Judge John D. Couriel of Supreme Court of Florida. Courtesy photo

When new justices are appointed to the Florida Supreme Court, it is a challenge for them to make their mark right away.

But those who know Florida Supreme Court Justice John D. Couriel said it would come as no surprise that he will excel.

That includes Judge Robert J. Luck, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Luck's relationship with Couriel spans a quarter-decade.

"He's a brilliant lawyer and an even better father, husband, son and friend," Luck said. "Justice Couriel has a passion for serving our state, and at the end of his long career on the bench, he will be one of our finest justices."

Born in 1978, Couriel grew up in West Miami. In his application to the Florida Supreme Court, Couriel said he was the son of hardworking Cuban immigrants that sacrificed their income to support their son's educational endeavors. Couriel was always interested in the law and excelled academically.

In high school, Couriel's interest in law led him to participate on the debate team. Debate was more than just a means to sharpen his speaking skills — in the final round of one particularly competitive showdown, Couriel was pitched against his future wife, Rebecca L. Toonkel. Ultimately, he triumphed in the debate, and they would later connect during their undergraduate years at Harvard College.

Defense counsel Alan M. Dershowitz.

After graduating from Harvard College, Couriel continued his education at Harvard Law School. It was an eye-opening experience for the future lawyer as he studied under a variety of renowned professors, such as Elizabeth Warren for bankruptcy law, and Alan Dershowitz for legal ethics.

After law school, Couriel clerked for U.S. District Judge John Bates in 2003 and 2004. There, Couriel was exposed to some of the most important national security cases arising after Sept. 11.

Following his clerkship, Couriel became an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell. While at Davis Polk, much of Couriel's time was spent in its Madrid office, where his work focused on cross-border transactional work, investigations, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation matters.

Most prominent among the cases Couriel handled was one for Siemens, which is a large electrical engineering company that became embroiled in a major corruption case centered on bribery. Couriel worked at Davis Polk for nearly five years before his first foray into public service.

Couriel transitioned to a job at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. Couriel prosecuted a range of federal offenses, including identity theft, firearms trafficking, narcotics importation, migrant trafficking and other immigration crimes.

Couriel left a tremendous mark on both his superiors and co-workers during his time there. Edward Stamm, senior litigation counsel at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, said Couriel was a decent, hardworking person without "a drop of airs about him."

"He didn't act like a guy that sometimes people with his pedigree seemed very impressed with himself, and he was the antithesis of that," Stamm said. "He did his job very well and was also a committed family person. You could see that he always kept his perspective in that regard."

Jeff Sloman, a partner at Stumphauzer, Foslid, Sloman Ross & Kolaya, and former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said Couriel had a wide-ranging practice, from major fraud cases to internal investigations. Sloman said Couriel was a strong employee on several levels.

"John was an all-star in the office," Sloman said. "He was an all-star as a person. Everybody raved about him from his colleagues, his supervisors and the people he served, the agents, the court system, everybody."

Couriel would leave the U.S. attorney's office in 2012 to run unsuccessfully against state Sen. Gwen Margolis for District 114. Couriel received 38% of the vote to Margolis' 62%.

"He tried his run at politics. But to me, he was such a great person and nice guy," Sloman said. "I always thought to myself, 'to be a politician, you have to have a very hard edge,' and I never saw that with him."

Around that time, Matthew I. Menchel, a partner at Kobre & Kim, met with Dr. Toonkel, Couriel's wife, in the hospital. Menchel was referred to a pulmonologist for a respiratory issue and the person who was the resident in training was Dr. Toonkel.

"We just started chatting and she asked me what I did for a living and I told her I was an attorney, and she asked if I knew her husband and I did not," Menchel said. "Unbeknownst to me, she went home that evening and said to John, 'I just met the guy you're going to be working with.' "

About a year later, Couriel asked Menchel for lunch to follow up on his wife's suggestion that he and Menchel would work well together. At the time, Menchel's law firm, Kobre & Kim in Miami, aimed to develop the Miami office's Latin American presence.

" I was looking all over town and couldn't find the right person," Menchel said. "And then, I wind up having lunch with John at a restaurant called Granny Feelgood, which no longer exists. It was a famous court hangout for lunch."

Menchel was impressed by Couriel's previous work experience, as well as that he not only spoke Spanish but was fluent in business and legal Spanish. Couriel began working at Kobre & Kim, adding a "lot of firepower and helped develop the Latin American presence."

But Menchel understood that Couriel's "heart was in public service."

Matthew I. Menchel Miami Kobre & Kim.

This time, Couriel kept his job while running for the Florida House of Representatives in 2016 as a candidate for District 114. Couriel once again lost the election but continued to excel in his legal career at Kobre & Kim.

When Menchel heard that Couriel was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court, he and the entire Miami office were ecstatic for Couriel. Laura María González, an associate at the Kobre & Kim, said she would miss having Couriel in the office.

"You always knew when John was in the office," González said. "He's excited about being at work. He's excited to be with his colleagues. You knew when John walked in he would always walk in and be like, 'Good morning, everyone!' And you knew he was there."

Menchel is not surprised that a person who is the "total package" earned a seat on the state's highest court. And Menchel believed that Couriel will have no problem staying on the court.

"The fact that John lost in those elections will have no bearing on his ability to go unopposed and be reelected without any issue going forward," Menchel said. "It's rare to have a lawyer who can be both be in an adversarial position from other lawyers and almost universally across the board be both liked and respected."

It is bittersweet for González, Menchel and their other colleagues that Couriel will leave the firm, because they would have liked him to continue practicing with them for the rest of his career. "But we always knew that John was going to hear the call going back to public service and John was going to answer that call," Menchel said. "It was just a question of when."

 

John D. Couriel

Born: 1978, Miami

Spouse: Rebecca L. Toonkel

Children: Jonas Aaron, Eden Sofia

Education: J.D, Harvard Law School; B.A. Harvard College

Experience: Partner, Kobre & Kim, 2013-present; Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Florida, 2009-2012; Associate, Davis Polk & Wardwell, 2004-2009; Law clerk, Hon. John D. Bates, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 2003-2004