3d DCA Watch -- Well Well Well?

Well well well let's first wish Judge Ramirez congratulations again for his service and best wishes in his new role as JAMS mediator.

It was a very nice retirement party -- Rudy Sorondo told a few tales, Chief Judge Wells quoted John Lennon (hey, so did I!), Judge R thanked his family, clerks, JAs and colleagues, in all it was a very lovely event.

Oh, and the Judge's portrait was revealed, very striking:

(Oops, wrong photo!)

I kid -- it was a very nice ceremony and we wish the Judge much continued success.

Speaking of Rudy Sorondo, here he is arguing for the appellants in a case where Judge Manno-Shurr struck the defendants' pleadings based on fraud on the court:

On August 13, 2010, the Bank filed its Motion to Strike, alleging the defendants schemed to defraud the trial court by submitting perjured deposition testimony, suborning and attempting to suborn perjury, and forging corporate documents, all in an effort to conceal the Cohens’ ownership interests in the Corporate Defendants and Offshore Entities. On October 1, 2010, the trial court commenced an evidentiary hearing on the Motion to Strike, and received evidence over a three-day period. After the hearing, the trial court concluded the defendants intended to defraud the Florida court, and struck their pleadings. Upon review of the case law and the voluminous record, we affirm in part, and reverse in part.

Basically, Judge Rothenberg's opinion goes into exquisite detail and upholds the lower court ruling, except as to one defendant (not represented by Rudy).  It ends this way:

While we are mindful of Florida’s strong public policy favoring the resolution of cases on their merits, the judiciary cannot be, and is not, impotent against those wishing to corrupt the litigation process by employing fraud and deception at every turn. Accordingly, we affirm the default judgment as it pertains to the Cohens and the Corporate Defendants because the record evidence establishes, clearly and convincingly, that these litigants have engaged in a massive and unprecedented scheme to defraud the trial court below.

Not a pretty picture (I don't mean the hot tub -- I love that picture!).

Hooray for Jason Gibson!

Holland & Knight's Jason Gibson, an associate in the Fort Lauderdale office, was just named President-Elect of The National LGBT Bar Association, a national affiliate of the American Bar Association. He will begin his one-year term as President in February 2013.

Boy, think of how far we've come in just a few decades.

Now how awesome is that?

Do You Have Big "Books of Business"?

I do!

They consist of the following:

1.  All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten; and

2.  Mob Rules:  What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman.

Oh yeah, I forgot about this one (you'd be surprised how much business can get done with it).

So if you're like me and you have huge, heavy "books of business," you can apparently get hired by a big firm where nobody will ever try to steal or otherwise claim credit for your personal business books:

Law firms are hiring lawyers who can bring their "book of business," said Matt Gorson, president of Greenberg Traurig, which has offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.

The firm has hired 20 lawyers so far this year, compared with 14 lawyers in 2010.

Other South Florida law firms have been adding to their legal staffs as well.

Holland and Knight has hired 15 lawyers so far in 2011, up from 11 in 2010 at its Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach offices. Morgan Lewis in Miami hired seven lawyers in 2010, and five so far in 2011; that compares with only one lawyer in 2009, said law firm partner Mark Zelek. Bilzin Sumberg in Miami has hired 9 lawyers in the past month alone, according to a spokeswoman.

Even some firms that were hard hit by the recession are adding lawyers. Fort Lauderdale-based Ruden McClosky, which specializes in real estate and land use, has hired seven lawyers in the past four months, according to a spokeswoman for the firm.

Ruden?

Yes, absolutely -- if your books of business are big you should head immediately to Ruden -- just ask Julie Kay!

Magistrate Judge Torres Explains the Legal Caste System!

This is a great R&R from Judge Torres awarding fees pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920 to H&K in defending an "objectively unreasonable" copyright suit.

There are so many interesting things in this order I don't know where to begin.

Let's start with the fact that it took 19(!) H&K lawyers in four cities (Miami, Atlanta, DC, and Boston) to handle an objectively unreasonable lawsuit.

