Warren Trazenfeld Explains How Not to Get Sued (By Warren Trazenfeld)!

Spencer's Attorney Breakfast Club may need to keep an extra supply of Maalox ("It's a Relief to Enjoy Life!") around as noted attorney malpractice expert Warren Trazenfeld gives everyone the willies as he explains how to avoid getting sued by your clients.

Here's my list:

1.  Never take on clients;
2.  Never put funds in or remove funds from a trust account;
3.  Never file anything (alternatively -- file everything); and
4.  Hide in closet until things blow over and/or the phone stops ringing.

Warren probably has a few more ideas so you may want to check out Friday's presentation.

Wet Hot South Florida Morning.

Hey, what do you know -- Jeff Sloman's a plaintiff's attorney!

This great Julie Kay article on the perils of suing clients for unpaid fees is instructive, but I had another takeaway -- the perils of litigating issues instead of attempting to resolve them:

The litigation triggered the competitor, Fort Myers-based Storm Catcher, to ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to re-examine Armor’s patents, which were ultimately deemed invalid.

The patent ruling destroyed Armor’s business, valued at more than $2 million, said Warren Trazenfeld, a Miami solo attorney who is representing Armor in the malpractice case.

“The patents were the most valuable part of the company,” he said. “Now the business’s valuation has been substantially affected.”

Trazenfeld claims the Squire Sanders lawyers should have requested a re-examination of the patents and could have fixed them in Armor’s favor. Instead, the firm deliberately headed into litigation to run up high legal bills, he alleges.

“It absolutely could have been an easy fix,” Trazenfeld said.

Litigation always has the potential to spin out of control, and always has the potential to result in unintended -- and even unforeseen -- consequences.

It's funny to see businesses that work so hard to contain and/or eliminate risk throw caution to the wind when they're embroiled in litigation (not that I'm complaining).

Besides the billable hour economic self-interest, why is reaching out early for a compromise resolution sometimes so difficult to do?

Swlip, this one's for you!

SFL Friday -- "I Award You No Points, And May God Have Mercy On Your Soul"

Poor Jeff Soffer -- if this keeps up Daddy is going to make him go back to elementary school and graduate each grade so he shows he has what it takes to run that big fancy company.

But at least he has his lawyers, I mean had his lawyers:

Lawyers defending the Fontainebleau Miami Beach against more than $60 million in construction claims dropped out of the case Thursday as contractors accused the resort of stall tactics amid a lack of cash.

Bilzin Sumberg, a prominent Miami firm, won court permission to drop the dozens of cases against South Florida's largest resort. A judge agreed to delay depositions and mediation until December, Fontainebleau's deadline to find new lawyers.

Fontainebleau executives accuse contractors of submitting padded bills and bogus fees from a renovation funded by a $640 million mortgage on the iconic oceanfront property. Bilzin lawyers declined to say why they were withdrawing, but some contractor attorneys called the move another example of Fontainebleau not paying its bills.

``Basically, I've been getting the run-around,'' Alexander Cvercko, who represents a construction staffing firm claiming nearly $1 million in unpaid bills, said during the morning hearing in Miami-Dade Civil Court. ``The Fontainebleau ran out of money, and just doesn't want to pay people.''

David Reimer, a lawyer for Fontainebleau's contractor, said the resort has legitimate disputes with fees and warned against drawing broad conclusions about Bilzin's departure or the unpaid contractors. ``There's more to these cases than the Fontainebleau doesn't have the money to pay,'' Reimer said. ``There are questions [to be] raised about these bills.''

I presume David is referring to the subcontractor bills, not those of Bilzin.

If Bilzen does wind up going after what may or may not be unpaid legal fees, they better be careful:

Miami attorney Warren Trazenfeld, who represents Whitney in the unpaid legal bills case, contends lawyers suing clients is "one of the top 10 stupidest things a lawyer can do."

He said almost every claim for unpaid legal fees is met with a counterclaim of legal malpractice. He said one will be coming against Rothstein.

"Most clients think the best defense is a good offense, and there's no better offense than a counterclaim for legal malpractice," Trazenfeld said.

Oy, such tsurris.

I don't know about you, but it's Friday and I'm getting ready to go decorate my Sukka, which as usual will be adorned with traditional festive items such as windsurfing gear, a Keytar, Bo Derek posters, dry Gin Gibsons and -- oh yeah -- an etrog.

So I hope everyone has a great weekend, filled with these very interesting professional women, the burning of exactly 970 calories, and lots and lots of clean sheets.

See you Monday!