SFL Spotlight: Meet Allen West's Lawyer!

I know our justice system works only if everyone has access to the courts and the right to adequate counsel -- no matter how despicable, how heinous, or in this case how out there a client might be.

But seriously, what lawyer would willingly represent local oddball/politician Allen West?

Meet P. Christopher Winkelman:

Chris Winkelman is an associate with HoltzmanVogelJosefiak PLLC, providing counsel in the areas of campaign finance and election law, lobbying and ethics compliance, and tax-exempt organizations.

Prior to joining the firm, Chris served as a law clerk to Judge William A. Moorman at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. During his term, he handled appeals brought by veterans who were dissatisfied with the level of benefits awarded by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Previously, Chris served at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and clerked for a private firm focusing on various litigation matters, including contract disputes and fraud.

Chris attended Rollins College and received his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law where he was a member of the Stetson Law Review and a graduate of the school's Honors Program. He was also a member of the Moot Court Board, earning recognition as the Best Individual Advocate in international competition. Chris is a member of the Florida Bar.

 (*Chris’ practice is limited to matters of federal law.)

Ok, Chris seems plenty qualified to handle West's "voting irregularities" challenge -- and we certainly know there was plenty of that in Florida again this year -- mostly thanks to GOP efforts to strangle and/or suppress the vote.

Ain't irony a bitch?

Chris is also a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association, which claims as its mission the advancement of "open, fair and honest elections."

Good to know!

Chris, if you're out there reading this we'd love to interview you about the case and what you see as the challenges to success.

My pal Gerry Richman has already identified a few:

Shortly after the hearing was rescheduled, an attorney for Murphy filed court papers seeking to intervene in the court case. According to Murphy’s attorney, Gerald Richman, the court papers filed by West’s attorneys were riddled with errors, including failing to name a defendant and how West would be “irreparably” harmed if the ballots and machines were not impounded.

So you still need to name a defendant and show irreparable harm nowadays to prevail on an injunction?

Good to know!

This should be a fun hearing at noon today.

(Chris may wish he's back in federal court.)

Volunteer on Election Day!

Justices Quince, Pariente, and Lewis need your help on election day, according to the DCBA:

As you know, Justice R. Fred Lewis, Justice Barbara Pariente and Justice Peggy Quince are asking Floridians to vote "yes" in this election to retain them on the Florida Supreme Court. While the DCBA does not take any position on ballot issues, many of our members have asked us how they can support the three Justices in this crucial election.

The campaigns are looking for at least two volunteers per shift to pass out literature at early voting locations and on election day. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the following coordinators today:

Nadean Stone (305) 374-6366 nadean@ratzanlawgroup.com  

Anna Quintana (305) 371-3666 aquinta@fdlaw.net

Ana Gomez (305) 371-3111 agomez@goldfarbpa.com

In other news, Palm Beach County Judge Barry M. Cohen is in trouble for speaking his mind about our drug laws:

The Judicial Qualifications Commission panel filed formal charges with the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleging that Judge Barry M. Cohen has abused his position by using it as a "bully pulpit" and undermined his impartiality through his comments. The panel cited Cohen's comments from the bench, in written orders and at public forums.

Cohen has been accused of saying, among other things, that minorities are disproportionally arrested and jailed for drug trafficking, law enforcement officers may be motivated by the race or status of suspects and blacks do not feel free to exercise their constitutional rights in the county.

The judge's lawyers linked the allegations against Cohen to recent attacks on the judiciary they say are threatening its independence.

"Judge Cohen will vigorously defend himself against allegations which infringe on the ability of judges to perform their duties in an independent manner," wrote attorneys Scott Richardson and Donnie Murrell.

They added that Cohen is confident a full airing of the allegations "will demonstrate he has performed his duties ethically and honorably."

Ok, what the Judge said seems pretty accurate to me -- is truth a defense?

Finally, in more election-related news, I see Gerry Richman is going after the Palm Beach County GOP chair for what he calls a "frivolous" lawsuit against commission candidate David Levy:

Attorney Gerald F. Richman, who represented Levy in the case, called the suit “frivolous,” and said that Levy has asked a judge to force Dinerstein to pay his attorney’s fees. He pointed to a state law that allows defendants to recoup their fees if a judge finds that a lawsuit is not “supported by the material facts.”

Richman had argued that Levy was not required to get his financial disclosure form notarized.

“The point of all of this is, this is absolute evidence that the lawsuit was frivolous,” Richman said. “It basically shows to me that this was a political ploy to cause David Levy to undergo expenses. I would call it an act of desperation on the part of the party.”

