John Morgan Wants the Jags to Hire Tim Tebow!

What better way to spend your hard-earned money than to take ads calling on your favorite football team to hire The Tebow:

Orlando-based lawyer John Morgan has developed an ad aimed at cajoling Jaguars owner Shahid Khan into signing Tebow.

The spot has been posted by the Orlando Sentinel.

“I’m John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan, and I wanna talk Tebow for one minute. 

Here’s the evidence.  Tim Tebow played on two national championship teams.  He won the Heisman as the best college player in the country and was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos.  Somebody knew somethin’.  And after he got his only chance to start, the Broncos were 1-4 and he led them to the AFC playoffs, and beat Pittsburgh.

“The Jaguars are 27-42 in the last five years, one of the worst records in NFL history.  And more in store for this year.  We can’t even fill an entire end zone.

“Tebow is one of us.  He has class, character, and he’s a winner.  Let’s win, Mr. Khan.  Once upon a time, so-called experts probably doubted your potential, and now look at you.

“Give our guy a shot.  I’ll even buy that box your tried to sell me.  Remember this:  You can’t TiVo Tebow.  Let’s do this Mr. Khan.  For the people.  Let’s win.”

Maybe John should have spent more time and money in Tally fighting recent legislative restrictions affecting plaintiffs?

(The elimination of the Frye standard and the adoption of Daubert seems pretty big, though we've been dealing with that in federal court for a long time.)

Thoughts?

New Way to Represent Client: Send Tweet to Miami Herald!

All you social media quasi-lawyer types Tannebaum is always talking about, take note:  here is the intersection of law and Twitter, revealed:

An attorney representing the former University of Miami Hurricanes safety said Tuesday night that he plans to file an injunction later this week to reinstate Armstrong to the Hurricanes football team.

The Orlando-based attorney, Matt Morgan, sent a tweet to The Miami Herald on Tuesday, saying, "We do not agree with the way they have handled Ray Ray. A very talented athlete's career is at stake.'' 

Although my research is not yet complete, I'm pretty sure "Matt Morgan" is not the popular wrestler with a large Twitter following from Lake Mary, FL.

Actually, he is this guy -- hold on, Matt the Orlando lawyer has 2043 2044 followers!

(That may be more than the Herald nowadays).

Matt also has this great quote on his bio page:

The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Not bad, but I prefer this:

 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/08/2938965/attorney-ray-ray-armstrong-plans.html#storylink=cpy

"Yes Your Honor, I Scheduled a Deposition at a Donut Shop, Wore T-Shirts and Shorts, and Drew Pictures of Opposing Counsel as a Penis -- Is There a Problem?"

 What does "zealous advocacy" look like?

(See above illustration.)

I like to think this blog can have a salutary purpose on occasion, by shining light on what we do as lawyers, and sometimes encouraging us to live up to the highest ideals of our profession.

That, plus dick jokes.

Luckily, this order from Judge Altonaga disqualifying two attorneys and their firm Morgan & Morgan has all of the above, wrapped in a pretty penis-shaped bow:

Tinkler testified that during depositions he witnessed “Mr. Celler . . . drawing photos of — pictures of male genitalia and showing them to Ms. Schulman, describing Mr. Coupal. I told Mr. Coupal after that was occurring and he made mention about it.” (Apr. 2, 2012 Hearing Tr. 17:2–5). Sorci testified that he observed Schulman “laugh[ing] quite a few times” at Celler’s drawings, and that on break Schulman made a comment that “this is typical Richard [Celler], this is what he does at these sort of things.” (Id. 85:5–10). Tinkler further stated that “during Mr. Schatt’s deposition Mr. Celler was playing the game Angry Birds. He admitted it aloud and was bragging that he had just beaten somebody in Minnesota at the game during the deposition.” (Id. 17:6–9). Moreover, Celler would wear a t-shirt and shorts to proceedings to gain “a psychological advantage.” (Id. 17:11–15). Celler chose Dunkin’ Donuts as the site of depositions against Coupal’s wishes.

According to the order, plaintiff's counsel also wrote a few scorching emails to opposing in-house counsel:

The Court finds multiple instances in which Plaintiff’s counsel have violated this Rule. For example, the email exchange regarding the Tinkler communication contained such choice statements from Celler to Coupal as “you are not a trial lawyer;” “We are not interested, nor are our clients, in settlement discussions with you as long as you are the lawyer on the other side. You are causing your client a great disservice;” and “Nobody on this side of the internet cares.” (Jan. 30, 2012 Email Exchange). Celler himself acknowledges the utter lack of professionalism and impropriety of his emails to Coupal, expressing “remorse and disappointment” (Pl.’s Post-Hearing Br. 2 n.2), but chalks his behavior up to “zealousness on his client’s behalf” and “vigorous[]” advocacy. (Resp. 8–9). Needless to say, Celler’s emails are far beyond (and at the same time, far short of) what zealous advocacy would require.

Good point -- which side of the internet truly cares about this stuff?

Charlie Crist Gets A New Job!

The tan one is taking a job at Morgan & Morgan, that big time PI firm upstate:

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has joined Morgan & Morgan. While serving in office, Crist was often referred to as “the People’s Governor.” His dedication and commitment to the people of Florida will remain the same as he works with the firm’s mass tort and class action department, fighting “for the people.” Crist said, “It's truly a privilege for me to have this opportunity to work all over our beautiful state. John Morgan has set up an incredible firm of very gifted people and it's truly an honor and a privilege to have this day come.” 

