Say Hello to the New Head of the PSC!

 Wow what a weekend.

A lot going on today -- first, the Tannebaum Express cogently explains why Judge Gold was right and the 11th Circuit was wrong wrong wrong in reversing the sanctions order David O obtained on behalf of Dr. Shaygan.

Note to social marketers -- amazingly, this intelligent piece of legal advocacy does not once mention the words "iPad"; "social media"; "cloud computing"; or "Joseph Rakofsky."

Next --the attorney currently in Judge Seitz' cross-hairs explains herself here, and Robert Kain explains himself here.

OK, once more, but only to appease the many requests:

Finally, Rick Scott has appointed Miami attorney Braulio Baez to head the PSC:

Baez, an attorney for a private law firm, has a law degree from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. He was a commissioner until January 2006 and a chief policy aide for a commissioner before that. He worked for the Akerman Senterfitt law firm for less than a year with clients that included companies in the energy and telecommunications and water industries. He spent nearly four years before that at Holland & Knight law firm where, among other things, he shaped strategies for a Fortune 500 electric utility.

He was fined a $1,170 in 2007 for allegedly accepting gifts from regulated companies during a 2002 utility conference in Miami when he was a commissioner.

That's what troubled Graham, who said he's concerned about "the big battle we're going to have to fight to having to justify a decision like this."

The PSC has been criticized in the past few years for its ties to utilities.

Now why in the world would anyone say that?

UPDATE -- On top of everything else we have to worry about, now the Florida Supreme Court wants us to actually, you know -- gulp -- be nice to each other:

To opposing parties and their counsel, I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications;

 Change starts one email at a time.

What's Wrong With This Paralegal Assistant?

This has to be one of the stupidest moves a trial lawyer can make, right up there with the Joseph Rakofsky internet self-immolation:

A Chicago lawyer says his opponent in a small claims case is using an unfair tactic by sitting a buxom woman next to him at counsel's table.

Attorney Thomas Gooch says the woman's sole purpose "is to draw the attention of the jury away from the relevant proceedings" — a dispute over a used car. He asks Cook County Circuit Judge Anita Rivkin-Carothers to order the woman to sit in the gallery with other spectators.

In responding to the pretrial motion, attorney Dmitry N. Feofanov said the woman is his paralegal assistant and contends Gooch cites no "good faith legal argument" why she can't sit at counsel's table. Feofanov, who in the past has described himself as a "consumer protection lawyer," asked Rivkin-Carothers to impose sanctions on Gooch for his motion.

This is like a comic asking management to remove a heckler!

It's your job to deal with distractions in the courtroom, not by filing some bone-headed motion with no evidentiary basis whatsoever, but by stepping up your game and making your case even mildly interesting.

Have you tried humor, direct eye contact, calling witnesses that are worth paying attention to, introducing some sense of drama, tension, or anticipation -- anything like that?

BTW,  I happen to really like the Jack Benny glasses, and the whole men's dress shirt and jacket thing is a very nice touch.

Seriously, what kind of lawyer files a motion like this?

SFL Friday -- I Like Exactly HALF This Picture!

Dang does Frank dress up nice!

I'm so pissed at Blogger for eating my posts and making me have to focus today almost exclusively on (1) my cases; and (2) deciphering the contents of Osama's porn stash.

Nearly as interesting as what's hawt right now in Abbottabad is this genuinely amusing defamation suit filed against the Internet.

Even better, our local intertubular representative in this epic legal fiasco is none other than bashful Brian Tannebaum.

Given the heavy hitters comprising the "Rakofsky 74" I am quite certain they will be ably represented, either by themselves or by that fabulous Coral Gables restaurateur Marc Randazzao.

This is the legal equivalent of Charlie Sheen -- someone needs to stop the train before it runs off the cliff.

(Let's see when -- or if -- Blogger posts this.)