Meaningful Things I Keep Near My Desk!

Reading this article on Steve Zack, I was struck by just how many things he keeps by his desk.

The list is diverse yet each item is pregnant with deep meaning:

Outgoing American Bar Association President Stephen Zack keeps a list of Buddhist sayings near his desk, as well as several silver gelding knives given to him by former clients.

Ok, Buddhist sayings and gelding knives.

Ying/yang, zen/warrior, got it.

What else?

To this day, Zack keeps a binder with Cuba's 1940 Constitution - first suspended by a 1952 coup and later thrown out after the 1959 revolution.

"I keep a copy near my desk to remind me that the words alone are not enough."

Hmm, evidently a smart and successful lawyer needs to make sure every item near her desk conveys an important message or signifies something that you want people to know about you.

It's like a bumper stick for your office!

So everyone please stop what you are doing (wasting time online) and take an inventory of the items in your immediate vicinity and see how you compare.

I'll go first:

1.  Framed photo of President Nixon and a drug-addled Elvis (or should that be the other way around)?

2.  Copy of deed for Chief Justice Rehnquist's Vermont home that contained restrictive covenant barring sale of property to "any member of the Hebrew race."

3. Gag gavel that makes farting noise (great for hearings!)

4.  Hand-made, partially-completed matchstick model of Peter Halmos' yacht (it's taken me seven years but I still intend to finish before the trial does).

Ok, your turn!

Mike Kosnitzky Flies Often! (End of Post.)

What, you think there's more to the story?

I don't know, hard to say.

Ok, there is this:

Since I almost always travel alone, I’m often asked by other passengers if I could change my seat. If a middle-aged couple says that they are married and want to fly sitting next to each other, I say that they have been together for so long that I’m sure that they could overcome the separation anxiety for a few short hours.

If a younger married couple wants me to change, I say that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” If an unmarried couple asks me, I say that I only make exceptions for married people. 

You silver-tongued devil!

But all hope is not lost -- every rule has its exceptions:

I have made a few exceptions recently, once for an elderly couple, and another time for a couple where the husband just had stomach surgery. 

I understand this -- lawyers are superstitious and air travel is tough enough as it is.

However, if you do happen to see Mike on a plane and you want to change seats, act really old or really sick and see what happens.

Safe travels!

I'd Rather Be Steve Hammer Than A Nail.

No, I'm not referring to that Simon & Garfunkel song.

I'm talking about Steven J. Hammer, who is beating the pants off Big Tobacco in the wake of the controversial 2006 Florida Supreme opinion allowing for certain jury findings to be applied against the defendants:

Tobacco company lawyers insist the process is rigged.

"We believe the trial courts have used trial plans that are so fundamentally unfair they violate due process and Florida law," said Murray Garnick of Altria Client Services, which represents Altria Group Inc. subsidiary Philip Morris USA. "Each case must be judged on its own facts."

The tobacco companies, however, have lost their first appeal over how Florida courts are handling the cases.

The state's 1st District Court of Appeal ruled against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in December, upholding a $28.3 million verdict for a dead smoker's wife and endorsing the way trial judges have interpreted the state Supreme Court's decision.

Steven J. Hammer, an attorney whose Fort Lauderdale firm is handling hundreds of smoker lawsuits, said the Florida cases have changed the balance of power in the courtroom because tobacco companies are prevented from arguing that their products aren't necessarily dangerous and addictive.

"As a result, the whole story is being told: how they lied to the public, all for the almighty dollar," he said. 

 If Steve and his colleagues keep winning, Big Tobacco might even consider -- gasp(!) -- settling:

If the losing trend and multimillion-dollar verdicts continue, some legal experts said the tobacco companies may rethink their long-standing policy against settling the smoker lawsuits.

"When we get to the point that plaintiff verdicts are upheld, with the industry looking at thousands of additional trials and expenses, they would weigh all of that together and possibly settle later down the road," said Edward Sweda, senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University law school in Boston. 

 That should only take about 4000 years.

In other news, Mike Kosnitzky may have come up with a great way to get your firm to pay for tickets to the South Beach Wine & Food Festival:

“It gives me the ability to network with existing clients as well as meeting new people with similar interests,” says Mike Kosnitzky, a partner at the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP, who with his wife will attend the Burger Bash, the Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ and the Whole Foods Grand Tasting Village. “There’s something to be said about being able to network with the people you do business with in a relaxed setting.”

This is very true.

