Former Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (Photo: Ann Heisenfelt/AP)

Florida attorney Brad Sohn was casually talking on the phone to his friend Mark Heise, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, when he brought up the blockbuster $180 million case he was handling: Ex-Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd—the No. 23 NFL draft pick in 2013—was suing high-profile sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews, among others, alleging that a routine procedure resulted in partially paralyzing Floyd, effectively ending his NFL career.

The two attorneys go back awhile. Five years ago, they were adversaries on a tobacco lawsuit. Sohn represented the plaintiffs, Heise the defendants.

“As with most tobacco cases, there was a lot on the line,” Heise said.

Sohn won a $180,000 judgment for his client in that case. But the two lawyers, despite serving as opposing counsel, developed a mutual respect. A friendship blossomed. The two would see each other from time to time, running into one another in South Florida legal circles. And their friendship grew as they started to discuss their lives as well as their cases.

So when Sohn, a solo practitioner, called Heise and mentioned Floyd's medical malpractice suit, Heise immediately wanted to work on the case with him.

“I had initially called him just to discuss something, and I said, 'Hey wouldn't it be great if we could work on this case together?'” Sohn said.

Now, the former adversaries are serving as co-counsel in what is sure to be one of Sohn's highest-profile cases. Sohn urged him to sign on, as he wanted the kind of national firepower he knew Boies Schiller could provide. Heise joined the case in June.

The complaint, filed in state circuit court in Central Florida in November of last year, lists nine defendants, including Andrews, Baptist Health Care and three other doctors. The filings allege that in 2016, Andrews performed surgery that was more invasive than the routine arthroscopic procedure Floyd had agreed to. And to recover from the surgery, Floyd was administered a post-operative nerve block that paralyzed a nerve and the surrounding muscle—a result that ended his professional football career. Floyd did not consent to the second procedure either, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit is likely to garner attention not only because of Floyd but because Andrews is a prominent figure in the world of sports medicine. He and his group have treated thousands of athletes for ligament and joint issues, including such major figures as Michael Jordan and Roger Clemens.

Bringing on Heise and his team—Boies Schiller Flexner attorneys Luis Suarez and Patricia Melville—will bring more energy and firepower to a case that will produce a mountain of discovery and send the attorneys all over the country deposing witnesses, Sohn said.

“They are as skilled a team as any that could be put together,” said Sohn. “We need everybody in high-gear and I feel lucky that we have that team in place.”

A trial could take place before the end of the year.

Andrews and his attorney, J. Nixon Daniel of Beggs & Lane, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henry Buchanan attorney Jesse Suber is representing defendants Gregory Hickman and Paradigm Anesthesia. Hall Booth Smith attorneys S. William Fuller and Kirk Carter are representing The Andrews Institute and Ambulatory Surgery Center. Beggs & Lane attorneys J. Nixon Daniel and Jack Lurton are representing the remaining physicians and hospital groups.