Willie E. Gary

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Willie E. Gary (born July 12, 1947) is an American lawyer.^[1] Gary and his wife Gloria established Martin County's first Black law firm at the age of 27,^[2] presently known as, Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, Gary & Gillespie, P.L.L.C.^[3] Gary was portrayed by actor Jamie Foxx in the 2023 film The Burial.^[4]

Born Willie Edward Gary on July 12, 1947, in Eastman, GA, he is one of eleven children, and the son of Turner, a sharecropper, and Mary Gary.^[5] With his father's backing, Gary attended school two half-days a week, farming with his family the other three days. At 13, Gary supported his family by establishing a lawn service.^[6] Gary attended Shaw University on a football scholarship graduating with a Bachelor's degree in business-administration in 1971.^[7][8] In 1974 Gary earned his Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law.^[9]

In 1995, Gary filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mississippi funeral home operator Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe against Canadian businessman Raymond Loewen after Loewen reneged on a contractual agreement with O'Keefe. Gary won the case, with a jury awarding O'Keefe $500 million in punitive damages; although the case was settled afterward for $175 million, Gary's victory would eventually lead Loewen to resign from his firm, which later would be reorganized after a bankruptcy filing and be sold to a competitor, Service Corporation International.^[10][11] The Loewen funeral company case formed the basis of the 2023 movie The Burial starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.^[12]

In 2000, Gary won a $240 million verdict against Disney for stealing the concept of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.^[13]

In 2019, a $23 billion case Gary won against R.J. Reynolds was overturned on appeal. The case stemmed from the death of Michael Johnson of Escambia County, Florida in 1996, who died from lung cancer.^[14]

Gary is a member of the American Bar Association, The Florida Bar, National Bar Association, and NAACP.^[15][16]

General Assembly of the State of South Carolina recognized him as one of the United States’ most respected and accomplished lawyers.^[17]

In 2019, the American Bar Association awarded him the Spirit of Excellence award at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.^[18]

He is married to Gloria Gary and has six children: Tahj, TaJiah, Kenneth, Sekou, Kobe, and Ali.^[19][20]

• Florida Bar profile