Atlantic Coast High School
J.D., Washburn University School of Law, 2022
Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, Duval County (two terms)
Attorney Albert's Story
A hometown advocate, not a market expansion.
I don't practice law from a distance. Jacksonville is the only place I've ever really called home, and I built this firm to serve the community that raised me.
A Hometown, Not a Territory
I was born and raised right here in Jacksonville and graduated from Atlantic Coast High School before heading to Florida State University. This is the only place I can truly consider home, and I've watched strong hometown ties give way to transient business interests in this city's legal community. I built Kishek Law to be the opposite: a firm that's actually from here, for the people who live here.
An Analytical Approach, Built Before Law School
Before law school, I worked in IT, and that background still shapes how I try cases. I use it to build the demonstrative exhibits that help a jury actually see what happened, and to put on the evidence needed to satisfy every element of a client's claim, not just the easy ones.
What the View From the Bench Taught Me
I clerked twice for the Honorable Waddell Wallace, III at the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in Duval County, and it was some of the best experience I could have asked for. I helped the judge prepare orders on matters ranging from pro se land disputes to complex class actions involving insurance claims, and that work taught me exactly what goes into an order before a judge ever signs it. Clients feel that difference. When I stand up at a hearing or at trial, I'm not guessing what a judge needs to see. I've helped write it.
Cases Built to Maximize What You're Owed
I take real satisfaction in the harder causes of action, the ones that move a recovery to where it actually should be: gross negligence, punitive damages, first and third-party bad faith, negligent entrustment, negligent retention, negligent supervision. I've even pursued a claim against a dog owner's homeowner's policy after the dog ran into the street and caused a rear-end collision. If there's a legal theory that gets you a just result, I'll find it.
What "Just" Actually Means
The most important part of any personal injury case is being able to justify why a recovery is fair given the facts. That means looking past the obvious. If property damage looks minor, I look at the trailer hitch, the frame, and what's hidden under the hood or bumper. Those are the details that tell the real story of the impact.
Every Department, Every Case
My only real experience in this profession has been personal injury, and I've seen nearly all of it firsthand. I worked at two of the firms with the most billboards in town, and I started at the bottom. I answered phones as a call center operator, collected medical records and bills, and supported the investigation department gathering police reports, long before I ever worked a case as a trial attorney. Unfortunately, at those firms, more money went into the billboards than into improving the technology and staffing behind how a case is actually built from start to finish. Having worked every department, I understand every part of a case that big PI too often overlooks, because I used to be the one handling it.
Why I Left Big PI
I've seen this business from more sides than most. During law school, I spent a short stint on the defense side, and I watched insurance carriers try to cut corners on attorney costs. That's when I knew I was working for the wrong interests. When a file moves from pre-suit to litigation at a volume firm, too much goes missing, because case managers are incentivized to turn cases over for a bonus, not to make sure evidence is gathered timely and thoroughly. When the drive to collect a fee becomes bigger than the drive to get a client a just result, I believe we've failed the people we're supposed to serve.
Every road in our community has its own story. Hire a lawyer who can bring yours to life. Someone who understands your pain and suffering, even on the good days, and who will personalize your case instead of just being a voice box for some entity.— Attorney Albert Kishek