Practice Areas: Appellate, Insurance Coverage, Personal Injury; view more
Licensed in Florida since: 1983
Education: University of Florida Levin College of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2007, 2009 - 2025 Call today:
813-535-5770
Vaka Law Group P.L.
777 South Harbour Island BoulevardSuite 300
Tampa, FL 33602 Visit website
Details
George A. Vaka, Founder and Managing Partner of Vaka Law Group, is a skilled trial and board certified appellate lawyer with more than 40 years experience in personal injury and insurance practice. Mr. Vaka is also recognized as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit and Appellate Mediator, appointed to act as a Federal Mediatior. He is a Fellow for the American College of Coverage and Extra-contractual Counsel and a Member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Mr. Vaka has a diverse practice having represented clients in matters ranging from auto accidents, medical malpractice, aviation disasters, defective products, mass torts and Engle tobacco cases. He has extensive experience in the litigation of insurance matters involving personal, professional, business and commercial insurance, as well as, insurance company misconduct and insurer bad faith. He has been Board Certified by the Florida Bar since 1994 as a specialist in Appellate Practice. He is admitted to practice law in all Florida State Courts, the U.S. District Court's Middle District of Florida, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
A Rutgers University graduate, Mr. Vaka attended the University of Florida College of Law and became a board member of the University of Florida's Law Review. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1983 and started his legal career at the law firm of Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Banker & Villareal in Tampa, Florida.
Mr. Vaka continues to give back to the legal community through his involvement with legal associations, speaking engagements and numerous legal articles and publications. He has served on the Florida Justice Association's Board of Directors, Florida Bar Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section Charter Member and Counsel, Florida Defense Lawyers Association Board, University of Florida College of Law Board of Trustees and the Association Internationale de Droit des Assurance, to name a few. He has been awarded an AV-Preeminent* rating by Martindale-Hubbell.
*AV-Preeminent and BV-Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Appellate, Insurance Coverage, Personal Injury - General: PlaintiffFocus areas
Appeals, Bad Faith Insurance, Brain Injury, Insurance, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Wrongful Death
- 40% Appellate
- 40% Insurance Coverage
- 20% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1983, Florida
Professional Webpage: https://www.vakalaw.com/attorney/vaka-george-a/
- Board of Directors, Florida Justice Association (formerly Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers), 2003-2006
- Member, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 1984-1999
- American Associations for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
- Member, National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
- Law Alumni Council Member, University of Florida College 1985-2005
- Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, American Bar Association
- United States Supreme Court
- Chairman Legislative Committee, Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section, The Florida Bar, 1997-2000
- Member, Vaka, Larson & Johnson, P.L. 1999-2009
- Appellate Advocacy Committee, Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Associate Attorney, Fowler, White, Gillen Boggs Villareal & Banker, P.A. 1983-1988
- President's Blue Ribbon Committee on Insurance Company Practices, Defense Research Institute, 1991-1999
- Amicus Curiae Committee, Florida Justice Association (formerly Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers), 1999-Present
- Association Internationale de Droit des Assurance (Int'l Association for Insurance Law)
- Board of Trustees, Law Center Association, Law Center Association, University of Florida College of Law, [Emeritus May 2012] 2006 - Present
- Tort and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association
- United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
- United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Eleven Circuit
- Executive Council, Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section, The Florida Bar, 1994-1997, 1997-2000
- Member, Vaka Law Group, P.L. 2009 - Present
- Member, Trial Lawyers Section, The Florida Bar
- *Supervising Partner, Appellate and Insurance Coverage Litigation Groups
- Member, Defense Research Institute, 1991-1999
- Chair, Appellate Section, Florida Justice Association (formerly Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers), 2003-2006
- Defense Counsel, International Association, 1991-1999
- President, University of Florida College of Law Alumni Council, 2004-2005
- Litigation Section, American Bar Association
- Fellow, American College of Coverage and Extra-contractual Counsel
- United States District Court for Middle District of Florida
- Charter Member, Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section, The Florida Bar
- Member, Leading American Attorneys
- Vice-Chairman Membership Committee, Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section, The Florida Bar, 1997-1998
- Shareholder, Fowler, White, Gillen Boggs, Villareal & Banker, P.A. 1988-1999
- Insurance Coverage Committee, Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Florida Supreme Court Circuit and Appellate Certified Mediatior, appointed to act as a Federal Mediator
- Board Certified by Florida Bar as a specialist in Appellate Practice, 1994-Present
