JD Journal » Florida

Florida Interstate 75 Pileup Kills 10

jim — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:33:28 +0000

Early on Sunday, multiple cars and trucks collided along a stretch of a dark Florida highway that was covered in haze and smoke, causing drivers to be blinded instantly. At least 10 people were killed in the massive pileup. According to police, when rescuers arrived on scene they had to listen for screams from victims because the visibility was so poor over what was about a mile of wreckage.

The pileup occurred on Interstate 75 just south of Gainesville. Officials are still trying to figure out what caused the tragic accident. The stretch of the highway where the accident occurred was closed for a short time because of the fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire that might have been set intentionally. Close to one dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved in the accident, with some of them bursting into flames.

Steven R. Camps, from Gainesville, said that he and a couple of friends were headed home a couple of hours before dawn when they were brought into the pileup.

“You could hear cars hitting each other. People were crying. People were screaming. It was crazy,” he said. “If I could give you an idea of what it looked like, I would say it looked like the end of the world.”

Right before Camps reached the fog bank, one of his friends driving in another vehicle in front of him called to warn of the accident and the severe fog as Camps approached the Paynes Prairie region south of Gainesville. Not much longer, Camps said that traffic stopped on the northbound lanes of the highway.

“You couldn’t see anything. People were pulling off the road,” he said.

Camps then said that as he was talking to a man in a car next to him about the road conditions, another car hit the car of the man he was speaking with on the road. That man’s car was crushed under a semi that was stopped in front of them. Camps said his car was struck twice but he and a friend were able to jump from the car. Both of them took cover on the grass in the shoulder.

“It was happening on both sides of the road, so there was nowhere to go. It blew my mind,” he said. He explained that the scene “looked like someone was picking up cars and throwing them.”

The highway runs almost the length of Florida and had all six lanes closed the majority of Sunday afternoon as a result of the accident. The I-75 northbound lanes reopened around 5:30 p.m. EST but the southbound lanes were still closed.

“Our standard operating procedure is to get the road open as quickly as possible but let’s not forget we have 10 people who are not with us today,” said Lt. Patrick Riordan, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman. “So we are going to take our time assessing the situation.”

Riordan did not know how much time elapsed between the opening of the highway after the visibility improved and when the first accident occurred.

Not four years ago, smoke and heavy fog attributed to a tragic accident on Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa. The pileup killed four and injured 38. This accident occurred 125 miles south of the crash that occurred on Sunday. Close to 70 vehicles were involved in this accident with one pileup involving 40 vehicles.

Security System Salesman Rapes Woman in Her Home

jim — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:45:06 +0000

Even detectives from the Tampa area were shocked by the case; an innocent woman was raped in her home. Her alleged attacker was a salesman who forced his way inside the victim’s home.

Rashad Hales made an appearance in court on Wednesday in Hillsborough County. Hales is accused of raping a woman in her home. Hales is a salesman, going door to door selling ADT security systems, systems that are meant to protect people from someone like him.

Larry McKinnon, a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, said, “You just have to wonder what kind of personality this is, and has he ever done this before?”

Authorities are wondering if this is the first time Hales committed such a heinous crime or if there are more victims out there that have yet to come forward.

The victim resides in the Town N’ Country area and answered the door when Hales knocked. It was only hours from New Year’s Eve. As a result of being a sexual assault victim, the victim’s identity is being protected, who is 19.

The victim told Hales that her fiancé was not home but investigators say that Hales then returned to the home and forced his way inside.

McKinnon said, “It bothers all of us, it shocks the sense of humanity.”

Authorities discovered that Hales wrapped an electrical cord around the neck of the victim, dragged her to the bedroom, and then raped her for 30 minutes. After the crime was complete, Hales left the home with a chilling threat to the woman:

“‘If you tell anyone on this, I’ll kill you.’ He indicated once he was arrested, to detectives, he wished he had killed her. That was his only regret,” said McKinnon.

Another woman from the Bay area knows how the victim of Hales is feeling.

“No one deserves to be attacked, brutalized, personal space invaded,” said Heidi Damon.

Damon was beaten and ravaged in the front of her car in a parking garage in Ybor City. When Damon woke up she was convulsing and had no underwear or pants. Damon was able to face her attacker in court, giving an emotional statement to the court.

“It’s not your fault. You have to dig really deep within yourself as a person and push on yourself for that strength and know that there are bad people out there doing bad things,” Damon says to the victims.

