Florida A&M University (FAMU) has announced that John Morgan, founder of the nationally-known Morgan & Morgan law firm and supporter of major voter initiatives, will be the fall commencement speaker.
The event will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, December 9 at the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1800 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee.
“We are delighted to welcome John Morgan as our fall 2022 commencement speaker. John has long been a friend of FAMU and is well known for his philanthropy and support of causes that lift up the downtrodden,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “His financial backing of the $15 per hour wage and the medical marijuana initiatives were instrumental to their passage. Our Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) is an off-shoot of John’s immense contributions.”
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Morgan and his family in 1971 moved to Orlando, Florida, where he attended high school. After graduating, Morgan enrolled in the University of Florida(UF). In 1982, he became president of the Florida Blue Key honor society. He graduated from the UF College of Law in 1983.
By 1988, he founded Morgan & Morgan with the mission to represent the people, not the powerful. To this day, Morgan has run the firm by that code, promising never to take a case representing an insurance carrier or large company. Over the past three decades, the firm has expanded to more than 800 attorneys across all 50 states, representing clients in over 50 practice areas, including national mass torts and class actions, labor and employment, civil rights, personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, business litigation, and insurance disputes, among others. Three decades after the firm’s inception, “for the people” continues to be a way of life for John Morgan and the firm.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to address the 2022 Florida A&M University fall graduates and their families as they celebrate this remarkable milestone,” said Morgan, the father of four children. “I remember the pride and accomplishment I felt at my graduation, and I look forward to honoring these students for their hard work and dedication while encouraging them to set big goals and never be afraid of failure.”
In 2013, Morgan and Ultima, his wife of 39 years, made a generous donation that helped the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida build and open the Morgan & Morgan, P.A. Hunger Relief Center. The 100,000-square foot facility — more than double the size of its predecessor is equipped with ample freezers, coolers, and infrastructure space to store the millions of pounds of food collected by Second Harvest each year.