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An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today's edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

February 22, 2013

--Legal Profession--

SMITH TO KEYNOTE HOLLAND SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON -- South Florida Times, http://www.sfltimes.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
The F. Malcolm Cunningham Sr. Bar Association's 12th annual William M. Holland Scholarship Luncheon is set for Saturday Feb. 23 at The Ritz Carlton in West Palm Beach. Guest speaker will be Judy Smith, Esq., strategic crisis manager and CEO of Smith & Company, whose life work inspired the character Olivia Pope in the ABC-TV series "Scandal". The annual signature luncheon is named for Holland, civil rights pioneer and the first African-American attorney in Palm Beach County. The event enables the Cunningham Bar to award Florida Bar examination course preparation scholarships to deserving third-year law students. 

STETSON TO OFFER ONLINE TRIAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM -- Tampa Bay Business Journal, http://www.bizjournals.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
Stetson University College of Law will launch an online master of laws degree in trial advocacy starting in August. Offered through Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy, the new program is designed to meet the needs of busy legal practitioners, according to a written statement. Courses for the advanced degree will be provided through a part-time, distance-learning platform, with some limited in-person participation.

--Judiciary--

LAW FIRM TO HONOR TRAILBLAZING FEDERAL JUDGE MARCIA G. COOKE -- South Florida Times, http://www.sfltimes.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke will be honored as part of Black History Month observances during a celebration being hosted Feb. 28 by the delancyhill law firm and the Little Haiti Cultural Center. Cooke will be recognized for her "trailblazing legal career and her unwavering upliftment of black history and cultural awareness in the federal judicial system," according to a statement from Marlon Hill, principal of the law firm.

EDITORIAL: GOVERNOR SHOULD NOT PUT ALAN FORST ON THE 4TH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS -- Palm Beach Post, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
The editorial discusses the qualifications of the six candidates vying to fill a seat on the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.

--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--

BADGE-FLASH AT STRIP CLUB GETS FREELOADER PROSECUTOR CANNED -- Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Ari Pregen was dismissed earlier this month after the manager of Goldrush, in Miami's Park West club district, filed a complaint alleging the young County Court prosecutor had twice used his badge to get in free and bully his employees, public records show. The former prosecutor also displayed his badge to avoid a posted surcharge on a private dance. Pregen then wrote an apology letter but the firing was effective immediately.

--Unlicensed Practice of Law--

COMMUNITY ACTIVIST FACING EXTORTION CHARGES HAS FOUGHT FOR JUSTICE AND FENDED CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
Clarence Eugene "Shahid" Freeman, who says fighting injustice is his life's work, has straddled the gulf between criminal defendant and moral watchdog. He is now fending charges of trying to blackmail Palm Beach County schools for nearly $1 million. For each person claiming to have fallen victim to Freeman, a supporter is waiting to extol his work in crime prevention and immigrant rights. Last year two South Florida immigration attorneys filed a complaint to The Florida Bar alleging Freeman was practicing without a license and defrauding immigrants.

--Other--

PAUL B. JOHNSON -- Tampa Bay Tribune, http://www.tbo.com, Feb. 22, 2013.
Paul B. Johnson, 86, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 16. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1950. During his professional career he became an active participant in several professional organizations.