The company Hales was working for is SecureWatch, which has its headquarters in Tennessee. Paul Victor, the COO of the company, was in the Bay area when the crime occurred. Victor issued a statement about the crime.

“We were panicked. It was quite shocking. We never expected anything like this. We do thorough work-ups of people, along with other checks and searches,” he said. ”We can’t believe it. We feel terrible. We’ve had such good success with salespeople in the past.”

The John Marshall Law School Launches New Law School in Savannah

rebneely — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:13:02 +0000

The John Marshall LawSchool, located in Atlanta, Georgia, announced in recent days that it had received American Bar Association approval to launch a Savannah branch campus next fall. The new location will be called Savannah Law School.

Alan Boyer, associate dean for recruitment and marketing, was quoted as saying in the December 8^th Law.com article, “Law school establishing branch in Savannah”: “There is no other law school serving that part of the southern Atlantic region. As word has got out, we’ve had some applicants to the school here inAtlanta ask to switch over to Savannah.” The region is expected to experience a large population growth over the next ten to fifteen years.

The new campus will probably draw students from over twenty nearby colleges and universities, according to Boyer. The closest ABA-accredited law schools are the Charleston School of Law in Charleston, S.C., and Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla.. Each is 90 minutes or more away by car. The University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia State University of College of Law and John Marshall’s main campus are over four hours away.

Over 1,500 judges and lawyers work in the Savannaharea; this gives a strong indication that students would have opportunities for externships and clerk positions, according to John Marshall administrators.

The school plans to enroll almost 100 students next year, with 60 attending full-time and the rest part-time. The part-time program is aimed at doctors, law enforcement officers, paralegals and retired military servicemen and -women. A “noncompetitive” environment will be stressed, which is intended to encourage teamwork; this means there will be no forced grading on a curve.

Richardson Lynn, dean at John Marshall, will oversee operations in Savannah, which will maintain a separate faculty from that at the main campus. He was quoted as saying: “With the new Savannah Law School, students from theSavannaharea and throughout the Atlantic coastal region can begin their legal careers closer to home. And students from around the country and the world can live and learn in a community rich in culture, heritage and southern hospitality.”

The school will begin hiring for the new branch in the spring. Interested students are able to begin the application process this month.

Though the ABA has approved new campus, theSavannahLawSchoolstill needs to get provisional accreditation. Boyer was quoted as saying: “Our plan is to immediately begin that process so that the inaugural class will be able to sit for the bar inGeorgia.”

In addition to the city of Savannah getting a new law school during the next academic year, a small group of lawyers is planning to open the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law in Indio,Calif., in September. As well, plans for other new law schools are underway in the Louisiana and Indiana. In addition, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School has plans to open a new campus inTampa, Fla., next year.

Although some legal educators are skeptical about launching new, additional law schools during a time when hiring in the legal industry has declined, the ABA is of the mind that limiting the number of law schools could pose an issue with regard to antitrust laws.

Law Firm Forced To Resign

jim — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:43:52 +0000

A law firm in the Orlando area has had to resign after an abundance of complaints were made to the Better Business Bureau about the firm. The law firm, Kaufman, Englett & Lynd, received tons of complaints within just one year. People who were not satisfied with the law firm made it known by going to the Better Business Bureau to complain about the law firm and its practices. Because of the complaints made and the fact that the firm was not willing to make necessary changes to fix and resolve these complaints, the Better Business Bureau gave the firm an F rating.

The Kaufman, Englett & Lynd law firm was once an accredited business listed under the BBB. Within the past three years, 39 complaints were made from separate individuals against the company. The company began working to resolve these complaints but the BBB was not satisfied. The firm took too long to resolve the issue at hand, which is part of the reason they received such a low rating.

The chief executive officer for the Better Business Bureau, Judy Pepper, has said, “Once a company no longer meets our standards, they are not eligible to have the BBB accreditation.” She also says, “We will give those companies the opportunity to resign, or their membership will be revoked.”

Most of the complaints made against the firm from its clients accused the firm of overcharging for services that were never received. Clients were not satisfied with the way the firm would charge them for services that they never received which is why they took the issue to the BBB to spread the word and prevent other clients from suffering the same fate.

One of the firm’s former clients, Amanda Smith-Gillaspie, has said, “There’s no doubt I am losing my house now because of them.” She says that she paid over $3,500 to the law firm to have them defend her and prevent her home from being foreclosed. Smith-Gillaspie says, “They dropped the ball so many times, it was ridiculous. When I wouldn’t pay them another $3,500, they dropped me. Then I started working directly with Citibank and found out KEL hadn’t filed some of the paperwork at all.”

