Fred Cunningham

(561) 516-5168 | Email

Fred A. Cunningham is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and shareholder in the law firm of Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa. He has a statewide and national practice devoted solely to trial work with a focus on litigating complex cases involving insurance company bad faith, insurance coverage, and catastrophic injuries. Many of Florida’s best personal injury attorneys rely upon Mr. Cunningham to handle insurance bad faith claims arising out of their clients’ personal injury claims. Mr. Cunningham has recovered close to 700 million dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients.

Service to the legal profession is paramount to Mr. Cunningham. In 1997, he was elected by his peers to serve on the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association (FJA), a statewide organization of attorneys who fight to preserve the civil justice system. Over the past two decades, he has served on and chaired numerous FJA committees, and ultimately served as FJA President in 2012. His service has earned him numerous awards, including the President’s Award for leadership in 2015 and the W. Mckinley Smiley Jr. award in 2018. In 2016, the FJA honored him with the Perry Nichols Award, the most prestigious award given by the organization, to an attorney whose “perseverance, commitment, and unmatched dedication to the civil justice system is at the forefront of their lives.” In addition to the FJA, Fred has served on the Board of Directors and as President of both the North County Section of the Palm Beach County Bar and the Palm Beach County Justice Association.

Since 2001, Mr. Cunningham has been included in every issue of The Best Lawyers in America in the field of personal injury and insurance. In 2015, 2017 and 2018, Best Lawyers recognized him as the best insurance lawyer in Palm Beach County. Since 2006, he has been included in the Florida Trend “Legal Elite”, as well as Florida “Super Lawyers”, including being voted by his peers to be one of the “Top 100” lawyers in the state of Florida in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019. As a result of his courtroom success and professionalism, he is a sought after lecturer on the topics of trial practice and insurance company bad faith.

Mr. Cunningham serves on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an esteemed, invitation-only privilege that is limited to 500 active trial lawyers in the United States and 100 trial lawyers outside the United States. Mr. Cunningham is also a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel and the International Society of Barristers. In 2016, he was inducted as a member of The Melvin M. Belli Society, a national organization whose stated purpose is to promote the international exchange of ideas among lawyers through meetings and education. In 2017, Mr. Cunningham was inducted as a member of The American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only organization whose membership is extended only to trial lawyers with high personal character and an honorable reputation.

Mr. Cunningham earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1988 and was admitted to practice in Florida in October of 1988. He and his wife, Robin, and their son, Sebastian, live in North Palm Beach, and are active in many local charitable and philanthropic organizations.