You Never Know Who You Might Bump Into!

Good to see he's doing ok.

Florida Supreme Court Gives Hank Adorno a Handful.

Yes, kids, the 43-page opinion is here, disregarding the referee's recommendation of public reprimand, and handing Adorno the severest sanction short of disbarment.

The Supremes endorsed the particularly harsh language of the 3d DCA, and detailed a rather sordid and regrettable tale of misconduct, ethical lapses and, frankly, greed.

It's not a pretty picture.

Adorno Yoss Requiem -- Slinging the Animal Poop.

The intrepid one proves once again why she is the best in the business with this devastating post-mortem of the demise of Adorno Yoss:

The final decision apparently was forced on the firm by its bank, Wells Fargo, with which firm leaders were in negotiations the week of March 7. Former partners said the firm owed the bank $8 million. The week ended with a closing announcement, after attempts by Yoss to secure a merger over the last two months failed.

In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed with the state March 17, Yoss placed its employee count at 91, under the 100 threshold that would trigger severance pay with less than 60 days' notice. Plantation-based DJSP, a foreclosure processing company that recently dissolved, listed 96 employees at the time of dissolution and was hit with a class action suit by employees who claim they weren't given adequate notice or pay under federal law. Five former employees said the Yoss firm does not plan to pay any severance.

Nice way to say goodbye to your long-term employees, huh?

But I wouldn't rush to sue these guys, I'm not too sure they're collectable:

Some of the biggest losers may be former partners who are owed capital contributions of $30,000 to $100,000 each, Genovese and others said.

Linden, now a partner at GrayRobinson, said he has no expectation of getting his capital contribution back.
"If the firm is closing its doors and you are an owner, you're the last one to get paid," he said. "By the time the secured lender is paid, plus the costs of administering the wind-up, I do not anticipate a distribution. I'm not a pie-in-the-sky kind of guy, I'm a realist. I'm moving on. I don't look backwards about stuff like that."

Former West Palm Beach managing partner John Koenig said a group of former partners is considering suing Adorno and Yoss individually for breach of contract.

Former partner Sylvia Krainen already has requested mediation on her claim for her capital contribution, according to former Atlanta managing partner Tracey Blackwell and others. Krainen did not return calls for comment.

Oy veh, what a mess.

Question: how did Hank handle all this strife suffered by his employees and ex-partners?

In 2006, Adorno left Miami for Atlanta, where the firm opened an office in 2004. He bought a $4.2 million house on Tuxedo Lane, sharing the block with the founder of Home Depot and the Atlanta Falcons, and a $2 million Blue Ridge Mountain estate in North Carolina's exclusive Linville Ridge, where Dick Cheney is a neighbor.

Whoa.

If you are forced to live right next to Dick Cheney you are most definitely in one of the nine circles of hell -- although, to be fair, this one has a Robert Trent-designed golf course.

Yoss Restructuring Complete!

Wow, I don't think anyone saw this coming:

In an e-mail sent to employees Friday, managing partner George Yoss notified employees that the firm would be winding down its legal practice and laying off all employees by the end of the month.

“As we are sure you are aware, these have been extremely difficult times for the firm,” stated Yoss in the e-mail. “After meeting with the bank and evaluating the firm’s status and financial position the decision was made to wind down its operation.”

Thanks to a tipster, we have managed to obtain an early draft of the email:

Oh f*&k.  F*&k f*&k f*&. F*&k a duck! Why maintain the ruse any longer?  We're f*&ked.  So f*&k you all and the horses you rode in on.  You think this s*&t's easy?  You try it.  Thank you to our loyal clients who stuck with us through the good times and bad.  That's f*&king sarcasm you dimwits.  Now good luck finding a job in this economy.  Did I mention we're f*&ked?

Yoss out.

Ok, those are pretty strong words, and I apologize for the vulgarities.

I suppose that's why you should never send an email when you're upset or angry.

Actually, here's the final real version they decided to go with:

As we are sure you are aware, these have been extremely difficult times for the firm. Over the past few months we have been dealing with many issues that have had a negative impact on the firm's ability to continue. After meeting with the Bank and evaluating the firm's status and financial position the decision was made to wind down its operations.

