Mr. O’Toole has been a member of the Florida Bar and practicing attorney since 1997. He began his legal career as an intern with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office while still in college. While only a college student, he was authorized by the prosecutor’s office to resolve misdemeanor and traffic cases on his own.
Early Career
After graduating in the top of his class from law school, Mr. O’Toole decided that he needed real courtroom and trial experience. In 1997, he applied and became a prosecutor in the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. During his career as a prosecutor, Mr. O’Toole was quickly promoted from a misdemeanor prosecutor to a felony prosecutor. As a prosecutor, we learned to try complex cases ranging from DUI to Manslaughter.
It is during his time as a prosecutor that Mr. O’Toole found his niche as a trial lawyer. Mr. O’Toole tried over 100 cases as a prosecutor in front of a jury on his own. At one point, he had won 20 consecutive trials in a row. Moreover, Mr. O’Toole was recognized by his colleagues, defense attorneys, and judges as an outstanding trial attorney.
Mr. O’Toole decided to leave the State Attorney’s Office after having a disagreement with his superiors over charging a defendant with a rare crime. Mr. O’Toole did not feel the defendant deserved to be charged with the crime, his superiors did. This is when he decided to open a law firm dedicated to defending the rights of those accused with crimes.
Career Highlights
Mr. O’Toole has made many headlines since being a defense attorney. Mr. O’Toole’s dedication to his clients in a criminal mischief case led to the shutdown of Broward County’s Pre-Trial Intervention Program. Mr. O’Toole successfully had a judge removed from the case because the judge contacted the intervention program personally so that the client would not be able to enter the program.
One of Mr. O’Toole’s proudest moments as a criminal defense attorney came when he defending a truly innocent man who was charged with armed robbery. The client was home sleeping when the incident occurred. Mr. O’Toole fought hard for over 1 year to get this case dismissed and after it was dismissed, Mr. O’Toole sued the police officers and police department. The settlement of that case made the headlines (Google Search: Richard Sakharoff wrongful arrest). Mr. O’Toole obtained a maximum settlement with the police department and the lead detective agreed to write an apology and pay money from his own pocket. The “victim” who claimed that our client robbed her – well, we obtained a judgment of $2,500,000.00 against her.
Why Christopher O’Toole
- Upholding Clients’ Rights Since 1997
- Member of the Florida Bar since 1997
- Aggressive, Experienced & Relentless Counsel
- Numerous Trials Seen to Verdict
- Dedicated to his clients
EDUCATION
- Nova Southeastern University School of Law, J.D.
- Florida Atlantic University, B.A. (major: Psychology)
BAR MEMBERSHIPS
- Florida Bar, 1997-Present
- Federal Bar, United States District Court, 1999-Present
- Broward County Bar Association
ORGANIZATIONS
- American Bar Association
- The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers