Hank M. Coxe, III receives the 2012 Medal of Honor Award from 2011-12 Foundation President Michele Kane Cummings
Henry M. Coxe III received The Florida Bar Foundation’s 2012 Medal of Honor Award for a lawyer, the Florida legal profession’s highest award, June 21 at the Foundation’s 36th annual reception and dinner, held in conjunction with The Florida Bar Annual Convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.
A Jacksonville attorney widely recognized for his pro bono work, fundraising for legal aid, and leadership of the organized Bar, Coxe was recognized or his lifelong commitment to duty and service to the public, to improving the administration of justice, and to advancing the science of jurisprudence.
“Hank Coxe has exhibited extraordinary leadership skills since his admission to The Florida Bar and becoming an assistant state attorney in Jacksonville,” said former Florida Supreme Court Justice Major B. Harding. “He has exhibited innovation, courage, and professionalism in the practice of law and in Bar-related activities throughout his career. Those characteristics reflected the leadership that caused his colleagues to install him as president of The Florida Bar and warrant his selection to receive the 2012 Florida Bar Foundation Medal of Honor.”
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid presented Coxe with its highest honor, the Equal Justice Award, in 2004. His many hours of pro bono service also earned him The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Award in 1985. His other recognitions include The Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit, the ABOTA President’s Award, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Steven Goldstein Award and the The Florida Bar Criminal Law Section’s Selig I. Goldin Award.
A criminal trial attorney and director with the Bedell firm, Coxe has served as president of the Jacksonville Bar Association and The Florida Bar. He currently serves on the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, as well as the Florida Innocence Commission, which is partially funded by The Florida Bar Foundation.
As a 10-year member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors, Coxe made lawyer discipline and professionalism a focus, helping to ensure both fairness and public confidence in the legal profession. He also has served as a member of the Judicial Nominating Commissions for the Fourth Judicial Circuit and First District Court of Appeal.
Foundation board member David Rothman said Coxe’s agenda as a leader is always founded on a single notion: “to do the right thing for the right reason.”
The Florida Bar Foundation Medal of Honor Award Program was established in 1977. See a list of past recipients.