Karen Pintor, another former client of the Kaufman, Englett & Lynd law firm was also disgusted with the law firm and its practices. She says, “They made so many mistakes, I didn’t feel they deserved any money from me.” She also said, “I started working with my lender directly, resubmitted the whole modification package, and did the legwork myself. Within a month, I got approved; I saved my house myself.”

Kaufman, Englett & Lynd have denied the accusations of taking money and not defending clients or not filing all of the necessary paperwork. The firm is putting the blame solely on the clients and claims many clients failed to fill out necessary paperwork in the first place which is part of the reason the process took so much time. A representative for the firm says that the law firm had worked very hard to listen to complaints and respond to them accordingly. The representative also claims that the law firm only resigned from the BBB accreditation program as means of protecting their F rating and not a means of admitting to any wrongdoing at all.

Fannie Mae Working with Fired Florida Law Firm

jim — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:25:44 +0000

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are brother and sister in the federal mortgage industry in the United States. Just because they are affiliated does not mean that they have to operate under the same ideals or options. For instance, Freddie Mac decided to fire a Florida law firm earlier this year for participating in abuses related to processing foreclosure cases, but Fannie Mae has decided to continue working with that same firm. The reason that Fannie Mae continues to employ the embattled law firm is the fact that it is too expensive to have the foreclosure files transferred to other firms.

A report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency claims that the two companies are guilty of a lack of communication when it comes to discussing firms they use for taking people’s homes away from them. Freddie Mac did notify Fannie Mae of the reason why it had dismissed the firm in question but Fannie Mae decided that it would continue to use the firm because transferring the files would cost too much. Fannie Mae was expecting a bill of at least $5.5 million from the transferred files of the David J. Stern firm. The firm was fired by both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae back in November.

The firm that was fired by Freddie Mac but retained by Fannie Mae handles close to 43 percent of all of Fannie Mae’s foreclosure cases. The report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not name the firm in question but the Marshall C. Watson firm was fired by Freddie Mac in March but is still on the retainer list of Fannie Mae today.

“The Federal Housing Finance Agency does not have a formal policy or practice to apprise either enterprise of the other’s termination actions,” the report said. “Moreover, Freddie Mac has terminated law firms for poor performance, and Fannie Mae has retained the firms. Foreclosure attorneys in Florida are routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits. It is axiomatic that the practice is improper and should be stopped. Fannie Mae has not authorized this unlawful conduct.”

One Hollywood-based attorney, Evan Rosen, had the following to say about the problem between the affiliated companies:

“It’s just another layer of outrageous information. Fannie and Freddie were designed to help stabilize the nation’s mortgage markets, but they diverted their focus on crisis control and how to push through foreclosures and do it in a way that would shed as little light on the process as possible.”

When Freddie Mac fired the Marshall C. Watson firm it was a pretty sizable firing based on Freddie Mac’s profits. The Marshall C. Watson firm made up approximately 10 percent of Freddie Mac’s business at the time of the firing.

Law Firms Flocking to Florida

jim — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:08:36 +0000

Law firms from all over the United States have been flocking to the state of Florida to take over foreclosure cases abandoned by the firm of David J. Stern and Ben-Ezra & Katz, which had to abandon its cases due to possible foreclosure fraud. One of the newest firms to hit Florida is McCalla Raymer, which is based out of Atlanta, and has four offices in the state of Florida. McCalla Raymer has 21 attorneys working at the four Florida offices, which is also under contract to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in Florida.

Stern and Ben-Ezra Katz is one of the two largest foreclosure firms to operate in the state of Florida, handling nearly 70,000 foreclosure cases each year. The firm left tens of thousands of files up for grabs after being accused of ‘robo-signing’ and being let go by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The firm used to employ close to 200 attorneys to handle the 70,000 foreclosure cases that were filed with the company each year. Class action suits against the firm allege that the firm would rush through the foreclosure process without using proper documents, proper review, or proper process serving. According to RealtyTrac, Florida residential foreclosures dropped 59 percent in the first half of 2011 compared to the same time frame one year ago. One of the reasons for the slowdown was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had to assign the cases to other firms.