Accordingly we are giving to each of our employees the following notice:

It is anticipated that the firm will continue to provide legal services to its clients and will continue to conduct its regular business through March 31, 2011. Effective March 31, 2011, the firm will permanently close most of its facilities and will cease to provide legal services and will begin winding down operations. We hope to accomplish this with the least possible disruption to the lives of our employees, our clients and the community.

With the exception of several employees needed for the wind down period all employees of the firm will be laid off between now and March 31, 2011.

I don't know, the first draft has a kind of raw honesty you don't see much in law firm communications nowadays.....

Yossers, feel free to share your views in comments, our thoughts and prayers are with you and we wish you good luck in finding alternative employment.

More Fun and Lawsuits at Adorno-less Yoss

The Intrepid One™ breaks an amazing story of a botched lawsuit, botched again, then apparently botched again:

The malpractice case sprang roots 23 years ago when Jacobs Wind Electric and principal Paul Jacobs first began pursuing legal action against the Florida Department of Transportation in a patent case.
Jacobs and his father invented a tidal gate that prevented water stagnation and debris accumulation in waterways.

Two years after allegedly discovering DOT was using the system in 1987, the plaintiffs sued the state in federal court for patent infringement. They later brought suit in Hillsborough Circuit Court, hiring Shahady, then with Houston & Shahady in Fort Lauderdale, in 1998. Soon after, Shahady merged his firm with Adorno & Yoss.

According to Paul Jacobs, Shahady and his firm took no action in the state case from 2001 to 2003. As a result, the suit was dismissed for "want of prosecution." According to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure in effect at the time, lawsuits that lay dormant for more than one year can be dismissed. That rule has since been changed, and courts automatically notify parties before suits are dropped.

The dismissal was affirmed by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in 2004.

In 2005, Paul Jacobs sued Shahady and Adorno & Yoss for legal malpractice.

"Defendants' conduct in allowing the underlying lawsuit to lie dormant for a period of over one year … was a breach of defendants' duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence on plaintiffs' behalf," the complaint stated.

If Shahady had done something during the year, the Jacobses could have recovered more than $1 million, representing the DOT's savings by using the device, they alleged.

Adorno fought the case right up until the trial last summer when the firm conceded liability. After a one-week trial, jurors found for the Jacobses in July, awarding them $300,000 plus $150,000 in attorney fees. Broward Judge John Murphy III added pre-judgment interest for a total verdict $1.5 million.

Even though the law firm admitted liability, it's appealing the verdict because it does not believe the dollar amount is fair, Shahady said.

"It was our fault that the suit got dismissed," Shahady said in an interview. "Mr. Jacobs did not cause this problem. But we felt pretty strongly that there was no basis for the damage award in terms of dollars."

Ok, question for Tom -- if you admittedly blew the deadline and it was "our fault" the case got dismissed for want of prosecution, why fight liability right up until the date of trial?  Why not focus on damages and get the thing quietly settled?

It gets worse:

The circumstances surrounding the garnishment of the firm's Wachovia bank account was another case of Adorno & Yoss dropping the ball. The firm should have posted a bond to cover the judgment pending appeal, but "our attorney was on vacation, and it fell through the cracks," Shahady said.

Just like the underlying case!

It gets worser:

He called the incident "one of those unfortunate things" and said it would not have happened if the Jacobses' case were in Fort Lauderdale rather than Tampa, and if it happened six months later after a change in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.

I don't like to be too negative, but what does the court's proximity to your law office have to do with whether or not you allegedly calendared the date a case you are handling could get dismissed for want of prosecution?

Also, why blame the Rules for not informing you of that date?

It gets even worser:

Even though the law firm admitted liability, it's appealing the verdict because it does not believe the dollar amount is fair, Shahady said.

Please don't.

Tom, you're a good lawyer.  These things happen.  Maybe take what has happened so far in this case as a sign that perhaps you all should consider a different approach?

I also don't see why Larry should feel bad about garnishing the firm to protect the judgment:

"Until the garnishment was issued, senior management at the firm would never talk to me," he said. "I wish they had handled things differently from beginning to end."