Morgan & Morgan was founded in 1988 with a single office and three attorneys; the firm has since grown into one of the largest in the southeast with 13 offices and over 170 lawyers, with a staff of more than 500 people. The growth and success of the firm can be attributed to a steadfast commitment to representing the people, not the powerful. It is this focus that appealed to Crist: “It’s really such a natural transition for me; to be with Morgan & Morgan and work with my dear friend John Morgan… he really is all about the people. That’s what I’ve always tried to do and aspire to do as a public servant. Now I’ll do it in the private sector.

I'm happy for him and think he'll do quite well at PI  (assuming Rick Scott will still allow people to sue) -- he's affable, easy going, quick on his feet and connects well with people.

Not everyone, of course, is thrilled.

For example, early Rubio-booster NRO thinks this is just, well, tacky and icky for any self-respecting elitist lawyer who should instead make big bucks representing mega corporations at [fill in the blank] BigFirm (perfectly ok by me btw):

All of which explains why some of my (admittedly, and archly, white-shoe) lawyer pals said yesterday when Morgan & Morgan announced its newest partner, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Hold on.

Just who are these "lawyer pals" -- Winthorpe's former friends at the club?

"And she stepped on the ball!"



And let me clue these condescending white-shoe ninnies in on something -- in Florida we actually have some prominent GOP conservative types who make a lot of money doing plaintiff's work -- Dean Colson for one comes to mind.

This means, you know, they actually have to interact with -- gross -- real human people, some of whom are poor, desperate and victimized, and try to help them with their problems and hope these lawyers get paid somewhere down the line and, even then, only if they are successful.

(This type of stuff never happens in white-shoe world).

If memory serves, as a matter of fact, former Senator and GOP chairman/original Hispanic poster boy Mel Martinez was a longtime partner at  -- yikes! -- Orlando PI firm Wooten Kimbrough.

What in the world would these "archly white-shoe lawyer pals" think of that?

(On second thought, don't answer that.)

The Paminator.

I actually think it's a good nickname:

In the e-mail, Howard suggested that Bondi hire the firm if she wins the race.
``Told me at church today she will use us for consumer protection if she wins,'' Howard wrote on Nov. 22, 2009. ``She plans to announce this week I think, but u would know more than me as usual.''
Both Howard and Bondi now insist such a conversation never took place.
In a brief phone conversation, Howard said: ``There was never any talk about retaining our law firm.''
He said Bondi made no such offer.

``No, she never did. Absolutely not,'' he said in an e-mail reply.

I'm not following Howard's explanation.  If Bondi didn't make such an offer, then why does the email indicate that she did?

Can someone shed some light on this?

Oh hail, I'm voting for one of the Ds anyway.

Middle District To Overworked Wage-and-Hour Lawyers: You Are On Double-Secret Probation

You think you're having a bad day? Try stepping into the shoes of these lawyers, when intrepid reporter Julie Kay calls and wants a comment on this story:

A federal magistrate judge in Orlando, Fla., has recommended that three lawyers receive reprimands for failing to comply with court scheduling orders related to their high-volume overtime suit practices.

The long-awaited ruling from Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Kelly was handed down on Oct. 9.

Kelly was assigned by the entire federal bench of the Middle District of Florida to investigate why nine lawyers from the Pantas Law Firm and Morgan and Morgan, both based in Orlando, have missed hordes of scheduling deadlines.

The Middle District of Florida has been flooded with thousands of wage-and-hour suits in recent years, leading the country in the cases.

Judges there, frustrated by missed deadlines by the two law firms that file the most cases, issued 120 "show cause"; orders essentially strong admonishments -- between March 2007 and March 2008 to nine lawyers.

At hearings held during the summer, the nine lawyers apologized to the court and outlined procedures they've put in place to improve their scheduling, including hiring more staff. One lawyer, Konstantine Pantas of the Pantas Law Firm, said he would no longer maintain a "high-volume" wage-and-hour case, and another switched to criminal law.

Yet another of the nine, Richard Celler of Morgan and Morgan, argued that his practice is needed because poor workers denied overtime have no other avenue. He pointed to a governmental report showing that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken far fewer of the cases in the last year or so.

Further, Celler argued that the judges' insistence that he and co-workers file an estimate of damages very early in the process, before employers turn over their pay records, is impossible.

In his order, Kelly stated that the conduct of Pantas and attorneys Carlos Leach of Morgan & Morgan and Charles Scalise, now of Ross Law in Austin, Texas, "rises to the level of reprimand" because of the number of orders to show cause they received between March 2007 through May 2008.

Leach received 46 in that period; Pantas, 45; and Scalise, 18.

Further, Kelly stated that if the three lawyers receive any future orders, they will be directed to the Florida Bar grievance committee for future discipline.

Both Morgan and Morgan and the Pantas Law Firm should continue to file a quarterly report "until the court is satisfied that the concerns raised within this proceeding have been resolved."

Leach, Pantas and Scalise did not return calls for comment.

Celler, who heads Morgan and Morgan¹s wage-and-hour division, said that "we appreciate the judge's taking the time and consideration as regard to all factors involved. Based on the court's ruling, we have some clear guidelines moving forward as to what is not acceptable and we intend to comply with the court's order to the letter moving forward."

Nice job on that Richard -- that's what you call "shining a turd."