The firms that have opened offices in Florida over the past year include the following:

Atlanta-based McCalla Raymer
North Carolina-based Brock & Scott
Atlanta-based Aldridge Connors
Massachusetts-based Ablitt Scofield
New Jersey-based Mark J. Udren & Associates
Atlanta-based Pendergast & Associates
Philadelphia-based Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg
Atlanta-based Johnson & Freedman

“When everything happened last fall with David Stern and the robo-signing investigations, there seemed to be an opening in the Florida market, and we found the right people to partner with,” said Marty Stone, managing partner of McCalla Raymer. “We want to try to mirror the success we’ve had in Georgia. We didn’t want to just hire a few people on the ground and manage everything remotely. That was one of the issues with Stern. He was too focused on Fort Lauderdale.”

Some of the local firms that were already operating in Florida decided to open divisions of foreclosure in their firms to handle some of the files that were left open. One of those firms, Tripp Scott, launched its foreclosure division after receiving a bid from Fannie Mae.

“We knew before we became involved in the process that there were serious issues that were well-documented,” Tripp Scott managing partner Ed Pozzuoli said. “We knew there would be challenges. However, despite those challenges we have moved forward, and it’s going pretty well.”

The new foreclosure firms in Florida are receiving anywhere from 3,500-5,000 transfer files at $1,200-$1,400 per file to expedite the foreclosure filings in the state.

Judge Blocks Florida’s Doctor Gun Law

EmploymentCrossing — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:22:05 +0000

Florida’s Gun Law has been stopped from being implemented by a Federal Judge, as it was argued that the law is affecting the doctors and the patients privacy. Though the Judge did not agree to the argument that it will impinge on the doctor and patient’s privacy, he shot down it, mentioning that it can be passed only if the government’s compelling interest exists. He has mentioned that instead of passing the law, the doctors can make counseling to the patients to avoid keeping the firearms or talk about it.

Read the original article here:
Fla. Doctor Gun Law Blocked by Fed. Judge

Florida Courthouse Evacuated Because of U-Haul

EmploymentCrossing — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:46:02 +0000

Suspicions aroused by a U-Haul vehicle parked through a day outside West Palm Beach, Florida, courthouse resulted in evacuation of the premises; the vehicle was however cleared on investigation. Possibility of the presence of explosives was detected by a bomb sniffing dog and the courthouse; some buildings around including the post office were all evacuated as a safety measure till an all-clear was sounded.

Read the original report here:
Suspicious U-Haul prompts brief evacuation of Florida courthouse

ACLU Files Suit Against Florida Law Requiring Mandatory Drug-testing

EmploymentCrossing — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:55:26 +0000

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLUFL) has filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Florida government. The reason is the state’s new law that makes it mandatory for all people who receive benefits from the Temporary Cash Assistance to undergo drug testing. The suit has been filed on behalf of 35-year old Orlando resident Luis Lebron. Lebron, a Navy veteran, says that he refused to undergo the drug test because it violates his Fourth Amendment rights which protects against unreasonable searches. Individuals who fail the test lose the benefits for one year.

Read the original report here:
Florida ACLU challenges mandatory drug screening for state welfare applicants

Ruden McClosky Axes 16 Staff

marvins — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:39:08 +0000

Ruden McClosky, a Florida-based law firm, slashed 16 staff members in line with the its reorganization plan to cut expenses, increase revenue and standardize the three-to-one lawyer-to-secretary ratio. The layoff did not include lawyers or paralegals. The affected workers were basically from the administrative and support division, including the longtime library director and several secretaries who have been with the firm for more than 20 years. The axed employees were generally concentrated in the Fort Lauderdale office, which removed 13 of its staff members. The West Palm Beach office slashed two and Orlando eliminated one.

Ruden’s co-managing partner, Carl Schuster, explained that the firm is currently focusing on increasing its profitability across the Florida market. “Ruden McClosky continues to implement changes that are in line with today’s law firm standards for best practices, which include maximizing efficiencies while enhancing the firm’s technological capabilities.”

Ruden McClosky has been greatly affected by the recent economic recession and real estate clash. As a result, the firm experienced partner defections, employed mass layoffs and closure of some of its offices. New co-partner elect Michael Kru said that the firm is now poised to grow and is looking to hire new associates. Kru also assured that there are no layoffs slated in the coming months after the recent downsizing.

Ruden McClosky Names its New Managing Partner

marvins — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:23:50 +0000

After the recent real estate crash and economic downturn, Florida law firm Ruden McClosky will soon employ a new managing partner starting January 1, 2011 according to “The Daily Business Review,” the firm’s sibling publication.

Reports revealed that the current Ruden McClosky president and CEO Carl Schuster, an estate-planning partner in Fort Lauderdale, will now share the leadership seat with Michael Krul, his new second-in-command partner. Krul has chaired the firm’s corporate and finance practice for more than 20 years. He will co-manage the firm in 2011 with Schuster, who is slated to step down permanently from his present post and will return to his trusts and estate practice come 2012.

The reports also disclosed that Ruden McClosky has been under major changes in the recent months. The firm has implemented layoffs and instituted an 18% across-the-board pay cut to stay afloat during the economic upheaval. The firm has 85 lawyers presently, from nearly 200 lawyers, after losing more than 50 partners and offices in Sarasota and St. Petersburg to its competitors. Some partners left the firm at the end of 2009 when they were asked to sign personal guarantees to secure the firm’s line of credit.

Krul remained positive despite the firm’s set backs. “We’re stronger and leaner heading into 2011. We will make budget. We’re doing fine; we’re poised to grow. A new management committee will be chosen in another partner election in December. The firm is even looking to start hiring again, looking for three senior associates to add to its depleted attorney roster,” Krul said.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:47:30 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, November 26th, and it’s Black Friday! Here’s a quick look back at the latest headlines.

Former Texas solicitor general Gregory Coleman died in a plane crash…

Milbank will pay associate bonuses on what is rapidly becoming known as the Cravath scale…

Skadden matched the associate bonus scale announced earlier this week by Cravath…

Former Texas Solicitor General Dies in Plane Crash

daniel — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:11:02 +0000

Former Texas solicitor general Gregory Coleman died in a plane crash on Tuesday. Coleman was piloting the plane himself over Destin, Florida when foggy conditions were encountered.

Coleman was a partner for Yetter Coleman and is widely recognized for the arguments he gave in two significant court cases in 2009: Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder, serving as a litmus test for the Voting Rights Act, and Connecticut affirmative action case, Ricci v. DeStefano. More recently, the soft-spoken 47-year old represented the prosecution in a case involving a death row inmate and DNA testing, Skinner v. Switzer.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:07:51 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, September 17th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote was ranked among the top firms in Pittsburgh by U.S. News & World Report…

The Latin Builders Association (LBA) named international law firm Greenberg Traurig its 2010 “Law Firm of the Year”…

Sidley Austin topped all law firms in the inaugural U.S. News “Best Law Firms Survey”…

DLA Piper added two attorneys to its San Francisco office…

Sidley Austin named former Clifford Chance partner co-head of its capital markets group in London…

U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers released the 2010 Best Law Firms Rankings…

Greenberg Traurig Honored By Construction Association

joshua — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:14:09 +0000

The Latin Builders Association (LBA), the largest Hispanic construction association in the United States, named international law firm Greenberg Traurig its 2010 “Law Firm of the Year”.

Awards were based on nominations made by fellow LBA members and voted on by 750 member companies. Greenberg Traurig Iris Escarra and associate Mario Garcia-Serra, both members of the firm’s Environmental and Land Development practice in Miami, accepted the award on behalf of the firm at the LBA 30^th Annual Awards Dinner.

The event was attended by 700 guests on Sept. 11 at the Hyatt Regency Miami. The LBA award comes of on the heels of the firm receiving the USA Award for Excellence in Real Estate at the Chambers and Partners USA 2010: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business awards ceremony in New York City in June. Greenberg Traurig’s environmental, land development and real estate practices, have a combined total of more than 200 attorneys firm-wide.

“It is a great honor to be recognized for our day-to-day efforts to work with our community to make South Florida an increasingly better place to live and work,” said Greenberg Traurig President Mattew B. Gorson. “We share the LBA’s commitment to South Florida’s vibrant construction industry, as we provide multidisciplinary legal services important to its development.”

Greenberg Traurig has more than 1,800 attorneys serving clients from more than 30 offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:43:01 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, August 12th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms will hold its diversity conference in Washington D.C….

Boies, Schiller & Flexner partner Zack takes reins as ABA president…

Vault.com ranked Ropes & Gray as the “Best Firm to Work For” for the second year in a row…

Florida Attorney General issued subpoenas to three South Florida foreclosure law firms…

Florida’s Attorney General Issues Subpoenas To Law Firms Alleged To Have Fabricated Documents

todd — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:27:23 +0000

Bill McCollum, The Florida Attorney General, issued subpoenas to three South Florida foreclosure law firms as they begin their probe into allegations over forged documents filed with the courts in various foreclosure cases.

The Law Offices of David J. Stern in Plantation, the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale, and Shapiro and Fishman, located in Boca Raton and Tampa, are all implicated in the scandal. The attorney general has request documents dating back to the beginning of 2008.

