Jim Blecke was born and raised in the midwest, graduating from Ohio State in 1969. Jim graduated from the University of Florida Law School and passed the Florida Bar in 1971. After four years serving as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps and attaining the rank of Captain, Jim began private practice in Miami in 1976.

From then to the present, Jim has been actively engaged in civil trial and appellate practice primarily in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, professional malpractice, insurance law and coverage disputes. Over the past thirty years, Jim has served as appellate counsel in more than 350 reported cases and countless other appellate proceedings without published opinion. Significant reported decisions include Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. v. Phlieger, 508 So.2d 713 (Fla. 1987) (extending statute of repose in wrongful death product liability); King v. Cutter Laboratories, Div. of Miles, Inc., 714 So.2d 115 (Fla. 1998) (expanding enterprise or market share product liability); and Villazon v. Prudential Health Care Plan, Inc., 843 So.2d 842 (Fla. 2003) (establishing HMO liability for HMO contract physicians).

On an individual case by case basis, Jim has had the privilege of associating as appellate co-counsel with a number of excellent trial firms over the years. In this capacity, Jim works closely with lead trial counsel in pre-trial preparation and during trial, in addition to assuming primary responsibility for the case in the appellate courts. After a long and successful association as co-counsel in numerous cases together, Jim formally became “of counsel” to the Haggard Law Firm in 2007.

Jim is AV peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and in 1983 was among the first group of civil trial attorneys board certified as such by the Florida Bar. In 1999, Jim received the “Put Something Back” pro bono award for appellate services, and in 2002 was the first recipient of the Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section Pro Bono Award.