Then there's the whole billing rate problem:

To be fair, the record shows that various Florida lawyers were indeed involved and billed extensively on the file, including highly experienced and respected lawyers like Sandy Bohrer and Chris Bellows, who are seeking even higher rates. But that then leads to the question whether their billable rates are necessary to attract competent counsel in this community to represent Coca-Cola. Clearly they are not.

Judge Torres continues by way of analogy:

In other words, one can drive from point A to point B in a Ferrari, a BMW, or a Ford Fusion. Which car one chooses is ordinarily a matter of personal style coupled with financial freedom. The successful personal injury or criminal defense lawyer may choose the Ferrari. The average corporate defense lawyer will wisely choose the BMW. But a successful attorney fee applicant can only choose the Ford Fusion. It is quite reliable, consistent, and effective for the task at hand, and will not break the bank. And because of that only the cost of a Ford Fusion is compensable under an attorneys’ fee statute based on the American Rule that governs federal litigation.

A few questions:

1)  Why is the successful PI and criminal defense lawyer lumped together, both driving a Ferrari?

2)  What is "wise" about the average corporate defense lawyer's choice of a BMW, and don't some (many) also drive fancy sports cars or even Ferraris?

3)  This is not good publicity for Ford Fusions.

The Judge is not done:

That is why premium-rate lawyers who work at large high-powered law firms like H&K exist. They are lawyers who graduated from the best law schools like Georgetown, at the top of their classes at schools like Columbia or the University of Miami, who clerked for distinguished federal judges, who work night and day, 365 days a year, in the interest of that corporate client that demands perfection 100 percent of the time. These lawyers are (in very rare cases) the Ferraris and (in most cases) the BMWs of their profession who would never market themselves as merely “competent” or “average” or “reasonably priced.” These lawyers market premium legal service, which carries with it premium hourly rates.

Hmm, that's an awful lot of assumptions in one paragraph.

Georgetown, heh?

Hey, I know a Magistrate Judge who graduated from there!

BTW, I'm sure Coke's shareholders are happy they hired a firm who put 19 lawyers from around the country (plus another firm out of LA) on a case that had absolutely no merit whatsoever.

Oh well, $425 an hour's not bad for the ham-and-schleppers stuck driving around the South Florida legal community in their crappy Ford Fusions.

Beats the Ford Pinto, I guess.

H&K Associates Get Obsolete Mini Computer Designed to Make Them Work More!

Once again the Intrepid One™   breaks news:

Holland & Knight gave its 350 associates a trendy Christmas present this year: a brand-new iPad.

The popular tech tools that retail for $499 were hand-delivered to every associate at the firm Dec. 17 with a memo from firm managing partner Steven Sonberg. On behalf of the partners, he thanked the associates for their “hard work and dedication” in 2010.

“In recognition of your contributions, please accept this iPad as a gift from the firm,” Sonberg said, quickly adding, “The iPad is not in lieu of 2010 performance-based bonuses, which will be determined in due course in the first quarter of 2011.”

Sure it's not Steve!

I don't get the iPad.

It's mildly amusing for about ten minutes, but it's about as powerful as my smartphone, less useful than my laptop, already feels dated, and leaves you hungry for more and thinking how much better it could be.

In other words, it's the tech equivalent of a "slider"!

Richard Critchlow in Hooterville

Let's see, I'm in a good mood, mostly because I came across this tremendous streaming archived performance of the Dead at the Miami Jai-Alai fronton from back in June 1974.

Geez, remember when they used to have shows there?

(What exactly do they do there now?)

I see Richard Critchlow traveled to a Sarasota circuit courtroom to do battle on behalf of H&K, sued in connection with the alleged Ponzi scheme of Arthur Nadel and Scoop Management.

The David/Goliath/high-powered lawyers in Hooterville perspective of the reporter is quite amusing -- here's a taste:

Holland & Knight hired a team of lawyers from Miami to argue a multi-faceted motion asking for the case to be dismissed. The Miami law firm of Kenny Nachwalter P.A. presented DeFuria with a 3-inch-thick legal binder containing judicial decisions it said supported its position.

