Nikki Hawkins is a Managing Partner in the Jacksonville office of Kelley Kronenberg. She focuses her practice of civil litigation defense in the areas of Third Party Insurance Defense to include: automobile negligence matters, trucking accidents, special investigative unit (SIU) and fraud-related matters, personal injury protection (PIP), and first-party property insurance defense.
Prior to joining Kelley Kronenberg, she practiced as a Partner with a state-wide insurance defense firm where she handled hundreds of third party insurance defense matters in both pre-suit with bad faith exposure and post-litigation through Trial concentrating on automobile negligence, personal injury, general liability, appellate work, coverage disputes, special investigations, premises liability, and fraud. Nikki formerly also worked as the Director of PIP Litigation with a state-wide insurance defense law firm where she headed their Jacksonville office and handled all insurance defense-related matters for Northeast Florida. She has handled insurance defense matters with several other Jacksonville law firms and has participated in multiple Trials as co-counsel or second chair during her tenure.
Nikki understands insurance defense from the “ground up”. She spent 18 years handling bodily injury/uninsured motorist, property damage, personal injury protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage (MPC), auto negligence and liability investigations, as well as policy coverage investigations with a Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance carrier. Additionally, she spent three years as a Special Investigator of medical billing fraud and insurance fraud. Her time and expertise within Special Investigations led to two arrests for insurance fraud and the recovery of over $1,000,000 to a fortune 500 insurance carrier. Ms. Hawkins led a coalition Task Force in the investigation of medical billing fraud working with the Florida Department of Insurance Fraud (DIF), National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), International Association of Special Investigation Unit (IASIU), and Special Agents for the state of Florida Medicaid/Medicare and Worker’s Compensation.
Nikki has tried nine jury trials and authored several appellate briefs. She authored the Writ of Certiorari in the matter of Lightfoot v Hunt on a discovery matter which was granted by the First District Court of Appeals and the lower court was overturned and successfully defended a Motion for New Trial after receiving a complete defense verdict which was per curiam affirmed by the First DCA in the matter of Wininger v Robinson. Currently, she co-authored a Writ of Certiorari related to a discovery issue which was accepted by the First District Court of Appeals.
Nikki received her Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law in December 2009 and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Central Florida in 1993. She worked in a full-time capacity while attending law school.
Nikki is licensed to practice law in Florida and is a member of The Florida Bar.