My friend Neal Sonnett was one of Miami’s best legal eagles | Opinion
Neal R. Sonnett, one of Miami-Dade’s most esteemed legal minds, passed away. He died of diverticulitis. After a long battle with cancer. He was 81 years old and was not only my friend and law partner, but someone I considered a true giant in our profession.
I was not alone in holding Sonnett in such high regard. Widely viewed as the quintessential “lawyer’s lawyer,” Sonnett earned reverence from many for his dedication to defending justice. Any lover of the law in Miami-Dade no doubt mourns his passing.
Professionally, my friend elevated the practice of law and enriched our community through his work both inside and outside of the courtroom. His true talent lay in his impeccable skills in the courtroom, where he excelled from the 1970s through the 2000s.
A nationally recognized trial attorney, Sonnett had rightly earned recognition as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.” He understood early on that our profession afforded both the opportunity and obligation to safeguard civil liberties and uphold the integrity of our legal system. His guiding principle was to always “defend liberty and pursue justice,” as he would say.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sonnett moved to Miami Beach with his family as a child. It was at Miami Beach High School where he began honing his legal acumen through debate, public speaking and oratory at local, state, and national competitions. He captained the debate team and in 1962 was named the fourth best debater in the nation, a title of which he was justifiably proud.
At the University of Miami, my friend served as senior class president, attorney general of the student body, president of Young Democrats, and president of Tau Kappa Alpha, the national honorary speech society. He was also active in Iron Arrow and Orange Key.
And while the practice of law was his primary calling, he also exhibited talent as a singer. He worked his way through law school with a nightly paid gig performing at The Playboy Club in North Miami.
He graduated from the UM with honors in 1967 and immediately joined the U.S Attorney’s Office in Miami, rising quickly to Chief of the Criminal Division. Then, in 1972, Sonnett went into private practice starting his own firm defending corporate, white collar and complex criminal cases. I joined his law firm, the start of our long friendship.
From then on, the rich,famous and powerful who ran into legal trouble in Miami-Dade wanted to be represented by Sonnett.
As a criminal trial lawyer, Sonnett’s baritone voice, keen intellect and razor sharp wit dominated courtrooms. My friend simply could not be outmaneuvered by judges, prosecutors or witnesses.
He was one of the American Bar Associations leading advocates and spokespersons on post-9/11 civil, constitutional and human rights. He chaired the Task Force on Domestic Surveillance in the Fight Against Terrorism and the Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine.
He also chaired the Task Force on Treatment of Enemy Combatants and served as its Observer for the Military Commission trials at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. He worked with a group examining the alleged torture of detainees. Sonnett become the advocate for the due process rights of military detainees.
In his spare time, he served as president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the Florida Bar Foundation,Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys Association and the Dade County Bar Association.
Among all his accomplishments, none has had a greater or more far reaching impact on his chosen specialty, federal criminal defense, than his successful efforts, along with another legal giant, to lobby Congress on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to amend the 1987 Money Laundering Control Act in order to ad a safe harbor for criminal defense legal fees into the law.
His community work included serving as Vice Chair of the Florida Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League, president of the UM Law Alumni Association and vice president of the Friends of Gusman Performing Arts Center.
The list goes on.
Neal Sonnett was a great lawyer, a community leader and an even better person. He will be sorely missed.
Ed Shohat is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami-Dade.
