“The law is a lawyer’s haven, a lawyer’s orgasm,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Wolf, who represents the senior arcades. “You’re going to see a lot more litigation before this is finished.”Who else needs a cigarette?
They may fixWell it's that time of the week, let's see what is rattling around in the ole' noggin:
The weather in the world
Just like Mr. Gore said
But tell me what's to be done
Lord - 'bout the weather in my head
Tsarnaev is facing the death penalty. That is the circumstance in which procedural fairness matters the most. Yes, we have to protect ourselves from terrorism. But not by breaking with our traditional respect for the rule of law.Or is that view old-fashioned?
With the bill defeated in prior legislative sessions, its sponsors recharacterized it presumably to blunt criticism by attempting to distance it from the original language that overtly targeted sharia, which to Muslims is what Halakha is to Jews and canon is to Catholics The current version makes no such direct reference and instead targets "foreign law." The corresponding staff analysis warns legislators it may be fundamentally flawed nonetheless.3. I happened to be re-reading Jack London's autobiography and his love/hate relationship with alcohol, John Barleycorn, and came across this wonderful 1913(!) account of trying to explain to someone what it's like to smoke hashish:
At the most rudimentary level, our law is derived largely from English common law. If SB 58 were to become law in Florida, the resulting confusion would likely precipitate a flood of litigation, Florida lawyers being the principal beneficiaries.
For instance, "this could prohibit Florida courts from recognizing divorces of Jews under Israeli law," advised David Barkey, with the Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people."
Barkey; Carlos Osorio, with the International Law Section of The Florida Bar; and Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, also observed in a column they co-authored for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that the bill "threatens to derail Florida's role as an international trade hub by complicating and destabilizing the personal and commercial lives of foreign nationals sent here from such important partners as Israel, Latin America and elsewhere."
The potential impact upon trade and economic development should not be underestimated.
Take Hasheesh Land, for instance, the land of enormous extensions of time and space. In past years I have made two memorable journeys into that far land. My adventures there are seared in sharpest detail on my brain. Yet I have tried vainly, with endless words, to describe any tiny particular phase to persons who have not travelled there. “I use all the hyperbole of metaphor, and tell what centuries of time and profounds of unthinkable agony and horror can obtain in each interval of all the intervals between the notes of a quick jig played quickly on the piano. I talk for an hour, elaborating that one phase of Hasheesh Land, and at the end I have told them nothing. And when I cannot tell them this one thing of all the vastness of terrible and wonderful things.”I "grok" you, dude.
During the pretrial stage, two attorneys working for Petitioners created a master summary chart (“MSC”) to be used as a trial exhibit. The MSC consisted of a combination of personal injury protection files generated by Petitioners, and medical and billing charts generated by Respondents. Over Respondents’ objection, MSC was introduced into evidence as a summary based on section 90.956, Florida Statutes (2004). However, the trial was terminated before judgment when a mistrial was declared by the trial court.But the 4th said okey-dokey:
Prior to retrial, Respondents filed a motion to take the depositions of Petitioners’ attorneys who created the MSC. After conducting a hearing, the trial court granted the motion, finding that because the attorneys were “interject[ed] into this case by [their] creation of a critical trial exhibit,” Respondents were “permitted to question the accuracy and methodology used for creation of the [MSC].”
While it is true that the attempt to depose a party’s attorney during ongoing litigation has been rejected when irrelevant or privileged information was sought from the attorney, attorneys are not per se exempt from the reach of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.310(a), which allows the taking of the deposition of any person. . . .While we recognize the potential for abuse of the process of deposing the opposing party’s attorney during ongoing litigation, we are confident trial courts in this district will use their powers of supervision over discovery to prevent privileged information from being disclosed."Potential for abuse"?
BENCH BAR CONFERENCE IS SOLD OUT AND WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ANY WALK-INSSorry judges, you'll just have to gate-crash.
Trailblazing U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke will be honored as part of Black History Month observances during a celebration being hosted Feb. 28 by the delancyhill law firm and the Little Haiti Cultural Center.
Cooke will be recognized for her “trailblazing legal career and her unwavering upliftment of black history and cultural awareness in the federal judicial system,” according to a statement from Marlon Hill, principal of the law firm.
The reception will host clients, firm partners, and community leaders from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and will include cultural presentations by the Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 N.E. 59th Ter., Miami.Hey, maybe we can end the week on a good note after all....
Miami-Dade County Teen Court Program, under the administrative leadership of the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust, trained a new wave of volunteer lawyers, bailiffs, clerks, and jurors during its annual summer Youth Volunteer Attorney Training Program and second annual Mock Trial Competition.
The training was spread over three days in July and August in the Moot Courtroom at St. Thomas University School of Law, 16401 N.W. 37 Ave.
The students, from area middle and high schools, were greeted the first day by Douglas E. Ray, St. Thomas University School of Law dean and law professor. The students received training for courtroom trials sanctioned by the program’s volunteer training guidelines, which educated them in various facets of the judicial process.The mission of Miami-Dade County Teen Court is to advocate and create opportunities for youth to develop into responsible citizens.The judges helped the students sharpen their courtroom techniques, etiquette and other skills, as well as learn law terminology and courtroom decorum.