Circuit Judge Catherine Brunson last week denied Dinerstein’s request for an injunction to block Levy from the ballot. Dinerstein sued Levy and Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher last month, alleging that the disclosure form, filed in June, was not stamped by a notary. Notary Marilyn Jacobs signed and dated the form but did not put her seal on it.

Dodger Arp, Dinerstein’s attorney, said the suit was legitimate.

“We don’t have a frivolous lawsuit,” Arp said. “My clients decided that they have had their day in court, we decided to drop it. The court has spoken and we respect that.”

Dodger Arp -- is that a real name?

Ok I checked, yes it is, a former Marine to boot.

Foreclosure Follies -- Lawyer Whack a Mole?

Hi kids!

Welcome back to lawyer purgatory, that period between Christmas and New Year's where everyone pretends to be working but nothing gets scheduled and no one really does anything again until next year anyways.

Ever wonder what happened to youngin' lawyers doing foreclosure work at David Stern's shop?

The pups just moved along to another foreclosure joint:

'A game of Whac-A-Mole'

The Atlanta-based McCalla Raymer law firm, which handles foreclosures for mortgage giant Fannie Mae in Georgia, hopes to do the same in Florida. In November, as the firm began setting up shop in Orlando with 10 former Stern attorneys, disgruntled homeowners in Georgia filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the firm, claiming it used forged documents to take their homes, often while they were in the midst of modifying their loans. This month four other Georgia homeowners - who are representing themselves - have filed similar lawsuits against McCalla Raymer.

The firm initially registered to do business in Florida as McCalla Raymer Florida LLC but dissolved that firm a month later and is now registered to do business in Florida as Stone, McGehee & Silver. The firm, which hired former Fannie Mae associate general counsel and foreclosure expert Susan Reid last month, has plans to expand throughout Florida, advertising for attorneys in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando. While at Fannie Mae, Reid worked with foreclosure attorneys in its retained attorney network, including those from Stern's office.

The Fort Lauderdale-based Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson has picked up five former Stern attorneys, while Shapiro & Fishman, with offices in Tampa and Boca Raton, has hired one. Both firms, as well as Stern's company and the Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, are under state investigation.

Other lawyers who have left Stern's company are now earning a living at several Fannie Mae-designated foreclosure firms, such as Ben-Ezra & Katz in Fort Lauderdale and Kahane & Associates in Plantation.

"We did a thorough vetting of the Stern attorneys," said Marty Stone, a managing partner with McCalla Raymer. "I don't want to say we weren't concerned at all, but I do think there is a danger of painting with too broad of a brush."

Still, the distribution of former Stern attorneys to other firms feels like an injustice to some home­owners in foreclosure.

In sworn statements taken by the state attorney general's office, two former Stern employees - a paralegal and a legal assistant - attest to wrongdoing at the firm that included hiding problem files from federal auditors, forging signatures and making up documents as staff struggled to keep up with a mounting volume of foreclosures.

"It's like a game of Whac-A-Mole - these unethical, dangerous attorneys just pop up somewhere else," said Lisa Epstein, a home­owner advocate in Palm Beach County who runs the website Foreclosure Hamlet. "The Florida Bar has proven that they have no intention of disciplining these unprofessional attorneys."

 Hmm.  But for the necessity of having a live lawyer body at court hearings and mandatory mediation, I wonder whether this work wouldn't all be outsourced to India?

And young lawyers do need to pay for that education, but at a certain point I'd rather be flipping burgers in Boca than doing this kind of soul-sucking drudgery unrewarding grunt work.

Vote, Plebes!

I understand there is some kind of election today.

Make your mom proud and go vote, ok?

In other news, the intrepid one reports that the three foreclosure firms targeted by Bill McCollum's office is fighting back, filing motions to quash the subpoenas served upon them.

One of the firms is represented by WPB attorney Gerry Richman:

The subpoena has had a chilling effect on clients and has led to defense lawyers citing the investigation in motions to have the Shapiro firm disqualified from cases. One judge, according to the petition, has said in open court he will deny all summary judgment motions filed by the law firms named by the attorney general based solely on the existence of the investigation.

In an interview, attorney Gerald Richman, who is representing the Shapiro firm, said he did not know who the judge is. He denied the Shapiro firm falsified any documents.

“One of our concerns is the broad brush,” he said. “We are not in the category with David Stern, we are not in the category with any other law firm. Hopefully we will not lose clients. We’re doing whatever we can to fight back.” 