That's why I've put in to get my firm to cover the expenses for me to attend the world's largest matzo ball attempt at the Tuscon Jewish Food Festival.

Come on, we're talking the world's largest matzoh ball, people -- I believe the potential benefits are obvious.

Getting Chronic With Judge Jordan And/Or Drew Barrymore

Sorry I'm a little late with this morning's post, but I became transfixed by Drew Barrymore on the CBS Early Show. What a cutie, I totally understand why some poor schlub would make an entire documentary simply about trying to meet her.

Well, Judge Jordan just won't stay out of the news.

John Pacenti reports on yesterday's orders:

Two medical associations suing on behalf of poor children seeking basic health care from the state earned two critical victories in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in Miami granted class action status Wednesday and denied the state’s dismissal motion.

The Florida Pediatric Society and the Florida Academy of Pediatric Dentistry claimed in the 2005 lawsuit that the state violates federal law by denying preventative health care to more than 1.5 million children.

Jordan said all Medicaid-eligible children under 21 who reside or will reside in Florida are part of the class. He rejected a claim by the state Agency for Health Care Administration that class-action status should be denied because not all class members are known at this time.

Actually, it's a pretty terse order for this Judge.

Stuart Singer was appointed class counsel, and the State was represented by Chesterfield H. Smith, Jr. as well as Marcos Jimenez from Kenny Nachwalter.

Magistrate Judge McAliley prepared an R&R recommending certification, which the defendants objected to.

I'm not too sure the Judge liked the number of objections:

Despite this precedent, the Defendants hurl a litany of objections at the R&R. Though the objections are impressive in number, they lack merit.

The defendants also argued a number of factual disputes exist which must be resolved at the certification stage, something the Judge also rejected:

The defendants argue that the R&R applies an incorrect legal standard to determine whether the proposed class satisfies Rule 23's requirements and that I should conclusively resolve factual disputes where there is conflicting evidence. As is evident from the legal standard applicable to class actions, conclusive resolution of factual disputes is not required. I may accept the plaintiffs’ allegations as true and may “consider the merits of the case to the degree necessary to determine whether the requirements of Rule 23 will be satisfied.” See Vega, 564 F.3d at 1265-66.

Finally, the Judge denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment, and though the order is also somewhat terse, it is lightened by the Court's Gonzaga analysis (a case right up there with Venetian Salami).

It will be very interesting to see where this one leads.

Thank You Judge Silverman; Florida Legislature, Not So Much.

Well it was a good and bad day yesterday for our local court system.

On the good side, anyone else attend the rousing and inspirational dedication of historic Courtroom 6-1? It looks great:

The carved wood doors leading to Miami-Dade's newly renovated historic Courtroom 6-1 swung open Thursday, giving spectators a glimpse at its restored 1928 grandeur.

More than 200 spectators filed inside for the afternoon unveiling and dedication of the courtroom, which once again looks just like it did 80 years ago when the Miami-Dade County Courthouse opened for legal business at 73 W. Flagler St.

The $650,000 restoration of the spacious courtroom, which took eight months, is a natural move in preserving local legal history.

''No other courtroom in Miami-Dade has hosted as many historic cases as this one,'' said Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Scott Silverman, who led the push for the restoration and heads the 11th Judicial Circuit Historical Society.

If you all haven't been by, please take a look. And take a moment to thank Judge Silverman as well as those firms who helped underwrite the restoration, including Boies Schiller & Flexner and Greenberg Traurig. Now, what can we do to get Judge S to preside over that majestic space?

The bad: Thanks to the wisdom of the voters and our State Legislature, Chief Judge Farina had to axe 14 court employees and lay off another 14. Just another really bad day at the office:

The court’s family division took the biggest number of layoffs, losing a court operations manager, two administrative assistants and an administrative secretary. A vacant court analyst position was dissolved.

The probate and guardianship division lost two court program specialists and deleted three vacant slots.

Five vacant law clerk positions were eliminated in the Office of General Counsel. The remaining cuts came in the traffic, criminal, juvenile, general magistrate, unified family court, court administrator and general jurisdiction divisions.

The cuts were by far the deepest for any circuits in Florida.

Oh well, the family division just hums anyways, so no worries there. And traffic, criminal, and juvenile, your days of living high off the hog are over. Just don't get concerned when the judge you are waiting for has to make copies, answer the phone, and fix the broken a/c while you wait to argue some meaningless and esoteric discovery dispute.