

1. Barnett, Cynthia. “Profile: John Morgan Unplugged.” Florida Trend. December 1, 2003. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.floridatrend.com/article/12199/profile-john-morgan-unplugged
2. “There’s Only One Morgan & Morgan.” Morgan & Morgan. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.forthepeople.com/who-we-are/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=15737688212&utm_term=morgan%20%26%20morgan&utm_content=572300238649&ads_adsid=572300238649&utm_kxconfid=ty6howcay&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkt6aBhDKARIsAAyeLJ1sHmtHe3urD5FKDitDNpI7thMlnT5VM59qkQAld_99uhTMJpIsu_caApGUEALw_wcB
3. Korecki, Natasha and Meyer, Theodoric and Pager, Tyler. “‘For Christ’s sake, watch yourself’: Biden warns family over business dealings.” Politico. January 28, 2021. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/28/frank-biden-business-dealings-463662
4. Wolf, Colin. “John Morgan’s marketing department argued over a nationwide dick joke. Half of them were later fired.” Orlando Weekly. May 27, 2021. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/john-morgans-marketing-department-argued-over-a-nationwide-dick-joke-half-of-them-were-later-fired-29389663
5.  “Shady Trial Lawyer Pipeline Update.” Alliance for Consumers. January 2022. Accessed October 27, 2022. https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.190.196/h7r.c37.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AFC_Shady-Trial-Lawyer-Pipeline-Report.pdf
6. Leusner, Jim. “50 Most Powerful People – John Morgan.” Orlando Magazine. July 2, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2022.  https://www.orlandomagazine.com/50-most-powerful-people-john-morgan/
7. Leusner, Jim. “50 Most Powerful People – John Morgan.” Orlando Magazine. July 2, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2022.  https://www.orlandomagazine.com/50-most-powerful-people-john-morgan/
8. Smith, Adam. “John Morgan: the bombastic, omnipresent lawyer fueling Florida’s 2014 election.” Tampa Bay Times. November 29, 2013. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20170808194244/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/john-morgan-the-bombastic-omnipresent-lawyer-fueling-floridas-2014-election/2154772
9. Leusner, Jim. “50 Most Powerful People – John Morgan.” Orlando Magazine. July 2, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2022.  https://www.orlandomagazine.com/50-most-powerful-people-john-morgan/
10. Leusner, Jim. “50 Most Powerful People – John Morgan.” Orlando Magazine. July 2, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2022.  https://www.orlandomagazine.com/50-most-powerful-people-john-morgan/
11. Korecki, Natasha and Meyer, Theodoric and Pager, Tyler. “‘For Christ’s sake, watch yourself’: Biden warns family over business dealings.” Politico. January 28, 2021. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/28/frank-biden-business-dealings-463662
12. “Shady Trial Lawyer Pipeline Update.” Alliance for Consumers. January 2022. Accessed October 27, 2022. https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.190.196/h7r.c37.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AFC_Shady-Trial-Lawyer-Pipeline-Report.pdf
13. Wolf, Colin. “John Morgan’s marketing department argued over a nationwide dick joke. Half of them were later fired.” Orlando Weekly. May 27, 2021. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/john-morgans-marketing-department-argued-over-a-nationwide-dick-joke-half-of-them-were-later-fired-29389663
14. Bortzfield, Bill. “Court Upholds $5 Million Malpractice Verdict Against Morgan & Morgan.” WJCT News. December 10, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2022. https://news.wjct.org/first-coast/2018-12-10/court-upholds-5-million-malpractice-verdict-against-morgan-morgan