Hoping to Get a Selfie with Key West’s Most-Photographed Landmark this Summer? You’re out of Luck.

Key West’s iconic Southernmost Point Buoy will not be available to the public for about a year, according to city officials.

Due to recent storms, the seawall and other damages at the corner of South and Whitehead Streets call for repairs and the closure of the area. The repairs will begin in mid-August or the beginning of September, according to reporting from local media. While the real buoy is under construction, the city announced it is working on a temporary replacement, which will be located on the Duval Street Pocket Park at 1400 Duval.

“It is smaller, but still taller than a person,” Alyson Crean, a city spokesperson, told reporters with the Tampa Bay Times. “The ocean will still be visible, but the temporary location is farther away from the ocean.”

The original buoy was installed in 1983 to mark the southernmost point of the contiguous United States that is publicly accessible. Prior to its installation, the city relied on a series of wooden signs to denote the popular tourist spot. However, those signs were frequently vandalized or stolen, prompting the city’s need for a more permanent landmark.

If the replica buoy isn’t enough for selfiephiles and influencers alike, then they are welcome to walk just a little over one mile from the original buoy’s location to the Leesfield & Partners office at: 615-1/2 Whitehead St, Key West, Florida, 33040.

Leesfield & Partners: A Key West Staple

Though the Leesfield & Partners office isn’t nearly as “instagrammable” as the famous buoy, it has been in the area for about as long. The firm acquired an old cigar factory in the 1980s on historic Whitehead Street and renovated the building that is still there today. However, the firm’s history in Key West began long before that with Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, handling his first-ever case there in 1973.

Since then, Leesfield & Partners has remained active, representing everyone from residents to tourists who have been significantly injured or who have lost a loved one in tragic accidents. The firm has since secured numerous record and historic verdicts for clients throughout Monroe County and the Florida Keys.

As the firm has continued to put down permanent roots in the area for nearly five decades, it has continued to contribute to various community initiatives and impact the lives of locals. Leesfield & Partners regularly contributes to Key west food banks and has funded numerous scholarships in the area.

Most recently, Mr. Leesfield and Partner Justin B. Shapiro were in Key West to award a deserving Key West High School senior with a college scholarship named in honor of Dexter Butler, a beloved teacher and coach who tragically died. The Dexter Butler Scholarship goes to a basketball athlete at the school going off to college who exemplifies the legacy of kindness and community commitment demonstrated by Dexter Butler before his passing.

“I have known the Butler family for my entire 45 years working in Key West,” Leesfield said. “There is no finer family in the community who has done more for high school athletic programs. Dexter Butler was a true role model.”

The award was given at the school’s Class Night last month to Dylan Martinez. Through all applications received by Leesfield & Partners for this scholarship, one theme rang true — “Coach Dex,” as he was lovingly known, left a lasting and positive impact on these student athletes.

“On behalf of the attorneys and staff at Leesfield & Partners, I want to congratulate Dylan Martinez and all the boys who applied,” Leesfield said. “These young men aspire to live out the example left behind by Dexter Butler — an admirable goal. I commend their efforts and encourage them to continue this work going forward.”

The Florida Bar Association Bestows Award on Leesfield & Partners’ Key West Building

The firm’s Key West building was honored by the Florida Bar Association with the “Historic Building Renovation Award” for design. The firm was also praised by the Florida Bar with its “Award of Honor,” given for the Leesfield & Partners’ Miami office on South Dixie Highway. In keeping with this tradition, Mr. Leesfield is planning a third building that he hopes will also capture the attention of the Florida Bar.

The Leesfield Law Center and Campus was conceptualized by Mr. Leesfield after he noticed a growing need for South Florida attorneys making the trek downtown to court. The Leesfield Law Center and Campus is meant to be an “office away from your office,” aiming to provide a midpoint for attorneys and clients with mediation and arbitration suite needs. The building will come equipped with a technology center, media and podcast studio, mock courtroom, and café with rooftop access.

“The location, accessibility and unique features of this litigation center makes it an ideal home for practicing lawyers and their clients,” Mr. Leesfield said. “There will be both membership and individual use opportunities for lawyers who recognize the unique advantage of not traveling downtown.”

Today, the firm has six skilled trial attorneys that handle all manner of personal injury, including:

Mr. Shane is representing a Key West motor scooter rider whose life was permanently changed in a crash caused by a negligent driver. Our 46-year-old client was left with a traumatic brain injury and remains at a long-term care and rehabilitation facility.

“Sadly, our client’s life has been destroyed by this crash, and he remains in in-patient rehabilitation,” Mr. Shane said. “We are aggressively pursuing all avenues of recovery under the law.”

Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Robinson are handling an ongoing case in which a woman attempted to lie down on an improperly installed and inadequately maintained hammock at a Key West resort. As a result, the hammock flipped her and sent her head-first to the ground, resulting in a severe spinal cord injury.

Previous Cases

The firm handled a historic negligent security case out of Key West involving severe and permanent injuries to our client. In that case, a disturbed individual was allowed to enter the hotel’s property without the intervention of security measures or guards. This person roamed the parking garage of the resort for 20 minutes with a hammer until he encountered our client and launched a violent attack.

The hotel entered into a confidential settlement with our client the night before an over $40.5 million verdict was handed down against the remaining defendant. This case marks the largest verdict in Monroe County history.

Leesfield & Partners attorneys previously represented a bicyclist who was severely injured by a distracted driver. The bicyclist in this case was stopped off the shoulder of the Overseas Highway when a driver, distracted by the GPS, lost control of their vehicle and hit our client.

The case was settled for $5.35 million.

In another case, the firm settled a motor scooter accident with multiple orthopedic and traumatic brain injuries for more than $5 million.

A Key West crash involving a prominent local businessman resulted in a $2.1 million verdict. In that case, our client had the green light at an intersection when an ambulance at a red light unexpectedly plowed through the road and hit him. In the crash, he was thrown into a cement wall, resulting in permanent injuries.

The ambulance driver claimed he was on his way to an emergency and had the right of way, however, this driver failed to deploy the necessary lights and sirens. Without these indicators, our client had no idea that the ambulance would not stop when at the red light and so he proceeded to cross the intersection.

For a Key West handyman, Leesfield & Partners secured a multi-million-dollar settlement after a terrible fall on the job. In that case, our client fell from 15 feet, landing on his neck. Following the incident, our 52-year-old client lost all sensation below his chest and could not move his legs, walk or work again.

The property owner was responsible for providing our client with everything necessary to do the job safely and failed to do so. On the day of the fall, our client was on a ladder and had no one to help secure it and was not provided a ladder stabilizer by the homeowner. Tragically, the ladder slipped, and our client’s life changed forever.

The firm previously represented the family of a Key West nursing home patient and secured a $1 million recovery for the client.

In a negligent security lawsuit, the firm obtained a $1 million settlement for a hotel housekeeper who was brutally raped while on the job at a Key West hotel.

The firm obtained a $1 million recovery for the death of a 26-year-old who was savagely assaulted while at a Monroe County bar.

The firm settled a premises liability case on behalf of a client who fell in a Monroe County hotel stairwell, suffering a severe back injury. That case was settled for $1.5 million.

Mr. Pimentel previously settled a case on behalf of the family of a young lobster diver who was killed by a negligent law enforcement officer who did not adhere to divers-down flag laws.