Black, a New York native who moved to South Florida for his studies as an undergraduate and law student at the University of Miami, died on Monday at his home in Coral Gables at 80 after battling an illness while still continuing to work at his storied law firm on Biscayne Boulevard.

Roy Black‘s death at age 80 marks the passing of one of America’s most prominent criminal defense attorneys. Known for representing high-profile clients over a five-decade career, Black passed away on July 21,

With a national profile, he represented the notorious and the celebrated, helping to secure an acquittal in the Smith rape case and a lenient plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein.