Jill F. Bechtold practices in the area of civil litigation, where she focuses on medical and professional liability defense, employment disputes, product liability defense, business litigation, trucking litigation, and insurance defense.

Jill’s clients include drug and medical device companies, business owners, physicians, hospitals, trucking carriers, and insurers. She represents clients in state and federal court actions as well as arbitrates matters under the Florida Arbitration Code and the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

Jill is experienced in defending professional licensure actions, including defending physicians in Department of Health investigations and licensed companies in Department of Business and Professional Regulation actions.

Organizations and publications rely on Jill to share her knowledge.

Here are some of her articles:

• No More No Harm, No Foul? The Effect of Saunders v. Dickens on  the Standard of Care for Treating Physicians in Medical Malpractice Cases
• Reptile Tactics: A Defense Guide to the Reptile Strategy in Discovery
• Ensure Your Trucking Company’s Safety Representative Holds Up to
  Direct and Cross-Examination at Trial
• Prescription for Oversight: The Evolution of Pharmacist Liability
• State of Emergency? A Flurry of New Case Law Creates Uphill Battles for Defending Medical Malpractice Claims in Florida

The following is a list of her speaking engagements:

• Florida Defense Lawyer’s Association, October 2021
• “Let’s Talk About It! Leaders in Transportation Share Insights Regarding Success, Skills, Inclusion & Emotional Intelligence”, Arkansas Trucking Seminar, Bentonville, Arkansas 2019
• “Direct and Cross-Examination of Your Safety Director”, DRI Seminar: Big Rig Meets the Court Room: A Mock Trial Primer for New Lawyers on the Ins and Outs of Trying a Trucking Case, Nashville- June 2019
• Walmart Panel Counsel Meeting, Bentonville, Arkansas- 2019
• “Drafting Motions to Preclude Reptile Attacks in Jury Selection and Trial”, DRI Seminar “Turning the Tables on Plaintiffs in Trucking Litigation”, Chicago- April 2018
• Hospital Insurance Forum Spring Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona- March 2017
• LAMMICO Annual Meeting, Point Clear, Alabama- 2017
• Maine Trial Lawyers Association, York, Maine April 2017
• Hospital Insurance Forum CEO Meeting, Newport, RI- September 2016
• Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Annual Meeting – November 2016
• Defense Lawyers Association of Wyoming Annual Meeting, Saratoga Inn- August 2015
• New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, Albuquerque-September 2015
• Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia Annual Meeting, Wheeling, WV- June 2015
• Association of Defense Trial Attorneys Annual Meeting, Ponte Vedra, FL- April 2015

Court Admissions

U.S. District Courts, for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida

U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

Education

University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D.

University of Florida, B.S.

News & Publications

• Over 25 Percent of Rivkin Radler Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers in America®
  August 21 | 2025
• Bechtold Named Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America
  November 26 | 2024
• 38 Rivkin Radler Attorneys Included in The Best Lawyers in America®
  August 15 | 2024

In 2016, Jill accepted an invitation to become a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). She is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) and also serves as the co-chair of the Women & the Law Committee for the Florida Defense Lawyer’s Association. From 2014 to 2107 she was a barrister of the Chester Bedell Inn of Court.

In addition, Jill has served on the following steering committees:

• International Association of Defense Counsel 2022 Midyear Meeting Steering Committee, Scottsdale, Arizona
• International Association of Defense Counsel 2018 Annual Meeting Steering Committee, Lisbon, Portugal. Created and headed CLE discussion entitled “What and Why You Need to Know about Blockchain” with panelists Alexandra Simotta (SIX Payment Services of Austria), Jags Rao (SwissRe, Switzerland), Emily Vaughn (Change Healthcare, Tennessee) and Jason Wu (Etherify, Lisbon)

Jill is a Fellow of the trial lawyers association, Litigation Counsel of America (LCA) in the areas of Insurance Defense, Medical Malpractice and Product Liability.

An AV Preeminent-rated lawyer by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, Jill was named to the Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars list from 2012-2015 and named to the Florida Super Lawyers list in 2016 and 2017. From 2013 to 2015 she was named an Up & Comer by Florida Trend magazine. She was selected as one of 2015’s Women Leaders in Law by ALM, in partnership with Fortune magazine.

In 2024, Jill was named Lawyer of the Year in Product Liability Litigation-Defendants Law for the Jacksonville area by Best Lawyers in America^®. This recognition is awarded to individual lawyers with the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. Jill has been recognized in Best Lawyers for Medical Malpractice Law-Defendants, Product Liability Litigation-Defendants, Professional Malpractice Law-Defendants since 2022, and Commercial Litigation (2026).

Jill was named a “Women of Influence” in 2015 by the Jacksonville Business Journal for her leadership in Northeast Florida’s professional and civic community. She was appointed by the Office of the Mayor to the Jacksonville Children’s Commission (JCC) Board of Directors and is a graduate of Leadership Jacksonville, Class of 2015. She is a past-president of the Board of Directors for Girl’s Inc. of Jacksonville, the local chapter of the national Girl’s Inc. organization. She helped create and launch the young professional’s division of the Board, G.I.R.L.S. (Girl’s Inc. Rising Leaders Society).

Since 2015, the Insurance Coverage Group has been recognized in the Chambers USA directory.