Palm Beach County Bar Bulletin - Thank You, Judge Winikoff
When I first met Judge Winikoff he was running for Judge. Frankly, I didn’t think much of his chances – a securities lawyer from Boca with no ‘trial’ experience. So I told him a joke:
“Judge Winikoff, that has a nice ring to it, but do you know, truly, what the two most important requirements are to be a Judge?” “No” he said (with that mischievous smile that would become so familiar) “but I think you’re going to tell me”.
“Well,” I said, “the first requirement to be a Judge is to have a full head of gray hair – to look distinguished. The second requirement is to have hemorrhoids – to look concerned.”
He laughed as only Judge Winikoff could and then said, “do you know what the most important requirement will be to be a successful lawyer in my Court?” (The obligatory “no”) – “don’t tell the Court such stale jokes!” We hit it off right away.
This past month the bench and bar has lost a giant of a man – literally and figuratively. Judge Winikoff was one of the most down-to-earth, yet intelligent and practical Judges. He was what a Judge should be: fair, impartial, humorous, diligent, quick to recognize the issues, and quick to brush aside spurious arguments that wasted the Court’s time. He knew how to get to the heart of a matter and treated parties, attorneys, and jurors with the utmost respect.
I miss Judge Winikoff. I miss his sense of humor and his other attributes, but most of all, I miss that feeling of knowing, in his Courtroom, professionalism prevailed and my clients would always get a fair shake. Yes, and even in the most serious cases, we would all have some laughs along the way!
