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In 1983, recently married attorney Tom Carey lost his wife Joni to a drunk driver. He became an activist in the fight against drunk driving, holding leadership positions in Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and co-founding Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID). He also became a legal advocate for those whose lives have been changed by drunk drivers and other forms of negligence. In 1984 he founded the personal injury law firm that eventually became Carey and Leisure.

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Tom Carey received his Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Suffolk University in 1978 and his L.L.M. degree from New York University law school in 1979 on a full Academic Scholarship. He was subsequently admitted to the Rhode Island Bar, the Massachusetts Bar and the Florida Bar and achieved Board Certification as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has served as a board member of the Florida Justice Association and a State Representative for the American Association of Justice.

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His firm acheived the first multi million dollar jury verdict in Pinellas county and remains a leader in jury verdicts, legislative efforts and charitable endeavours.