Kellogg wound up releasing his garnishment the next day, saying he felt bad that employees did not get paid. At that point, the bond was posted.

An outside observer who did not want to be identified said he was shocked that Kellogg would garnish a law firm's bank account, particularly on payday.

But Kellogg said he immediately dropped the garnishment when he found out employees were affected. "I worked tirelessly on it," he said.

What's shocking about this?  Larry is obligated to protect the judgment on behalf of his client, not make sure employees at Yoss get paid from a diminishing set of funds.

And I love how no one allegedly would reach out from Yoss to settle this thing directly with Larry.  Instead you appear to be fighting tooth and nail, contesting liability, forcing the matter to go to trial, losing the trial, then appealing the judgment.

Then Julie finds out about it and you get to relive it all over again in the DBR.

Or is there another side to this story that I'm missing?  Someone help me out here.

BREAKING -- SFL Out at Law Blog He Founded!

Boy there's seem to be a lot of this going around:

Adorno & Yoss became Yoss LLP today to comply with the law license suspension of firm co-founder and chairman Henry "Hank" Adorno.

Co-founder George Yoss is taking over as managing partner of the Coral Gables-based firm, and Adorno is out as chairman and chief executive officer of the 24-year-old firm.

Adorno was suspended indefinitely last Wednesday by the Florida Supreme Court for his role in a misleading $7 million class action settlement involving the City of Miami that benefited only seven people, but arrangements for operating without him are incomplete. The Adorno-free firm does not yet have a website. That’s still in the works.

In our case, South Florida Lawyers will simply be known as "Lawyers."

Florida Supreme Court Weighing Hank Adorno Disbarment.

Did you know Hank Adorno is still a lawyer?

I didn't, but he may not be for long:

The court ordered Adorno to show cause by Nov. 16 why a suspension of up to three years or disbarment should not be imposed.

The Florida Bar had recommended a six-month suspension, but a referee who heard the ethics charges against Adorno recommended only a reprimand, the lightest possible punishment.

Adorno did not respond to a call for comment by deadline.

The court raised the issue of a suspension on its own, according to the two-page order written by Chief Justice Charles Canady.

The court ordered Adorno, the law firm president, to be suspended within 30 days so he can close out his law practice — or immediately if he is no longer practicing. The court also ordered him to accept no new clients, send a copy of the order to all existing clients and courts, stop withdrawing money from trust accounts without court approval and provide a copy of the suspension order to all banks he does business with.

 The Court was apparently not persuaded by the macher boys-club backslappers who rose in Hank's defense:

A parade of South Florida legal heavyweights pleaded on Adorno's behalf. His supporters included former Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero, Sanford Bohrer, a partner at Holland & Knight, and Ruden McClosky founding partner Don McClosky.

Hold on a minute -- don't the Supremes know who these people are?

Hank Adorno "Not A Class Action Lawyer."

So says Hank's lawyer Andy Berman at the ongoing sanctions hearing, as reported by the always excellent Julie Kay.

Question: then why was Hank handling a major public-interest class action?

Also, can someone explain to me the purpose of calling "character" witnesses such as Raoul Cantero and Sandy Bohrer?

Generalized evidence from other lawyers about the reputation of another lawyer seems to be totally irrelevant to determining specific questions of legal or ethical violations.

Plus it's inherently unreliable.

I mean, isn't that obvious by now?

I'm not suggesting any parity at all in this example, but imagine a year ago and the issue on the table was the "reputation" or "character" of our own major macher Scott Rothstein.

You had seventy lawyers, judges, etc. who worked for him, numerous politicians, sports stars, jewelers, businessmen, charities and others who vouched for his character, he was appointed to JNC and grievance committees etc., and you could have probably lined up 100 prominent and well-respected lawyers who would have extolled Scott's virtues to the heavens.

And this means what?

Or how about this -- a year ago Hank could have called successful and well-respected Broward litigator Scott Rothstein as a character witness.

See what I mean?

Have we learned nothing about the fragile house of cards upon which lawyers can create and sustain reputations in our sunny town?

