Howard C. Coker; president of the Florida Bar.

• Author: Blankenship, Gary

An avid sportsman and veteran trial lawyer, the 1998-99 president is a Jacksonville native deeply committed to the independence of the legal profession.

The important thing, according to Fran Coker, is not to believe the first thing people say about her husband, Florida Bar President Howard Coker.

What does she mean?

"Real estate values plummeted as soon as he got here," said Jacksonville neighbor and 15-year sidekick Don Pitman, owner of a local produce company.

"God threw away the mold when he made this man," said Coker's legal assistant, Joyce Butler. Added paralegal Sherry Rice, without missing a beat, "It depends on which day it is whether that's good or bad."

Son Cole Coker knows the date his dad, an avid sportsman, will finally bag that elusive elk: "Me fifth of never .... His biggest problem is his height. You have to hunt in a lot of low areas."

And those are Coker's friends.

Ah, but remember Fran Coker's advice, and listen to the next thing people say.

"He is a perfectionist," said Butler "Everything has to be exactly correct. When he commits to something, he gives 110 percent. He either does that or he won't do it at all."

"I don't know anyone who sticks to it like he does," Pitman said. "I would say he's one of the best litigators in town. That's where his fame is."

"He is probably one of the most honest and trustworthy individuals I know. He has always sought to be professional and forthright as an attorney," said his son. "A lot of attorneys have a bad reputation. You can be proud of him. Other attorneys either love him or hate him, but they all respect him."

Coker himself has the best explanation for the dichotomy between the things people say about him: "I've enjoyed people, I really have, even my adversaries. I feel like we should be able to laugh at ourselves and situations. I often say if we work hard in the daytime, we should laugh in the evenings. I try to do that. I try not to take myself too seriously"

As for the slings and arrows tossed by his friends, Coker, displaying his famous grin that lights up his whole face and makes his eyes mischievous, says, "It's like throwing spitballs at a battleship."

Howard Coker was born April 30, 1947, in Jacksonville. His father, Howard Byron Coker, was in the beauty supply business. His mother, Mary Jeannette Carmichael, was a secretary for the Jacksonville Electric Authority. He was still in the maternity ward when Fran was born a few days later.

"He says we first met in the hospital, and that I recognized him as having the body that all men fear and all women adore," she said. A younger brother, Edward, completed the Coker family.

Coker attended Spring Park Elementary School and then Landon High School, where at age 14 in the eighth grade, he really met Fran. They have been together since.

"He was hungry to make it," she recalled of those days. "He wanted to be in the middle of everything. He wanted to make an impact."

"The two are synonymous," said daughter Kelly Coker-Daniel. "She completes the picture for him. She's part of the reason he's been able to do what he's done. She's always been there."

Coker was student council treasurer and senior class president at Landon High School. He was captain of the baseball team and also played football, ran track, and was on the golf team. And those who are used to joking about Coker's stature (he stands fractionally under medium height, but is built like -- depending on who you talk to -- a middle linebacker or a fire hydrant) might be surprised that he played and was captain of his high school basketball team.

"I talked to his old basketball coach and one of the things he said was in a close game, he always wanted Howard in there in the last two minutes," said Coker friend and Board of Governors member Martin Garcia of Tampa. "He said Howard was an exceptional athlete and he had the ability to raise the level of play of everyone else."

After high school, there was little question for Coker about where he was headed. "I knew the day I graduated from high school I wanted to be a trial lawyer," he said. "I knew it sometime in my junior year in high school, because trial lawyers help people."

He enrolled at the University of Florida in journalism with an emphasis in public relations. In his sophomore year he and Fran were married, and Cole was born the next year. Kelly followed 18 months later. Fran now manages the home life, including the needs of both their mothers, pursues with Coker their shared hobby of antiquing, and works part-time with her husband and others on strategic planning for lawsuits.

"All of my undergraduate days at the University of Florida were filled with good times and laughter," Coker recalled. "One of the wonderful things about going to the University of Florida for undergraduate and law school is it allows you to have friends in every area of our state."

Jacksonville trial attorney W.C. Gentry, a Coker friend since their undergraduate days, remembers when they were both pledges of the [Sigma]AE fraternity, and were charged, as part of initiation rites, to "guard the lion." Unfortunately, the young guards fell asleep, including Coker's roommate, who was sleeping literally on the lion. During the night, someone not only repainted the lion, but also Coker's roommate.

"Everyone was running around trying to figure out what to do. Howard had the only constructive idea," Gentry said, illustrating the future president's analytical and problem-solving abilities. "Howard figured out the smart thing to do was go get some white paint, paint the lion back and deny all knowledge that anything else had happened."

By the time he entered law school, Coker had a family that included two infants, which he supported by running UF's intramural program.

"I knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer, and...