Whoa -- three whole inches??

(The reporter didn't mention that two inches consisted entirely of mapquest directions to the Sarasota courthouse).

In other news, Joan reports that pretty much everybody and David Markus will be at this shin dig tonight, where Chief Justice Quince will be speaking.

Isn't it about time the Herald gave her back her regular column?

(oops I meant Joan, not Peggy).

Scarlet begonias, folks.

UM Law Student's Tale of Woe

University of Miami School of Law 3L Todd Sussman is about to graduate and isn't all that happy:

I'd always thought about becoming a lawyer, so I started applying to law schools and chose to attend the University of Miami. At first I hesitated to attend a private institution because of their high tuition rates especially in a city like Miami where life can be expensive, but I'm from South Florida and I wanted to be close to home. I wasn't sure how I would pay for it all so I looked into student loans. The financial aid office at UM was very helpful and was able to help me get the money I needed for tuition and living expenses while in school. I knew I would have to pay the money back eventually, but I thought about the earning potential I would have as a lawyer and didn't think I would have any problems paying those loans back. Unfortunately, my plan didn't involve an economic recession.

Now here I stand three months from graduating, $180,000 in debt and no prospects of a job after graduation. I've started reaching out to everyone I know in hopes of finding something to pay the bills after I graduate, but no luck so far.

This is a tough time to be entering the South Florida legal market, though we've been there a few times before.

Todd doesn't write about how he did in school, what he was doing over the summers, and what specific efforts he has made while in school to get a job.

I have to assume he didn't work at a BigLaw firm over the summer, so he's probably not going to be hired by one of them anytime soon.

(Not that they're doing so hot anyways -- H&K is reporting revenue down 10 percent and a 9 percent lawyer reduction with 70 layoffs).

That means hit the pavement, talk to the ham-and-schleppers, expand your options well beyond South Florida, look to teaching, part-time hourly, public service, and other alternatives to traditional post-grad legal entry positions.

Who knows, maybe one of you big-time machers who read this crappy blog will give Todd a hand?

Prieto!

I like it when rumors by my tipsters are validated, it makes me feel like all is well with the world.

So John Pacenti's article on Pete Prieto's move from defense lawyer at H&K to full-time plaintiff's lawyer at Podhurst was satisfying:

“Working in a litigation boutique is considered by many to be the gold standard,” Prieto said. “To handle complex and challenging cases with great lawyers who also happen to be my friends was incredibly appealing.”

Aaron says pay has not yet been discussed:

Podhurst wouldn’t discuss what kind of compensation he offered Prieto to lure him from Holland & Knight.“We just wanted to have him,” he said. “Those things haven’t even been discussed. He wants to come, and we want him. We are going to treat him right.”

Congrats all around!

3d DCA Watch -- The Seven Percent Solution Edition

Yes, yes and yes -- it's Wednesday!

Assembled masses, we are joined together on this sacred day in mutual love and respect for our beneficent judicial overlords, who weekly speak to us in hushed tones, muted phrases, and furtive glances, employing that oldest and simplest means of lawyer seduction -- free coffee.

Yes kids, the concrete bunker by the highway has been ceremoniously opened, the written utterances have emerged and are slowly wafting across a spellbound legal community, while the resplendently robed ones prepare their recession back into the judicial ether, to reappear next week on this exalted day and time or perhaps before then at Bagel Emporium or maybe Two Chefs, depending on availability.

Ok, was that too much?

But before we get to those juicy opinions, I see that ATL has confirmed the pay cuts we have been hearing about for a while at H&K:

Like many other firms, Holland & Knight is reducing the base salaries of its associates, with limited exceptions. The associate salary reductions range from zero to ten percent. In addition, the firm is reducing the base salaries of some senior counsel/professionals.

The total reductions approximate 7%.

Ouch -- seven percent. So we dedicate this week's 3d DCA Watch to all you valiant H&K seven-percenters, still employed, who are hunkering down and hoping for the best -- keep those billables coming!

