He grew up in a conservative Jewish household, with his mother (Rose), father (Abe), and brothers (David, Herman, Stanley, Martin, and Allen).

[11][12] While attending the University of Florida, Levin met his future wife, Marilyn, who was a member of the Jewish sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi.

This was mostly due to his reluctance to leave behind the college party lifestyle, as well as the fact that his older brother David had established a small law firm where Levin could work.

[9][15] (Note: In 1958, virtually any white male[16] could gain admittance to Florida public law school, where approximately one-third would graduate.

)[9] In Levin's first few weeks of law school, he received word that his brother Martin was rapidly succumbing to late stage leukemia, and his death was imminent.

[11] The firm was founded by his brother David and Reubin Askew, who eventually would go on to become a two-term governor of Florida and candidate for President of the United States.

Levin did not believe the legal theory would be successful, explaining that the tobacco industry had never paid a penny to anyone as a result of smoking injuries.

[28][2][9] When the tobacco industry discovered the true intent of the law, it began donating money to Florida senators to repeal the statute.

[2][9] After the passage of the law, John French, a lobbyist for Philip Morris USA, stated, "This is probably the single biggest issue to ever have been run through in the dead of the night.

"[30] Walker Merryman, vice president of the Tobacco Institute, said, "It's certainly creative, and it demonstrates how a government will try to impose a significant financial burden on one portion of the economy.

"[31] Gannett News Service wrote: "What they engineered was a first-of-its-kind bill making it much easier for the state to recoup money it spends for treating cancer patients and others with smoking-related diseases. ...

Its created such an uproar in Tallahassee that tobacco companies have pledged millions of dollars to fight the bill either by getting it vetoed or using the upcoming special session on health care to change or eliminate it.

"[32] "I could say, I think without exaggerating, that the financial life of the tobacco industry is riding on [the veto of the bill]", said John Banahaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health.

[27] Professor Richard Daynard of Northeastern University called the bill: "the single biggest blow against the tobacco industry and for the public health that's ever been done in the United states.

[37] Next, he appeared on two full pages of George magazine, standing on his putting green in a tuxedo, drinking Crown Royal whiskey and smoking a cigarette.

"[38] Levin had a lengthy and hostile relationship with the Florida Bar whom he often and openly referred to as "lily-white elitists, country club, men".

He commented that the local law enforcement and prosecutors wouldn't have the guts to go down to the high crime streets in Pensacola to arrest drug dealers and rapists because they would be scared to get shot.

[46][47] The Florida Bar then brought charges against Levin alleging that his closing argument violated ethics rules because he was stating his personal opinion.

[6][48][49][50] The fourth investigation occurred when a friend of Levin's, the Senator who passed the tobacco legislation, was being prosecuted for violations of the Florida Sunshine Law.

When the former Senator was convicted of violation of the Sunshine Law, Levin made comments to the press calling the witness a "rat fink".

C.S.T., a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 200 crashed within minutes of takeoff from Pensacola Regional Airport, killing the two pilots and the single passenger, Jacob F. "Jake" Horton.

[55][57] In the months before the plane crash, Southern Company was under a federal grand jury investigation for possible tax evasion and inappropriate political contributions.

Prior to leaving Levin's office, Jake ordered a corporate plane to take him from Pensacola to Atlanta where he wished to meet with the president of Southern Company.

[55][57] Within three hours after the crash, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous call stating: "You can stop investigating Gulf Power now.

Southern Company finally agreed to allow Levin to testify, but only on the limited subject of his conversation with Jake on the morning of the plane crash.

[59][57] In 1989, Levin began managing the boxing career of Roy Jones Jr., who had just returned from Seoul, Korea, having earned a silver medal in the 1988 Olympic Games.

[15][9] Shortly after becoming a lawyer in Pensacola, Levin nominated Nathaniel Dedmond to be the first African American as a member of the Escambia-Santa Rosa Counties Bar Association.

[24] Levin also was named in the October 4, 1999, edition of The National Law Journal as one of the "Top Ten Litigators for 1999", which again included both plaintiff and defense counsel.

[70] Levin was a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization limited to 100 of the top trial attorneys in the country, and has been listed in every edition of the publication Best Lawyers in America.

You degraded the image and prestige of the University of Florida College of Law by selling its good name to Fred Levin, a lawyer who has been castigated by the courts for abusing the rules, and is notorious for commercializing the practice, thumbing his nose at the bar, and otherwise manipulating the system.