Hank Adorno, Part XXVII

Ad or No Order

Hi kids!

I hope everyone had a chance to canoodle at length by the fire this weekend, and it looks like we may even have a few more days of cold weather before this ends.

Meanwhile, the case of Hank Adorno and his $2 million fee for an "individual" class action settlement continues:

Adorno & Yoss founding partner Henry Adorno violated professional rules by orchestrating a $7 million class action settlement that benefited only seven people rather than all Miami taxpayers, a judge ruled Friday in a disciplinary case brought by The Florida Bar.

Broward Circuit Judge Jack Tuter, as referee in the ethics case, ruled Adorno breached his duty to the proposed class and accepted an excessive attorney fee of $2 million for his work on the settlement, which was thrown out when its limitations were uncovered.

Tuter sided with Adorno on another count, ruling he could not conclude from a brief transcript that the attorney intentionally misled Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Lopez into approving the settlement in a suit challenging an unconstitutional city fire fee.

Curse you oh wretched burden of proof:

The disputed settlement with payments to only seven people “under the facts of this case was prejudicial, illogical and unexplainable,” the judge wrote in his 11-page summary judgment order. “Can the referee say with ‘precise explicit, lacking in confusion and of such weight that it produces a firm belief or conviction, without hesitation about the matter’ that respondent Adorno misled Judge Lopez and was less than forthright in the hearing? The answer is no.”

In other words, a full vindication!

You know, that would look great on a bumper sticker.

UPDATE: A kind, technologically-savvy reader has sent the order, which I put up above.

Does the referee sure like to ask himself a lot of questions? Yes. Does he then immediately answer them? Indeed he does. Is this an annoying way to write an order? You be the judge:

Judge Lopez in a written order found both Respondents were less than "forthright" about the type of settlement reached by the parties. The transcript of the May 2004 hearing is only three pages. The Referee has struggled to decipher the meaning of the few words on those pages. Could and should more have been said? Yes. Could what was said be subject to misinterpretation? Perhaps. Was what was said misleading? Equivocal.

When the S*&T Hits The Fan.

Boy it's a crazy day out there for South Florida lawyers, huh?

First there's this blockbuster story from the always intrepid Julie Kay taking a look at the John Leighton-Ira Leesfield breakup.

Among the more interesting allegations is that Ira installed spy software, bought lots of fancy things, and used his shop to bankroll Hillary's Florida campaign -- in other words, a day in the life at my firm.

Apparently, however, this was somehow problematic for Leigton:

The relationship nosedived when Leesfield failed to turn over the firm’s financial records shortly after Leighton became a name partner, the suit said. Leighton grew concerned about the firm’s expenses, overhead and compensation. At the same time, Leesfield would continually lecture Leighton about curbing his expenses.

“In 2007 and 2008, Leesfield spent several months away from the law firm and the active practice of law pursuing personal interests including serving as the finance chairman for Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign,” the complaint states. “Much of the time that Leesfield actually spent in the office was used to solicit contributions for Hillary Clinton, and Leesfield as it turns out was using the law firm’s resources including staff, offices, postage, office supplies and other items to fund Leesfield’s personal political interests for Hillary Clinton causes.”

Leesfield “became confrontational, dictatorial and verbally abusive” when Leighton asked about firm finances, the complaint said.

Hall does not deny Leesfield spent a lot of time working for Clinton.

“He has a lot of causes he believes in, and he has earned the right to work on them,” Hall said.

Leighton suspected the firm was paying for Leesfield’s personal expenses including “vacation homes, parties, meals, entertainment, travel for himself and his family, clothing, luxury items and social, political and personal activities that were completely unrelated to the law firm’s business,” the complaint said.

Leighton also accuses Leesfield of putting his daughter on the firm’s payroll when she worked only sporadically and renting office space he and his wife personally owned at rates above fair market value.

Hall said Leesfield’s daughter, who does public relations for the firm, is actually underpaid for the work she does and Leighton, not Leesfield, is the big spender. “He had to have a $110,000 car,” Leesfield said.

