Jan. 5, 2009

--The Florida Bar--

SEEK MEDIATION TO RESOLVE ATTORNEY'S FEES-- The Miami Herald, column, http://www.miamiherald.com, Jan. 2, 2009.
The Action Line column states: "The Bar investigates complaints about unethical behavior by attorneys. Its Web site says: 'Lawyers engaged in serious misconduct, such as theft of client funds or certain crimes, may be suspended or disbarred. Other types of misconduct, such as not communicating with clients or failing to diligently pursue a case, may result in an admonishment or reprimand or the attorney being placed in a diversion or probation program. Concerns about rude behavior will not result in a discipline investigation but may be referred to another program that addresses unprofessional conduct. The Florida Bar also has a grievance mediation program and a fee arbitration program for resolving some disputes.' "

--Judiciary--

JUSTICE SYSTEM SEEKS TO AVOID STATE'S BUDGET KNIFE-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Jan. 5, 2009.
Just six months into her tenure as the head of the state's highest court, Chief Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince strolled across Duval Street in Tallahassee to speak with members of the Legislature. The topic: the state courts budget. The audience: the House Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee. Her message was clear: Don't touch the justice system. When a special session of the Legislature convenes today to explore ways to close a $2 billion shortfall in Florida’s budget, the justice system will again be expected to be a candidate in another round of cuts.

CUBAN-AMERICAN JORGE LABARGA NAMED TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT BY GOV. CHARLIE CRIST-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Jan. 3, 2009. [Also: CUBA NATIVE JOINS TOP COURT-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Jan. 2, 2009; NEWEST JUSTICE LABARGA DOESN'T WANT TO BE PINNED DOWN BY LABELS-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Jan. 5, 2009; JUSTICE LABARGA, FINALLY-- The Palm Beach Post editorial, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, Jan. 4, 2009; RIGHT PICK FOR COURT-- St. Petersburg Times, editorial, http://www.tampabay.com, Jan. 3, 2009].
From the Sun-Sentinel: Veteran Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga was elevated to the Florida Supreme Court Friday [Jan. 2], becoming the second Cuban-American named to the state's highest legal panel. Gov. Charlie Crist chose Labarga, of Wellington, after a controversy-filled interview process that pitted the governor against high-profile lawyers who claimed the judicial selection process had been politicized. Labarga, Crist's third selection for the court in the last five months, replaces Justice Harry Anstead, who hit the mandatory retirement age of 70.

JUDICIAL DIVERSITY IS A PRIORITY-- St. Petersburg Times, letter-to-editor, http://.www.tampabay.com, Jan. 2, 2009. [Also:FLORIDA SHOULD RETURN TO LESS POLITICAL WAY OF SELECTING JUDGES-- Orlando Sentinel, editorial, http://www.orlandosentinel.com, Jan. 5, 2009].
From the St. Petersburg Times letter-to-editor by Cynthia Tunnicliff, who served on the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission and as chair of the 2nd Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission and the 1st District Court of Appeal Nominating Commission: "Diversity in its broadest sense is extremely important in judicial selection. This includes diversity of race, gender, ethnicity and experience. Judicial decisionmaking is enhanced by the diversity brought to the process. Similarly, confidence in judicial decisionmaking is enhanced by having a judiciary that reflects the diversity of Florida's population."

--Legal Profession--

PARALEGALS IN DEMAND-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Jan. 1, 2009.
In the Sunshine State alone, 1,000 new paralegals will be needed each year through 2015, according to the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. This relatively young, expanding profession is expected to maintain growth over the next decade, due in part to the vast stores of electronic information that need to be investigated and managed in the legal arena.

LEGAL PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS HIT BY MADOFF-- National Law Journal, http://www.law.com/nlj, Jan. 5, 2009.
Dozens of public interest legal organizations have been hit financially by the collapse of Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, and are scrambling to make up the shortfalls. Organizations from the Center for Constitutional Rights to the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic to the American Civil Liberties Union found out before Christmas that they will have their budgets slashed by up to one-third, due to the fallout from the Madoff case. The JEHT Foundation, which gave away $24 million last year, mostly to criminal justice advocacy and reform organizations, announced on Dec. 15 that it would be closing its doors in early 2009. JEHT funds were managed by Madoff, who was arrested last week for defrauding investors out of billions of dollars.

DO MODEL WEB FACES MISREPRESENT LAW FIRMS?-- Law.com, http://www.law.com, Jan. 5, 2009.
The article was written by Bud Newman of the Daily Business Review. The images of several well-groomed, professional-looking people permeate the pages on the Web site of the Holland & Knight law firm. However, would-be clients should not seek to speak with any of those people about their legal needs when contemplating whether to hire the Tampa-based firm. All of those good-looking folks shown on virtually all of the Web site's main pages -- blacks and whites, males and females, younger people and gray-haired ones -- are paid models. Not one is a lawyer with the firm. While not ambivalent about the topic, The Florida Bar has not raised any enforcement issues over the use of models on law firm Web sites. Over the years, The Bar has maintained a reputation of being one of the nation's toughest regulatory bodies on lawyer advertising.

--Civil Justice Issues--

PATIENTS BY ANOTHER NAME-- Daytona Beach News-Journal, editorial, http://www.news-journalonline.com, Jan. 2, 2009.
The editorial states: "Marlene Gagnon was a patient -- or a 'resident' -- at a nursing home in West Palm Beach. She was under medical orders not to ingest solid food, including coleslaw. The nursing home served her coleslaw anyway. She choked on the slaw. She had a heart attack and died. . . . Gagnon's family sued Tandem Healthcare Inc., owner of the nursing home, for negligence, and requested that the company produce 'all reports or records of any 'Adverse Medical Incident' ' involving Gagnon. The family held that the 'Patients' Right to Know' constitutional amendment, approved by Florida voters in 2004, compels the company to produce the information. Tandem claimed the amendment doesn't apply to nursing homes, which the Florida Health Care Association, the nursing-home trade organization, claims aren't health-care providers. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously agreed with Tandem. The upshot of the decision is shocking. Most people familiar with nursing homes assume them to be health-care facilities."

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