Jesse is a South Florida native, having grown up in Hollywood, Florida.
He graduated in 1969 with his Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College and
earned his Juris Doctorate from St. John's University Law School in 1972,
where he served as member and later as Editor of Notes and Comments for
the school's Law Review. He authored the note "Procedural Due Process
in Peno-Correctional Institutions: Progression and Regression," St.
John's University Law Review (1971).
He is admitted to practice in New York and Florida Courts, before the United States District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals in the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, the United States Tax Court and the United States Supreme Court.
Jesse's involvement in the law transcends his busy client case load. He is an experienced arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association in complex business/litigation/construction matters. He is an active member of the Florida Bar and the Broward County Bar Association. He is the current President-Elect of the Florida Bar. He has served as President (1995-1996) of the Broward County Bar Association. He also served as President of Legal Aid Service of Broward County, Inc. (1992) and is a former Chairman of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee, District 17D (1982-1984). Jesse also served as a member of the City of Miami Fire Fighters and Police Pension Board of Trustees for over 20 years and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Gettysburg College where he currently chairs the committee on Trustees.
His partners and associates look to him as a leader and consultant in the most complex litigation handled by the firm and other adversarial matters as his knowledge of civil law and trial procedure is well-known. He has also lectured in Construction Law Litigation Seminars. Jesse has gained a well-deserved reputation as "litigator's litigator" not only by those in the firm, but also by his fellow lawyers.
Jesse can be reached by email at jhd@atkinson-diner.com.