And remember -- fear is a tremendous motivator.

On we go.....

United Auto v. Metro Injury:

What would the state court system do without United Auto?

Day after day, week after week, lawyers show up in county or sometimes circuit court to argue United Auto matters, which then lead to rulings, which are then sometimes appealed.

In this one -- yet again -- the 11th Circuit acting in its appellate capacity ruled against United Auto and was reversed by the 3d:

United Auto claims, on this second-tier petition for writ of certiorari, that
the circuit court departed from clearly established law by refusing to follow United
Automobile Insurance Co. v. Bermudez, 980 So. 2d 1213 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), and
instead applied incorrectly rules of statutory construction to interpret the meaning
of the term, “valid report” under section 627.736(7)(a). Metro argues that the
holding in Bermudez does not apply to the facts before us, and, therefore, the
circuit court applied the correct law. We agree with United Auto and follow our
holding in Bermudez, wherein we interpreted the meaning of “valid report” under
section 627.736(7)(a).

3d DCA clerks, just right-click and save this opinion to your C drive, I have a feeling you'll be able to use it again real soon.

Strategic Empowerment v. South Dade Realty:

Hmm -- Shepherd, Salter and Schwartz.

That grouping has a nice ring. Where have I heard that before?

Abraham, Martin, and John.

Beck, Bogert, and Appice.

Shepherd, Salter and Schwartz.

Boy do those guys know how to rock!

Still, this is not their best work -- the first album was much better.

Oh Well -- He Still Is Dating Elle MacPherson.

Hi kids, it's Monday and it will probably rain again!

Poor Jeff Soffer. The Turnberry heir picked the wrong time to invest in the Las Vegas condo market, picked the wrong time to give half of his hotel to the Saudis in order to drop a half billion in renovations to the Fontainebleau, and even had to deny having an affair with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Ok, he is apparently dating Elle MacPherson so things can't be all bad.

Still, now it looks like his hotel is about to lose a huge book of business -- the 2009 ShowEast, which is a major movie theater convention that requires at least 210 show booths.

The contract for the convention allegedly involved a booking of 4,772 guest room nights.

Turns out according to the counterclaim filed by Sandy Bohrer that the new ballroom can only fit 184 booths, too few to accomodate the specific needs of ShowEast.

Oops!

Because the ShowEast reps entered into the contract before the renovations were complete, they are arguing mistake and/or fraud and seeking various forms of rescission.

Jeff, through Orlando attorney Jameil McWhorter, is seeking $285k in cancellation fees.

Case is before Judge Ungaro, who set an initial planning and scheduling conference on June 26.

Keep those stairs handy, Jeff!

Bloody Thursday at Holland & Knight?

Ok ok I don't have anything solid, but many of you are reporting doom and gloom over at H&K today, particularly among younger lawyers.

To my many H&K friends I say good luck to you all.

If I hear more I will let you know.

More New Math

The intrepid Julie Kay, working her beat:

In another sign of the hard times facing the legal industry, particularly in real-estate heavy South Florida, two local law firms — Holland & Knight and Shutts & Bowen — have laid off non-lawyer staffers.

On a day that could be dubbed Black Friday in South Florida legal circles, Tampa-based Holland & Knight, one of Florida's largest and most venerable firms with 1,150 lawyers, laid off 70 staffers Friday, including legal secretaries, IT and accounting staff. No lawyers were laid off.

The layoffs of about four employees in each of Holland's 17 offices represented 5% of Holland's non-lawyer workforce.

Shutts & Bowen, a 200-lawyer, Miami-based firm, Friday laid off nine people, all entry level file clerks or paralegal clerks. No lawyers or legal secretaries were affected.

The news comes on the heels of a decision announced internally Friday by Fort Lauderdale-based Becker & Poliakoff to temporarily and immediately chop all lawyer salaries by 12%. The firm, which is heavy in condo and real estate representation, said it was forced to take the action since clients are delaying payment in this lean economic environment.

Hmm. Harbinger of things to come?