Richard E. Chait, Partner

Protecting The Rights Of Employees For More Than 90 Collective Years, Dedicated Workers' Compensation Lawyer Serving Miami

Richard is a shareholder with the law firm of Touby, Chait & Sicking, P.L. which is located in Coral Gables, Florida. His practice specializes in the representation of injured workers throughout the state. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - Finance from the University of Florida in 1984. Subsequently, he attended the University of Miami School of Law and graduated in 1987. Since then, he has practiced in the field of Workers' Compensation Law and has specialized in protecting the rights of injured workers for the majority of his career.

Richard is a former president of the Florida Workers' Advocates (FWA), having served in 2000-01. He has held a District Seat on the FWA Board of Directors since 1993. In that capacity, he sits on the FWA Executive Committee and provides special counsel to the acting President and other officers. Moreover, this Miami workers' compensation lawyer is the longstanding Chair of FWA’s Legislative Committee and Political Action Committee.

Richard is the current Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Florida Justice Association (f/k/a Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers). In that capacity, FJA has appointed him to chair a newly formed Committee on Workers’ Compensation to best prepare for the ongoing legislative and political proceedings which constantly impact this area of the law. Richard previously served on the FJA Workers' Compensation Task Force.

Areas of Practice

Workers' Compensation

Litigation Percentage

100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

Florida, 1988

A Champion for Workers' Compensation

Richard is a past Chair of the Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Section (2009-10) and has held a seat on the Section’s Executive Council since 2001. He currently serves on the Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Rules Advisory Committee. In 2010, he served on the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate’s Joint Task Force on Workers’ Compensation.

Richard has maintained a vital role in Florida’s political, legislative and leadership process, relevant to Workers’ Compensation issues, since his FWA presidency. He regularly works with the FWA and Florida Justice Association leadership teams to formulate various strategies and other plans of action to advance the cause for injured workers. Richard spends extensive time in Tallahassee and traveling through other parts of the state on behalf of Florida’s injured workers and the Workers’ Compensation System. He has testified before the Florida Senate and House of Representatives during various legislative sessions. He has also provided testimony during several Workers’ Compensation Rules Hearings, and most recently, the Office of Insurance Regulation Workers’ Compensation Rate Hearing.

Awards & Recognition

Throughout his career, Richard has received numerous awards and recognitions from FWA, Florida Justice Association, Friends of 440 and other organizations for his efforts and contributions on behalf of injured workers and the workers’ compensation system. In 2004, Friends of 440 honored him as the Outstanding Attorney on behalf of injured workers. During the 2007 FWA Educational Conference, he was presented with the inaugural David H. Levine Outstanding Leadership Award. Following the 2009 Legislative Session, FWA awarded Richard the inaugural Stewart L. Colling Legislative Leadership Award, and thus far he is the sole recipient of this honor. In 2015, the Workers' Compensation Section of the Florida Bar awarded Richard the Frierson-Colling Professionalism Award and the FWA bestowed upon him the inaugural Fill the Shoes Award. In the Summer of 2016, Richard was presented with the Cornerstone Award and the Bronze EAGLE Award at the Florida Justice Association Annual Convention. At the Masters of Justice Conference, the Florida Justice Association presented Richard and his two partners with the distinguished Jon E. Krupnick Award which recognizes incredible perseverance demonstrated throughout his career.

Call us today at 305.257.9472 to schedule a no-obligation, free consultation with one of our Miami workers' compensation attorneys.

Education

University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida
- Juris Doctor
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
- B.S., Bachelor of Science
- Major: Business Finance

Honors and Awards

Jon E. Krupnick Award, Florida Justice Association, 2016
Cornerstone Award, Florida Justice Association, 2016
Bronze EAGLE Award, Florida Justice Association, 2016
Frierson-Colling Professionalism award, Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Section, 2015
(Inaugural) Fill the Shoes Award, Florida Workers’ Advocates, 2015
(Inaugural) Stewart L. Colling Legislative Leadership Award, Florida Workers' Advocates, 2009
Legislative Shoe Leather Award, Florida Justice Association, 2009
(Inaugural) David H. Levine Outstanding Leadership Award, Florida Workers' Advocates, 2007
Outstanding Injured Workers' Attorney, Friends of 440, 2005
Legislative Shoe Leather Award, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, 2002
Outstanding Leadership and Dedication Award, Florida Workers' Advocates, 1997
Eagle Talon Leadership Award, 1993

Professional Associations and Memberships

Florida Workers' Advocates, Board of Directors (District Seat), 1993 - Present
Workers' Compensation Section of Florida Bar, Executive Council (District Seat), 2001 - Present
Florida Justice Association, Member – Chair, Workers' Compensation Section (Current)
Friends of 440, Board of Trustees, 1995 - Present, Board of Directors – 440 Scholarship Fund, 2003 - Present
Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation, Employee Advisory Board, 1996 - 1997
Florida Justice Association, Member - Workers' Compensation Task Force, 2009
Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate, Member - Joint Task Force on Workers’ Compensation, 2010

Classes/Seminars

Lectured for various professional organizations on a variety of subject matters involving Workers’ Compensation Law