Herb Hofmann was born in Chicago, Illinois, but after a few years, his family moved to Sarasota County, Florida where he was raised. He graduated from Pine View High School and then attended New College for a year when he transferred to Florida State University. In 1989, he received his Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Multinational Business Operations Cum Laude and then his Juris Doctorate degree in 1991 Cum Laude. As an undergraduate, Mr. Hofmann was elected to the Golden Key National Honor Society, Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honor Society, Achievement Academy National Award Winner, and American Scholar Award Winner. While attending law school, Mr. Hofmannwas elected into Phi Delta Phi International legal honorary society and served as its Magister. He received the Phi Delta Phi Certificate of Merit and was a member of Who’s Who Among American Law Students. He also presided on the student supreme court for Florida State University.
Mr. Hofmann began his legal career working in Sarasota for a private firm handling personal injury claims. It didn’t take long and he knew that he wanted to be a trial lawyer. Instead of following the typical private firm path, he became an Assistant State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit and prosecuted criminals for two years. Having tried countless jury and bench trials, Mr. Hofmann was hired by a longstanding local firm where he handled personal injury claims for injured persons and extra contractual matters defending local establishments against negligence claims. He had just begun his partnership track when he was invited to join the Law Firm of Morgan & Morgan in 1999. Over his 21 year period with that firm, he became a partner in its Tampa, Nashville, Boston and Kentucky offices. Further, he built, opened, grew and managed the firm’s Sarasota & Bradenton offices. In 2023, Mr. Hofmann decided he wanted to be associated with a local law firm dedicated to helping individuals on a more personalized level. The result was the formation of Shapiro | Delgado | Hofmann | Hofmann. He focuses his practice on wrongful death and severe personal injuries resulting from vehicle crashes and premises liability in Sarasota and Bradenton.
Mr. Hofmann has been a frequent seminar presenter for effectively prosecuting a personal injury claim both in house and for plaintiffs’ lawyers from across the country. In 2013, he was selected for membership in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. This organization is noted as being composed of the premier trial lawyers from across the nation. Less than one percent of all attorneys are invited to join. In 2014, he was invited and joined the Southern Trial Lawyers Association comprised of an elite group of lawyers who are among the most respected by their peers and who are honored for the work they do to protect the individuals and families they represent and the profession they uphold. He is also a member of The Florida Bar, The Sarasota County Bar Association, and was with The Florida Justice Association, the Manasota Trial Lawyers Board and the American Association for Justice. He consistently ranked within his prior firm’s top-producing personal injury lawyers for the Tampa Bay area and has represented in the range of 20,000 people over his career.
Mr. Hofmann served as the president of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial and elevating the standards of integrity, honor, ethics, civility and courtesy in the legal profession. Herb has also been honored with the prestigious AV® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the preeminent national publication in the legal field. According to Martindale-Hubbell, “An AV rating is a significant accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. A lawyer must be admitted to the bar for 10 years or more to receive an AV rating. This rating is based upon evaluations by other lawyers and is the highest ranking attainable by an attorney for ability and ethics in the practice of law. It is a distinction reserved for a select few in the legal community.”
In 2015, Mr. Hofmann was recognized for excellence and achievements by the legal community when he received the 2015 Top Lawyers of Tampa award. Another proud accomplishment was being recognized by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys for his exceptional performance as one of Florida’s 2015 10 Best Personal Injury Attorneys for Client Satisfaction. He has been named to the list every year since. The American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Personal Injury attorneys in each state. Attorneys who are selected to the “10 Best” list must pass AIOPIA’s rigorous selection process, which is based on client and/or peer nominations, thorough research, and AIOPIA’s independent evaluation. AIOPIA’s annual list was created to be used as a resource for clients in the attorney selection process.
One of the most significant aspects of the selection process involves attorneys’ relationships and reputation among his or her clients. As clients should be an attorney’s top priority, AIOPIA places the utmost emphasis on selecting lawyers who have achieved significant success in the field of Personal Injury law without sacrificing the service and support they provide. Selection criteria, therefore, focus on attorneys who demonstrate the highest standards of Client Satisfaction. Mr. Hofmann works tirelessly in his fight to help the injured people he serves.