Leesfield installed computer surveillance and keystroke logging technology to spy on his employees, the complaint said. By last December, Leesfield determined Leighton had obtained access to the firm’s records and confronted him.

“You work for me,” he yelled, according to the complaint. “This is my firm!”

Again, I pretty much yell something along those lines at somebody every single day.

In fact, in honor of Ira I just screamed those exact words at the lady who brought me a cafecito a few moments ago (of course she snickered and muttered something about my mother playing bingo or pingo or she's a penguin? -- I didn't really pay attention.)

You can read Leighton's complaint here.

Then we have Hank Adorno's response to a motion to strike his affirmative defenses in the bar proceedings, where he says Judge Peter Lopez must have known it was an individual settlement because otherwise we all would have had to have a fairness hearing. Even though it was for $7 million bucks!

(Nice negotiating, btw, Joe Arriola.)

I also enjoyed the part (page 9) where Hank explains that the only reason his firm did not pursue substitute class reps to carry on the class case after the individual settlement was because his partner Mitchell Bloomberg was undergoing aggressive treatment for lung cancer.

Also Sandy Bohrer has vouched for the individual settlement and Hank passed a polygraph test!

You can read the response here.

Sheesh -- and Friday's not even over yet, peoples.

Men With Broken Hearts

So have you all read the Florida Bar complaint against Hank Adorno yet?

It's dated June 5, 2009, and deals with Hank and his firm's role in settling the now-ancient Miami fire fee class action on an individual basis, which we previously covered here, here, and here (well, sorta).

Does anyone know why it took so long for the Bar to finally file the complaint?

Also, the complaint does not specify what exact punishment the Bar is seeking, other than that Hank be "appropriately disciplined."

Hmm, sounds intriguing.

Hank's got fine counsel with Andy Berman, so maybe things are not as bleak as they seem after reading that depressing document.

For Hank Adorno Diehards Only

Ok ok, by popular demand and in honor of our Movember charity fundraiser I offer all you Adorno/Ron McGill diehards your red meat.

Enjoy!

Hank Adorno Not One of The "Lucky Seven."

So let's see what's in the news today.

How about that -- I read in the Herald that the CANF endorsed Barack Obama!

Strike that, apparently the CANF's endorsement is not newsworthy enough for Herald readers, who prefer to read dopey letters about Obama's love for Yassar Arafat and other prominent Indonesians.

Also, an angry mob of McCain supporters surrounded two Obama supporters at the McCain rally in Miami yesterday, shouting "terrorist" and "communist" before the police had to intervene and escort them to safety.

Again, the Herald was right on it (not).

Hey, what do you know -- all of our appellate judges are Republicans now! Sure makes it easier to talk politics in the courthouse lunchroom I guess.

Meanwhile, it seems the centuries-old fire-fee case, originally filed in 1552, may finally be nearing an end:

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez on Wednesday gave his final approval to a $17.1 million settlement with taxpayers, ending a contentious legal battle over the fire fee that dragged on for a decade.

By late this year or early next year, refund checks of a few hundred dollars, give or take, will be mailed to the roughly 48,000 taxpayers who have filed the necessary paperwork. The window for taxpayers to submit refund forms closed last week.

''Although taxpayers probably won't get much more than ten cents on the dollar, if that much, it's time we closed the chapter,'' said Miami activist Monique Taylor. ``It's a victory nonetheless.''

Hold on -- for SFL fave and proud Movember member Hanky "Who, Me?" Adorno the case drags on:

Last week, the Florida Bar found probable cause for misconduct proceedings against Mays and prominent attorney Hank Adorno, who represented the so-called ''lucky seven'' included in Miami's original $7 million deal.

The Bar finding raises the possibility both Mays and Adorno could face disciplinary action -- ranging from reprimand to disbarment. The Bar also found another attorney in the Adorno & Yoss firm, Robin Corwin Campbell, had committed ``minor misconduct.''

Adorno & Yoss, while not admitting any wrongdoing, has agreed to contribute $1.6 million to the just-approved settlement with taxpayers.

You gotta love Hank. Like certain 3d DCA judges, he is the gift that keeps on giving.