- Recognized as 2019 Lawyer of the Year Insurance Law by Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year Insurance Law, Best Lawyers, 2019
- Vaka Law Group honored as 2019 Best Law Firm Insurance Law - Tier 1, Best Law Firm Insurance Law, Best Lawyers, 2019
- Recognized as "Best Lawyers" by Corporate Counsel Magazine
- Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers
- Recognized as one of Florida's "Legal Elite" by Florida Trend Magazine
- Recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in Tampa Bay by Tampa Bay Metro Magazine
- President's Award for Outstanding Service, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, 1996 and 1999
- Recognized in Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
- Recognized "Best Legal Eagle" in the state by Florida Monthly Magazine
- Best Lawyers in America 2014 and 2017 Lawyer of the Year, Insurance Law, Tampa
- AV Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America
- University of Florida College of Law, J.D., Law Review: Board Member University of Florida Law Review, 1983
- Cook College Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey, B.A., 1979
- Preserving the Denial of a Challenge for Cause for Appellate Review – Journal, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, February 2003
- Multiple Liability Insurance Policies – Florida Automobile Insurance Law, 4th Ed. (Fla. Bar Publisher), Summer 1998
- CGL Policy is Not a Panacea for Employee Claims – The National Law Journal, August 26, 1996
- Non-Disclosure of the Underinsured Motorist Carrier at Trial: Jury Deception or Protection of the Jury Process? – Trial Advocate Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 1, Winter 1996
- The First Party Insurance Bad Faith Claim: Basics and New Developments, Part II – Florida Bar Journal, Vol. LXIX, No. 7, July 1995
- Multiple Liability Insurance Policies, Chapter 6 – Florida Automobile Insurance Law, 3rd Ed. (Fla. Bar Publisher), June 1995
- Multiple Liability Insurance Policies, Chapter 6 – Florida Automobile Insurance Law, 2nd Ed. (Fla. Bar Publisher), July 1993
- The New Uninsured Motorist Statute: Implications and Possible Constitutional Challenges – Trial Advocate Quarterly Vol. 11, No. 4, October 1992
- Multiple Liability Insurance Policies, Chapter 6 – Florida Automobile Insurance Law (Fla. Bar Publisher), 1991
- Bad Faith Actions in Florida, Defendant's Perspective – Florida Insurance and Tort Law Update, Professional Education Systems, Inc., 1991
- Bad Faith in the 90's – Trial Advocate Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4 Symposium Editor, October 1990
- Bad Faith Actions in Florida, Defendant's Perspective – Florida Insurance and Tort Law Update, Professional Education Systems, Inc., 1990
- Possibility Plus Foreseeability Equals Liability: It's Time to Rethink the Proximate Cause Equation in Florida – Trial Advocate Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 1, January 1987
- Co-Author, Child Molestation: Intentional Act, Unintentional Injury? – The Advocate, Vol. XI, No. 3, June 1985
- Co-Author, Alpert, Products Liability, The Law in Florida – 1982 Supplement, 1982
- Contributing Author, Alpert, Florida Settlements and Release, 1982
- Contributing Author, Police Records Bill Clouds Status of Meetings – Florida Freedom of Information Clearing House Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 9, November 1982
- Bench/Bar Association, October 2012
- Welcome to Law School – University of Florida College of Law, September 2008
- The Basics of Coverage – Florida Liability Claims Conference, June 2005
- The Care and Feeding of Experts in Your Insurance Case: Finding and Retaining Expert Witnesses, and Presenting Their Testimony, The American Bar Association, Section of Litigation – Tucson, Arizona, March 2005
- Annual Update Evidence and Civil Procedure – Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Annual Convention, June 2004
- "Good Hands? Good Neighbors? Good Grief!" – Confessions of a Born-Again Bad Faith Lawyer - Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Annual Convention, June 2003
- Faculty Member, First through Fourth – Annual Program on Successful Appellate Practice presented by Stetson College of Law and Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section of the Florida Bar, 1998-2001
- "Image is Everything – Winning Your Case in the Court of Public Opinion" – Earth, Wind, Fire and Water: Cutting Edge Issues in Property Insurance Claims Following a Natural or Man-Made Disaster presented by American Bar Association – St. Thomas, USVI, April 2001
- Mr. Vaka has authored numerous articles and acted as a contributing author in several books on topics ranging from insurance to successful appellate practice.
- "Appealable Orders and Extraordinary Writs" – Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Workhorse Seminar, March 2003
- Case Comment, Shelby Mutual Insurance Company of Shelby, Ohio v. Mary Lou Smith – Trial Advocate Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1, January 1990
- The Times are Changing and We Need to Change with Them – Journal, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, January 2004
- Some Tips on Avoiding Pitfalls and Potholes to the Infrequent Traveler of the Appellate Highway – Journal, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, November 2003
- Sometimes Being An Appellate "Nerd" Pays Off – Journal, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, February 2003
- North Florida Women's Health & Counseling Services, Inc. v. State: A Blueprint to Help Challenge the Constitutionality of the 2003 Medical Malpractice Reforms? – Journal, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, August 2003
Office location for George A. Vaka
777 South Harbour Island Boulevard
Suite 300
Tampa, FL 33602
Phone: 813-535-5770
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2007, 2009 - 2025
Certificates and credentials
Appellate Practice