Participants received 24 hours of community service credit for attending the classroom training sessions.And let's single out some of the folks who committed their time and energy to the success of this project:
Pursuant to the instructions set forth in the attached letter from Senator Bill Nelson and Senator Marco Rubio, dated February 16, 2012, the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission is now accepting applications for the following position:In other news, this guy is the reason why everyone has to show up and support the retention of Justices Quince, Lewis, and Pariente at the fundraiser next week:
• U.S. District Judge, Southern District of Florida
This vacancy was created by the Senate's recent confirmation of U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
The revised Rules of Procedure for the Judicial Nominating Commission, dated April 11, 2011, application forms with incorporated instructions, and the names and addresses of the members of the Commission, dated February 14, 2012 are available at the following websites: 1) The Florida Bar (www.floridabar.org), 2) District Court for the Northern District of Florida
(www.flnd.uscourts.gov), 3) District Court for the Middle District of Florida (www.flmd.uscourts.gov), and 4) U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (www.flsd.uscourts.gov). In addition, these materials may also be obtained from the Commission's Statewide Chair John M. Fitzgibbons, The Law Offices of John M. Fitzgibbons, 707 North Franklin Street, Suite 700, Tampa, FL 33602, Telephone: (813) 221-8800.
Completed applications must be received by the Commission's Statewide Chair and each Commission member in the manner specified by the Rules of Procedure by 5 p.m., Monday, March 26, 2012. Applicants who are selected by the Commission for personal interviews will be interviewed on Friday, April 27, 2012, at the Judge's Conference Room, 14th Floor, Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 400 North Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida. The names of the applicants who are selected for personal interviews with the Commission, as well as the interview times, will be published on each website on or before April 18, 2012.
The retention referendum deciding whether Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince are to keep their jobs for the next six years — or whether Gov. Rick Scott gets to replace them —appears likely to become the most hotly contested judicial elections in more than 20 years.Let's hope this doesn't become a trend.
No justice or District Court of Appeals judge has ever been voted off the bench, since Florida switched from competitive elections to the appoint-and-retain model in 1976, but none has faced the kind of organized effort being mounted by a Central Florida group.
"I wouldn't want a judge thrown off the bench for one bad ruling," said Jesse Phillips, a Winter Park computer programmer who heads Restore Justice 2012. "But what we've seen on the Florida Supreme Court is a pattern of judicial activism."
Phillips cited court rulings removing the Legislature-sponsored Health Care Freedom Act from the ballot in 2010 — a corrected version is back on this year's ballot — and a 2000 ruling that struck a death-penalty constitutional amendment after voters had approved it.
Phillips said his only previous political experience was an unsuccessful 2010 effort to deny Justices Jorge Labarga and James E.C. Perry new six-year terms. Both men survived, but by about 6 percent less than Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston, who were not challenged for retention.
"It was purely a grass-roots campaign in just a few weeks, and we were able to move the results by six or eight points," said Phillips. "What we're running is a voter-education campaign. We're not telling people to vote yes or no, but laying out the record of the judges."
"I think I would be a lousy lawyer . . . Being in a kitchen and being in different countries and picking up ingredients and finding out what my style is, that's what I'm passionate about. It's a risky move. I had a chance to work for one of the biggest law firms here in Miami. I switched gears and I'm going for what I'm passionate about. It's the best decision ever I would have to say."Even better, Lorena pursued her passion at our own Johnson & Wales University.
Stuart Rosenfeldt, Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's former partner and the second "R" in RRA, has been informed by the federal government that he will be indicted on criminal charges, says his attorney.I don't know -- three guesses, anyone?
Rosenfeldt played a public role in representing the crumbling law firm in the aftermath of the implosion of Rothstein's billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. He is one of many former Rothstein law partners and business associates expected to be arrested by the feds prior to December 12, when Rothstein is scheduled to begin a grueling string of civil depositions that are expected to take 10 days to finish.
Several sources say that Russell Adler, the third named partner in the defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler firm, is among those expected to be charged. Adler's attorney, Fred Haddad, didn't dispel that idea, saying he expects more indictments soon and that the the filing of criminal charges Thursday against two Rothstein associates -- Marybeth Feiss and William Boockvor -- indicated "which way the wind was blowing."
Rosenfeldt's attorney, Bruce Lehr, said federal officials informed him a few months ago that his client was going to be charged criminally. Lehr said he has been given no time frame and has no information on what exactly Rosenfeldt will be charged with.
The Miami Finance Forum (MFF), a non-profit trade association of investment and finance professionals in South Florida, today announced the election of Carlos Deupi as the MFF’s new Chairman. Mr. Deupi, a corporate lawyer at the law firm of Hogan Lovells US LLP in Miami, will serve for a one-year term beginning in January 2011.Carlos is a heavy dude and we wish him well in leading the M
Researchers instructed each team to bargain entirely through e-mail, but half the subjects were secretly told to precede the negotiation with a brief getting-to-know-you chat on the phone. The results were dramatic: Negotiators who first chatted by phone were more than four times likelier to reach an agreement than those who used only e-mail. In the study, which appeared in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, subjects who never spoke were not only more likely to hit an impasse, but they often felt resentful and angry about the negotiation.Here are the tips they suggest for creating stronger bonds with your colleagues:
