Max N. Panoff

As a shareholder at Leighton Panoff Law, Mr. Panoff has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries in medical malpractice matters, motor vehicle crash, sexual assault, premises liability and trucking cases.  Recently he was instrumental in recovering $15 million in a medical malpractice matter against South Florida hospital institutions. Further, in the past four years alone, Mr. Panoff has recovered a $6 million settlement for clients involved in a horrific motor vehicle crash, $5.5 million for a man that suffered from malpractice in a jail, $3.1 million for victims of a construction accident and $2.25 million for the family of a victim of negligent security. Further victories in the last four years include medical malpractice settlements of $2.1 million, $2 million and $1.1 million, a $1.5 million settlement for a bicycle victim and $1.3 million and $1 million settlements for slip and fall matters.

A fierce courtroom advocate, he and his partner Mr. Leighton recently won a $49.3 million verdict in Miami on behalf of a young woman who was sexually assaulted and raped. This case was instrumental in providing a financial recovery and closure for a client who had been the victim of sexual violence.

Mr. Panoff has been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers Association as a “Top 40 Under 40”, chosen as “40 Under 40 South Florida Business Professional” by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, selected by Florida SuperLawyers, selected by Best Lawyers of America as “Ones to Watch”  chosen by the Miami-Dade County Bar Association as a “Rising SuperStar”, selected as Florida Legal Elite and chosen by the South Florida Legal Guide as a Top Up and Comer

Further, Mr. Panoff is member of the teaching faculty of the National College of Advocacy Depositions College, and has been appointed to National College of Advocacy Board. He is a frequent lecturer to students at the University of Miami School of Law’s Litigation Skills program.

Mr. Panoff is a graduate of the University of Miami with a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and Criminology and with a minor in Political Science. He received his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law, where he was awarded the John F. Evans Memorial Scholarship for excellence in trial. He was also a finalist in the Charles C. Papy Jr. Moot Court Board’s Mock Trial Competition and received High Honors in the law school’s Litigation Skills/Trial Advocacy Program and Mediation course.

Mr. Panoff has authored numerous publications including: “Black Tie Optional: How the NBA Dress Code Violates Title VII (University of Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Review); and co-authored “Life Expectancy Evidence: Laying the Strong Foundation for Plaintiff’s Favorable Evidence and Debunking the Defense Position on Life Expectancy” (2011 Florida Justice Association Workhorse Seminar) and Vanity Insanity – Trending Malpractice Issues Involving Cosmetic and Related Procedures (2013 Florida Justice Association Workhorse Seminar). He has also contributed to the textbook Litigating Premises Security Cases (West Publishing, 2024 and 2025 updates), which is the most widely used and comprehensive treatise on litigating and trying negligent security cases on behalf of crime victims and has spoken at numerous trial lawyer conventions in the past decade.

Mr. Panoff is an active member of the Florida Bar (Trial Lawyers Division, Young Lawyers Division), American Association for Justice, the United States District Court, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, National Crime Victim Bar Association, Florida Justice Association, and the Miami-Dade County Bar Association. He lives in Miam-Dade County with his wife and two children.