Question -- when doing a media interview regarding that type of allegation, wouldn't it be helpful to have the name of the judge on your desk somewhere in case you are asked about it?

Or maybe my pal Gerry knows but doesn't want to say who it is?

Gerry Richman Writes Letter To DBR Containing 112-Word Sentence.

But who's counting, anyway:

That single fact instead lies buried on the inside second page where it is given no prominence and may not be seen by many readers: There could not possibly be a “conspiracy” involving The Florida Bar, its president and myself who is proudly a partner of The Bar president, because the vote of the Board of Governors appealing the recommendation by the referee in William Abramson’s third disciplinary proceeding that he again be publicly reprimanded be appealed to seek a harsher and more appropriate discipline of a 91-day suspension took place with all members of the Palm Beach County representatives to the Board of Governors including my partner, Jay White, recusing themselves.

More fun Richman sentence stats:

Seven lines!

684 characters (with spaces)

Only 160 words and three lines less than the entire Gettysburg Address.

Gerry Richman Hates To Count Votes More Than Twice.

Well I was regaled this morning by John the shoeshine guy, who filled my head outside the courthouse with stories of Sugar Mountain, with the barkers and the colored balloons.

Actually he was telling me about his old outlaw days, before he found God, and how he used to help out all the high-priced lawyers, bankers, politicians, and muckety-mucks up there
in DC-land, where dope, hope, and bloat all live in cozy three-part harmony.

But he cleaned up his act, he's got the best shoeshine in town, and he's living the straight and narrow. Give the man a ten-spot, you cheap bastards.

Can we say the same for this town? Of course not -- it's still as crazy as ever.

And as crazy as Miami looks, the judicial scene just north of the border looks crazier still. And now it looks like the whole mishagosh is infecting Palm Beach County:

Circuit Judge Richard Wennet on Monday announced he will appeal the outcome of the Palm Beach County primary and ask for a special election to redo the race.

For three months, attorneys for Wennet and the man who unseated him, attorney William Abramson, have battled in court over a messy judicial election that involved misplaced ballots, multiple recounts and questionable counting machines.

Complicating matters further for Abramson is an unresolved Florida Bar complaint against him that could result in suspension of his law license. The judicial race between the two was always close. After the first machine and hand recounts in August, Wennet led by 60 votes. But problems at the Supervisor of Elections Office led to two more sets of recounts. Abramson won by 61 votes.

Wennet challenged the outcome in court in Tallahassee, but lost. His attorney, Gerald Richman, said they are appealing because they believe elections officials never should have gone beyond the first recount. "You can't have multiple recounts," Richman said.

David Shiner, Abramson's lawyer, was surprised by the appeal. "Our client Bill Abramson received more votes than Judge Wennet. That's an unequivocal fact," he said. "I find it very disingenuous and I think they're trying to strip the voters of their rights."

Wennet is seeking a new election, possibly in March during the scheduled municipal elections.

Oy. Maybe David is right, there's got to be a better way to select a judge.

"Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job"

That's the headline this morning from The Onion, which goes on to report:

As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it. Said scholar and activist Mark L. Denton, "It just goes to show you that, in this country, a black man still can't catch a break."

You all know where to go to get political blather up the yazoo on the tubes this morning, so I won't pile on just yet. I'm more interested in your election day war stories -- here's Gerry Richman, saving the world one vote at a time:

Richman’s mission was to ensure every eligible voter who wanted to vote for Obama would get the chance to do so — and no mechanical problems, access issues or poll worker confusion about Election Day procedures in the heavily Democratic county would stand in the way in a pivotal swing state.

Hey, I was helping too! Why is my photo not in the DBR?

Anyways, here's what I was doing -- first I joined Norm Moscowitz and together we let the air out of the tires on Frank Cosmen's Harley down at precinct 518, the Church of God of Prophecy #1 (seriously, that is the real name of that voting precinct).

That was a lot of fun, even if I'm not sure how much that helped the election process.

Later me and Ira Kurzban worked over Paul Huck, Jr. down at precinct 514, Miami Edison Middle School.

I won't bore you with all the sordid details, except that at one point Ira held gentle Paul's arms down while I whipped out my mandolin and serenaded the crowd with a rousing rendition of San Franciscan Nights. It was that kind of day.

I'm kidding, of course. Actually, Ira and I did a fairly faithful a cappella version of Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves. Call me crazy, but I still believe -- in the right setting -- that song can work.

Seriously, I do want to thank all the lawyers from all sides who assisted and gave of themselves all day yesterday to help make this country a better place, regardless of the outcome. America thanks you for giving your skills and talents to improving the democratic process.