The Attorney General alleges that the firms may have presented falsified documents to Florida courts in order to obtain foreclosure judgments against homeowners.

“Law firms are not immune to Florida deceptive and unfair trade practice [laws],” said McCollum at a press conference. “I want law firms to reall think about it before they go through this volume.

The implicated firms are among the firms who have dealt with the largest amount of foreclosure in the state.

Mary Leontakianakos, the director of the economic crimes division at the Attorney General’s office, said, “I can tell you having seen some of this paperwork there is clearly some concern.”

Big Guns Brought In To Defend Florida Oil Suits

eric — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:56:00 +0000

With the number of lawsuits related to the massive oil spill in the Gulf mounting daily, Tampa Bay Online reports that some of many of the high profile companies targeted by these suits in Florida courts have hired major firms from the state for their defense teams.

British Petroleum has hired Florida’s largest firm, Akerman Senterfitt. The maker of the infamous blowout “preventer”, Cameron International, has brought in Greenberg Traurig for its defense against legal actions. Halliburton Energy Services, the company that attempted to fill the surging well with concrete, has retained Broad and Cassel.

With almost an entire state of coast line, and many jobs tied to businesses that pepper the coast, the number of future suits against these companies can only grow.

Shutts & Bowen Hires Four Attorneys To Boost Healthcare Practice

eric — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:52:28 +0000

BusinessWire: The Florida based firm Shutts & Bowen has added four attorneys to its Health Care Practice. Linda M. Robison and Mark D. Folk join the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office as partners; Suzanne Sterling, of counsel; and Liston E. Radney, III , an associate. The new attorneys bring with them over 60 years of experience in corporate health care and pharmaceutical transactions and mergers and acquisitions.

Shutts & Bowen is a Florida-based law firm with more than 200 attorneys in six offices in the State of Florida and one office in Europe. With more than 30 practice areas, Shutts & Bowen offers a complete range of legal services to its local, state, national and international clients.

Gowdy Wins Landmark Supreme Court Decision

eric — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:50:27 +0000

Bryan Gowdy, of the Jacksonville appellate firm Mills Creed & Gowdy, earned a victory yesterday when the US Supreme Court issued a landmark decision regarding the Eighth Amendment in Graham v. Florida, reports the Jacksonville Daily Record. Terrance Graham, a juvenile when he committed armed burglary seven years ago, violated his parole by committing other crimes, and was subsequently handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The Eighth Amendment, which reads “[e]xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” in its terseness and ambiguity has long been the subject of mixed interpretation for the courts. In a 2005 decision in Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court ruled that minors should be held to a different standard due to their lack of maturity, the inability to often understand the consequences of their actions and far lower rate of recidivism, but this was only applied to cases that involved the death penalty.

In this particular instance, Graham challenged that interpretation, arguing that the courts had the power to invalidate other types of sentences – that, in essence, a life sentence without the option of parole was cruel and unusual – based on very same factors considered in Roper. According to Daily Record, the case will most likely make its way back to Florida’s Fourth Circuit, before the same judge that originally sentenced Terrance, due that judge’s familiarity with the underlying facts and evidence presented in the case.

Fort Lauderdale Firm To Consult On Gulf Oil Spill

eric — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:23:16 +0000

Per Newswire, Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman & McKee, a Fort Lauderdale firm, has been retained by Florida’s Gulf County as legal consultants to assist that county in as it moves forward in the aftermath of the Deepwater oil spill. The spill, involving British Petroleum and Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling company, has had an ever-widening impact affecting many communities along the the coasts of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana . The firm was retained, according to the post, based on its experience in litigating marine disasters, and its recent association as lead Florida counsel for the Gulf Oil Disaster Group.

Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman & McKee is a firm versed in complex litigation arising from environmental disasters and toxic torts, product liability and violations of aviation and admiralty law. The firm has served over 20,000 clients in a wide variety of accident and damage cases over the course of the past 25 years.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:15:22 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, April 15 and it’s the last day to file your tax returns. Here’s a look back at yesterday’s stories.

Yale tops the law school rankings by US News…

Duane Morris lost 5 attorneys in Atlanta…

The Governor of Florida signed a law requiring greater transparency…

Wilmer Hale picked up a former US Attorney…

Michael Marguilies, accused of stealing $1 million from his clients, won’t fight his disbarment…

Legal Services Corp. has chosen a Sidley Austin partner to be chairman…

M&A activity is expected to heat up soon…

and Paul Weiss picked up a top government prosecutor…

Morning Roundup

sara — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:24:55 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, April 1, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s news…

Bestattorneysonline.com announce the top ten environmental law firms in Alaska…

The Entrepreneurs Law Group is formed in South Carolina to advise businesses and individuals…

42 of 58 county district attorneys in California oppose the nomination of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit…

Linklaters is returning to lockstep compensation for it’s associates…

Quarles & Brady open an office in Tampa, Florida…

Weil Gotshal & Manges earn big bucks in the Lehman bankruptcy case…

A federal judge in Boston has ruled that mutual fund companies are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act…

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that wiretaps were illegally installed on phones owned by the Islamic Foundation under the now ended Terrorist Surveillance Program…

Student Suspended For Facebook Writings May Proceed With Lawsuit

sara — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:24:19 +0000

A federal judge has ruled that Katherine Evans, a former student at Pembroke Pines Charter School in Florida, may proceed with her lawsuit. Evans sued her former vice principal after she was suspended for 3 days for creating a Facebook page criticizing a teacher. The school claims Evans engaged in cyber bullying her teacher, Sarah Phelps. Then high school senior Evans created a page titled, “Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I’ve ever had” and invited students of Phelps to post their opinions. Some students supported the teacher and others expressed negative opinions. After a few days Evans took down the page. Two months later she ran into trouble with the school over the page.

Evans wants to have her suspension expunged from her disciplinary record and seeks a “nominal fee” for what she argues was a violation of her First Amendment rights and to pay her legal fees. Former Principal Peter Bayer asked that the case be dismissed but Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber denied Bayer’s petition and rejected his claim of qualified immunity. One of Evans lawyers, Maria Kayanan (associate legal director of the ACLU of Florida) said in response to the decision, “This is an important victory both for Ms. Evans and Internet free speech…because it upholds the principle that the right to freedom of speech and expression in America does not depend on the technology used to convey opinions and ideas.”

Ruden McClosky Not Dissolving Despite Departures

sara — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:14:13 +0000

Last week 8 lawyers at Ruden McCloskey, including some prominent partners, left the firm for Adams and Reese. The firm is down to 123 lawyers from 175 at the beginning of 2009 and has fallen out of the National Law Journal’s annual ranking of the nation’s 250 law firms. The firm laid off 35 staffers and some attorneys last year. Managing director Carl Schuster released a statement saying the firm will stay open and is “in discussion with several potential laterals…Our firm is committed to serving Florida business and maintains a strong presence throughout the state.”

Founded in 1959, Ruden McClosky is a full service firm specializing in intellectual property law, litigation, banking and finance law, and general corporate law. The firm has offices in Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.

Adams & Reese Opens Tampa Office

joshua — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:54:22 +0000

Adams & Reese, a regional law firm based out of New Orleans, is opening its third Florida office in Tampa. In December, the firm broadened its south eastern base by taking over offices in Sarasota and St. Petersburg. The Tampa office will open with eight attorneys and a certified land planner. For now, the nine will work out of the St Petersburg office while the firm looks for office space in Tampa.

Adams & Reese is a multidisciplinary, regional law firm with offices in Baton Rouge, LA; Birmingham, AL; Houston, TX; Jackson, MS; Memphis, TN; Mobile, AL; Nashville, TN; New Orleans, LA; Sarasota, FL; St. Petersburg, FL; Tampa, FL: and Washington, D.C.

Scott Rothstein to Plead Guilty Today

sara — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:49:00 +0000

Disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein will plead guilty to running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scam in a Fort Lauderdale , Florida federal court today. Rothstein was charged in December with five counts of racketeering, fraud and money laundering. He faces up to 100 years in prison. He may only receive a 30 year sentence because he returned to the United States after fleeing abroad and cooperated with authorities.

Rothstein cofounded Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in 2002. He made hundreds of millions of dollars selling fake employment discrimination and other civil settlements to wealthy investors. Rothstein looted 40 investor and client trusts at TD Bank and was given almost uninhibited access to their accounts. Rothstein kept his con afloat by paying off old investors with money from new ones, until one investor reported his growing suspicions.

Investigators are scrutinizing others involved with Rothstein’s operations at this time.

Florida Bar Asks Lawyers to Donate to Haiti Relief

sara — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:29:46 +0000

The Florida Bar sent an email to its 88,000 members on Thursday, asking them to make a donation to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The email provided a web link to the American Red Cross. Bar President Jesse Diner and Francisco Corrales, head of the Bar’s international section said in the email, “The people of Haiti need our help. As Florida’s legal community, we have an opportunity to assist the people of Haiti in their recovery and rebuilding efforts”.

A proposal was also made to donate a portion of registration fees for the International Law & Arbitration Conference on February 12 at the Conrad Miami Hotel. Several Florida law firms are also collecting donations and organizing fund-raising for relief in Haiti.

Adams & Reese Take Over Two Offices in Florida

joshua — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:24:50 +0000

New Orleans firm Adams & Reeseadded their 11th and 12th offices this week by taking over Ruden McClosky’s offices in Sarasota and St. Petersburg, Florida. The two offices have a combined total of 23 attorneys and a little over 30 staff.

Facebook fact finding in Florida

joshua — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:08:32 +0000

Online social networking doesn’t quite make the cut as one of the four f’s of human behaviour, but it’s close. For new lawyers, however, it pays to keep a lid on the seemingly instinctual drive to network. It’s no surprise that big law will peruse your Facebook pages looking for anything that might damage their reputation, but now the Florida Bar Examiners are getting into the act as well. New applicants to the Florida Bar that fall under certain categories can expect to have their Facebook pages checked for evidence that can be used to deny an application.

This new policy will not affect everyone; only applicants that need rehabilitation or who have admitted to certain past indiscretions will be investigated in this manner.

Sachs Sax Caplan Adds Attorneys

Erik Even — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:18:59 +0000

Boca Raton, Florida’s Sachs Sax Caplan has added two attorneys to its community association practice group.

Samuel H. Golden joins as senior counsel from New York’s Godsberg, Zankel & Golden. He practices in the area of foreclosures and community association law. His JD is from the Fordham University School of Law.

Viravuth Un joins as an associate from Ben-Ezra & Katz in Hollywood, Florida. He is a former assistant state attorney in the Sarasota County 12th Circuit Court and Palm Beach County 15th Circuit Court. His JD is from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.

Sachs Sax Caplan is a full-service law firm with practice areas including government relations, corporate, community association law, real estate and land use, commercial litigation, estate planning, and family law. The firm has offices in Tallahassee and Port St. Lucie.

University of Miami Law School Offers Deferrals to Incoming 1Ls

Erik Even — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:49:46 +0000

The University of Miami School of Law is offering incentives to its incoming Fall 2009 students, to defer starting at the school until Fall 2010.

The school says a higher than usual number of accepted offers has created a “larger than optimal” first year class.

Those who accept the deferral will get a $5,000 scholarship upon completing 120 hours of public interest work; increased likelihood of selection for a $75,000 Miami Scholars Scholarship; and a better shot at getting 2010 scholarships.

The University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is located in Coral Gables, Florida. According to US News & World Report, the school is ranked 71st among all law schools, with its tax law program ranked 6th in the nation. The law school was ranked 26th overall in the annual 2009 Judging the Law Schools rankings.

Genovese Joblove Hires Associates

Erik Even — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:29:46 +0000

Miami, Florida-based litigation firm Genovese Joblove & Battista has brought on two associates.

Frank Massabki will focus on complex civil and criminal litigation in both federal and state court. He received his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Michael Schuster joins from the dissolved Kluger, Perez, Kaplan & Berlin, where he represented clients in debt restructuring, reorganization and liquidation matters, including Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy proceedings. Schuster got his JD from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

Genovese Joblove & Battista is one of the largest specialty practices in Florida, with offices in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Akerman Senterfitt Cuts 5 Associates

Erik Even — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:06:51 +0000

Florida’s Akerman Senterfitt, which in July announced a 10% cut in associate salaries, has laid off five associates.

Two of the five let go are first-years.

Akerman Senterfitt was founded in 1920, and has grown to become one of the largest law firms in the United States. In 2008, the National Law Journal ranked the firm as 92nd largest in the US by number of attorneys, and the second-largest Florida-based firm.

The firm employs 500 lawyers across offices in Los Angeles, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, New York City, Washington DC; Tyson’s Corner, Virginia; and Madison, Wisconsin.

Mateer Harbert Hires 3 Lawyers, 6 Staff

Erik Even — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:20:16 +0000

Orlando, Florida’s Mateer Harbert has gone a hiring spree, picking up two new partners, a senior associate, three paralegals and three legal assistants.

The partners are Francis Pierce and Richard Allen; the senior associate is Susan Sewell.

Mateer Harbert is a 44-employee law firm based in Orlando. It has a second location in Ocala.