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Email Us NowAbout Legler, Murphy & Battaglia, PLLC
Legler, Murphy & Battaglia, PLLC is a personal injury law firm serving Southwest Florida since 1989, with offices in Bradenton, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice. All three name partners still practice, and the client who hires this firm works with one of them.
That last sentence is the whole point of the place. It is also the thing that has not changed in more than 35 years.
Thirty Five Years in the Same Two Counties
Choosing to stay. Kennedy Legler, Edward Murphy, and Alyson Battaglia built a practice in Manatee and Sarasota counties and never left them for a bigger market or a broader footprint. The firm opened offices in the communities where its clients already lived rather than chasing cases across the state.
The motto has been the same the entire time: All Injuries All The Time. It reads as a slogan and it functions as a scope statement. This firm represents injured people. It does not defend insurance companies, and it does not take the corporate side of the cases it brings.
Longevity produces things that cannot be purchased. Thirty five years in the same two counties means appearing before the same judges, dealing with the same adjusters, and working with the physicians and rehabilitation providers our clients actually see. It also means being here when a serious case takes three years, which serious cases sometimes do.
How the practice grew
The firm began in Bradenton representing injured workers and people hurt in collisions across Manatee County. As Southwest Florida grew, the caseload grew with it, and offices followed the population rather than the other way around: Sarasota, then Lakewood Ranch as the master-planned community filled in, then Venice as south Sarasota County expanded.
The work itself changed too. Cases that were once mostly straightforward collisions now include catastrophic injury claims requiring life care planning, boating and personal watercraft matters on water the firm has always practiced beside, and rideshare collisions governed by rules that did not exist when the firm opened. What stayed constant is who the firm represents.
Who Are the Attorneys at Legler, Murphy & Battaglia?
Three partners, each of whom takes cases personally rather than assigning them.
Kennedy Legler is a founding partner of the firm and has practiced in Southwest Florida throughout its history.
Edward Murphy has represented injured clients across Manatee and Sarasota counties for decades, in both personal injury and workers’ compensation matters.
Alyson Battaglia is the firm’s day-to-day contact for clients and handles matters across the practice.
Behind them is a staff that has also stayed. You can meet everyone on our team page, and each partner’s Florida Bar record is publicly verifiable through The Florida Bar.
What Does This Firm Handle?
Injury and workers’ compensation matters, with most of the caseload arising from motor vehicle collisions and from property owner negligence.
| Practice area | Typical matters |
|---|---|
| Motor vehicle collisions | Car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, and rideshare crashes |
| Premises liability | Slip and fall, trip and fall, negligent security, dog bites |
| Catastrophic injury | Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, severe burns |
| Boating and personal watercraft | Collisions, groundings, propeller injuries, rental and charter incidents |
| Wrongful death | Fatal crashes and fatal premises incidents under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act |
| Medical negligence | Claims arising from substandard care |
| Workers’ compensation | Job injuries, denied claims, wage loss and medical benefits |
The personal injury section covers each area in more detail, and geo-specific pages exist for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice.
How the Firm Works a Case
Slowly at the right moments and quickly at the others.
The fast part is the beginning. Evidence gets preserved, every possible insurance policy gets identified, and the record starts being built while the events are current. Video is overwritten in weeks, vehicles get repaired, and witnesses move away, so nothing about that stage waits.
The slow part is valuation. We do not send a demand while a client is still actively treating, because a claim resolved before the doctors know where someone will end up is almost always resolved for too little. Once a condition stabilizes, the medical record, the wage documentation, and the future care evidence get assembled, and only then does a number get put on it.
Most cases resolve without a trial. The ones that resolve well are the ones the other side believes will be tried, which is why this firm stays trial ready rather than treating litigation as a last resort.
What Does It Cost to Hire This Firm?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, the firm works on contingency, and you don’t pay until and unless we win your case.
Contingency means the firm carries the cost of records, outside consultants, and filing fees while a case is pending. It also means we take cases we believe in, because the money at risk is ours.
Four Offices Across Southwest Florida
Because Southwest Florida is spread out and injured people should not have to drive across two counties to meet a lawyer.
- Bradenton (headquarters): 2411 Manatee Ave W, Bradenton, FL 34205 · +1 (941) 748-5599
- Sarasota: 677 N Washington Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236 · +1 (941) 366-3782
- Lakewood Ranch: 9040 Town Center Pkwy, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 · +1 (941) 251-1370
- Venice: 871 Venetia Bay Blvd, Venice, FL 34285 · +1 (941) 202-4169
Someone answers 24 hours a day. When travel is difficult, we meet clients at home, in the hospital, or at a rehabilitation facility, and a great deal of work gets handled by phone and video.
What Do We Mean by a Community Firm?
That our clients and our families use the same roads, the same schools, and the same hospitals.
Cases filed here go to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, which covers Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties, with courthouses in Bradenton, Sarasota, and Venice. Serious trauma in these counties routes to a handful of local hospitals. The intersections that generate the crashes we handle are ones we drive through ourselves.
It shows up in the details of a case. Seasonal population swings change traffic patterns between February and August, which affects everything from crash frequency to how a jury understands a road. Boating claims on the Manatee River and Sarasota Bay require knowing how those channels actually work. And a firm that has handled premises cases at the same shopping centers for decades knows which properties have a history worth requesting.
That is not sentiment. It is the reason a local firm can tell a client early whether a case is worth bringing, what a similar injury has been worth in front of these juries, and which providers will treat someone while a claim is pending. A firm working this market from another city cannot.
The Values the Practice Is Built On
Four commitments shape how cases get handled here, and each one has a practical consequence rather than being a statement of intent.
A partner handles the file. Nobody at this firm is passed to a case manager and reintroduced to a lawyer at mediation. The person who takes the first call is the person who works the case.
Honest assessments, including unwelcome ones. Some claims are not worth bringing, and some offers are worth accepting. Telling a client that costs the firm money and it is the reason people come back years later and send their families.
No pressure at the front door. Nobody is asked to sign anything on a first call. Free consultations carry no obligation, and a second opinion on a case another firm is handling costs nothing.
Trial readiness rather than trial avoidance. Insurance carriers evaluate demands differently depending on who sends them. Preparing every case as though it will be tried is what makes a fair resolution possible without one.
We also handle these conversations with care. People call this office after the worst week of their lives, and being spoken to plainly, without jargon and without a sales pitch, is the minimum they should expect.
What Should You Expect From the First Conversation?
An honest answer, including when the answer is that you do not need a lawyer.
The first call is free and carries no obligation. We ask what happened, what treatment you have had, and what the insurance company has said so far. If there is a case, we explain what the next steps look like and how long they usually take. If there is not, we say so rather than sign you up.
Nothing is filed and nobody is contacted without your agreement.
Questions People Ask About the Firm
How long has Legler, Murphy & Battaglia been in business?
The firm has represented injured people in Southwest Florida since 1989, more than 35 years, from its headquarters in Bradenton. All three name partners are still practicing, which is unusual for a firm of this age.
Does the firm represent insurance companies too?
No. This firm represents injured people and their families. It does not defend insurers or corporate defendants in injury cases, which means there is no conflict between the clients we take and the parties we oppose.
Do I have to live in Manatee or Sarasota County to be a client?
No. The firm serves Southwest Florida, including the communities surrounding its four offices, and handles matters for people who were injured here while visiting. What matters is where the injury happened and where the responsible parties are, not where you receive mail.
Can I get a second opinion if another firm is already handling my case?
Yes, and it costs nothing. Clients have the right to change counsel, and doing so does not usually increase the total fee, since the firms divide a single contingency fee between them. If you are unsure whether your case is being handled well, a conversation is free.
Is the office open on weekends?
Someone answers the phone 24 hours a day, every day. Office meetings are scheduled around what works for the client, including evenings, home visits, and hospital or rehabilitation facility visits when travel is difficult.
Talk to a Partner, Not a Call Center
Since 1989 this firm has represented injured people across Southwest Florida, one client at a time, from four offices in the communities where they live.
Call +1 (941) 748-5599 or schedule a free consultation. You can also read what former clients have said on our reviews page and see the kinds of matters we handle on our case results page.
