Our attorneys have litigated in nationally recognized impact cases. In July 2003, the NAACP presented its Foot Soldiers’ Award to Charles Burr and Sam Smith in tribute to their “enduring pursuit of justice,” their “advocacy on behalf of many who are without means of redress” and for “leaving footprints on the sands of time that others can follow.”  In June 2000 the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil and Urban Rights gave its Outstanding Achievement in Public Accommodations Law award to the lawyers of Burr & Smith, L.L.P. for their representation of African American plaintiffs who experienced discriminatory treatment at the Adam's Mark Hotel when they participated in their Black College Reunion. The Adam's Mark Hotels paid $2.1 million dollars to settle plaintiffs' claims. Out of this fund, $600,000 was awarded to four historically black colleges in Florida for scholarships or business management programs.

Sam was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Labor and Employment Law. In 2008, Sam was also designated by his peers as a SuperLawyer as published in Florida Monthly / Law and Politics Magazine.

Charles Burr and Sam Smith, along with co-counsel, obtained certification for more than 160,000 female current and former employees of Publix Super Markets who sued as a class to oppose discrimination in various job benefits, including promotions, allocation of hours, job assignments, job advancement, pay and employment opportunities. In 1997, the court approved settlement for $81.5 million in monetary relief and extensive injunctive relief.

In April 1999, Burr & Smith, L.L.P. successfully obtained an injunction enabling the Florida Conference of NAACP Branches and three individual plaintiffs to block a traffic management plan proposed by the City of Daytona Beach which would have prohibited vehicles from crossing the bridges leading to the Beach during an annual event known as the Black College Reunion. The attorneys of Burr & Smith, L.L.P. successfully argued on behalf of the plaintiffs that the proposed plan violated several provisions of the U.S. Constitution, including the dormant commerce clause, the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment.

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