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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.

March 25, 2009

--The Florida Bar--

FORECLOSURES: STRICT RULES FOR LAWYERS-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, March 25, 2009.
With the proliferation of companies hawking foreclosure relief to thousands of homeowners across the country, it's impossible to tell from slick advertising if their services are legal in Florida or if they comply with Florida Bar rules. The Bar wants to ensure that Florida attorneys know their limits on foreclosure assistance. The Bar issued an ethics alert this month warning that attorneys may not pay a referral fee to nonlawyers, be paid by a nonlawyer for providing distressed homeowner services or provide distressed homeowner services as in-house counsel to a foreclosure defense company. The Florida Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act, which took effect last October, severely restricted what nonlawyers may do in the loan modification process.

NEW FLORIDA PARALEGAL PROGRAM REGISTERS MORE THAN 3,000-- Jacksonville Daily Record, http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com, March 24, 2009.
The Florida Registered Paralegal Program has been well received. The FRP reached its one-year anniversary March 1 and more than 3,000 paralegals have registered. Interest in the program exceeded expectation, a Florida Bar spokesperson said. The FRP was approved by the Florida Supreme Court in Nov. 2007 to help provide a better service to the public by creating higher professional standards for paralegals. Although registration in the program is voluntary, some paralegals say it is a good way to advance the profession.

--Legislature--

SHIFT RECORDS FROM CLERKS TO COURTS-- The Ledger, column, http://www.theledger.com, March 25, 2009.
The column is by former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justices Ben F. Overton and Major B. Harding and has been published in several Florida newspapers. The column states: "The Florida Legislature is considering a proposal to transfer the administrative responsibility for court records to the courts and away from the locally elected county clerks. The Legislature is evaluating this proposal. The Supreme Court supports this Legislative evaluation. We, as former chief justices of that court, believe that this is a logical and rational idea that could save substantial tax dollars particularly in this new electronic era."

STATE PLAN: TREATING MENTAL ILLNESS OUTSIDE PRISON SYSTEM-- The Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com, March 25, 2009. [Also: MEASURE AIMS TO DIVERT MENTALLY ILL FROM COURTS-- The Ledger, http://www.theledger.com, March 25, 2009].
From The Florida Times-Union: State officials working to keep Floridians with mental illnesses out of the criminal justice system moved one step closer to winning a legislative boost for their blueprint when a key committee approved a bill Tuesday [March 24] backing their plan. The measure, approved by the Criminal and Civil Justice Policy Committee, authorizes three pilot sites that supporters hope will serve as models for how to deal with tens of thousands of state residents who are in jail or under state supervision despite their condition. It follows a 2007 report by the Florida Supreme Court that found the state's methods for dealing with mentally ill offenders lacking. The measure, which passed in the House last year, still has to gain the chamber’s approval and pass in the Senate.

--Judiciary--

LAWMAKERS LOOK TO RETIRED JUDGES TO UNCLOG COURT SYSTEM-- News Service of Florida, http://www.newsserviceflorida.com, March 24, 2009.
High foreclosure rates and crime have stressed the state's courts to the point where some lawmakers are promoting the use of retired judges to ease the burdens on the state's courts. A bill (HB 369) approved by a House committee Tuesday [March 24] would allow the chief justice of a judicial circuit to establish a program where retired judges could preside over civil cases and trials at the request of either party in a dispute. With courts across the state facing a backlog of cases, said state Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, the use of these judges would greatly alleviate the stress on the bench. Just last month, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince released an opinion saying the state court system needed 68 new judges.

JUDGE LEAPS TO VICTIM'S AID DURING ATTACK IN HIS COURTROOM-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, March 25, 2009. [Also: JUDGE LEAPS TO PROTECT WOMAN IN BROWARD COUNTY COURT-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, March 25, 2009; JUDGE BREAKS UP ATTACK IN HIS OWN COURTROOM-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, March 25, 2009].
From the Sun-Sentinel: Justice can be swift in Broward County, as one judge demonstrated Tuesday [March 24] when he leaped from the bench to come to the aid of a woman whose ex-boyfriend attacked her in court. County Court Judge Ian Richards helped law enforcement officers restrain a domestic violence defendant who charged at his alleged victim and began hitting her, said Broward Sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella. The incident happened after Richards told John Charles Reasee II that he was being taken into custody on a domestic violence charge. His ex-girlfriend, Nicole Word, had just testified that he ran her off the road last week in Lauderhill. Word said she's thankful the judge and others reacted so quickly. Richards, 33, was elected to the bench in August.

--Legal Profession--

DON'T FALL PREY TO LAWYERS FROM PERSONAL-INJURY 'MILLS'-- Treasure Coast Newspapers, http://www.tcpalm.com, March 24, 2009.
The column is by Wendy Young of Vero Beach, a former assistant state attorney and commercial lawyer. She was involved in a near-fatal accident in 1998 and has been on disability. The column states: ". . . . Demand to see your file and get copies of every page. Demand to see your lawyer in his own office. Demand help and advice at every step you need it. Demand answers to all your questions and all your rights and that you get them in writing. Send your lawyer letters on your questions and concerns and keep a copy. Get a second opinion on your case from a lawyer who provides personal service. Contact the judge on your case; call the courthouse office; tell your doctor."

NADEL CANNOT USE ASSETS TO PAY FOR LAWYERS-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, http://www.heraldtribune.com, March 25, 2009.
With criminal prosecutors and securities regulators breathing down his neck, Sarasota hedge fund operator Arthur G. Nadel could soon find himself without his defense team. A federal judge has denied Nadel's request to unfreeze some of his assets to pay for attorneys in what officials now say was a nearly $400 million scam. Nadel and his attorneys hoped a federal court would release some of his assets to pay for his defense. However, U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara denied the motion for payment of attorneys fees filed by Tampa lawyers Todd Foster and Barry Cohen. Foster has said his firm may be unable to continue representing Nadel if he cannot pay. The firm had tallied more than $93,000 in legal fees and expenses as of March 11. If he cannot afford private counsel, Nadel could wind up with the federal public defender, which provides legal representation to indigent defendants. The Securities and Exchange Commission opposed releasing any assets, saying all of Nadel's money and property came from his hedge fund scheme.

--Other--

FLORIDA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER SELECTED REGULATOR OF THE YEAR BY LEXISNEXIS LAW CENTER-- WCTV Tallahassee, http://www.wctv.tv, March 25, 2009.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has been selected as the Regulator of the Year by the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center's Advisory Board Person of the Year Awards for 2008. LexisNexis says that the Insurance Law Center is a part of its LexisNexis communities, a group of online Web 2.0 hubs designed to bring together legal practitioners in 16 practice areas worldwide to expand their knowledge, interact with colleagues and gain recognition as experts. Commissioner McCarty has served as Florida’s insurance commissioner since 2003.

JUDGE IN FLORIDA ALLOWS REPORTERS TO BLOG, E-MAIL AND TEXT FROM FEDERAL COURTHOUSES-- The Palm Beach Post, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, March 24, 2009.
In an expansion of public access to federal courts, a judge will allow news reporters to post live updates to the Web inside federal courthouses from Key West to Fort Pierce. U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno, chief judge for the Southern District of Florida, issued the administrative order Monday in response to a request from The Palm Beach Post. Moreno's order will not allow reporters to blog or text from inside the courtroom, but will let them step outside the courtroom to send their updates. Reporters previously could not post such updates because they were not allowed to bring devices like cell phones and Blackberries into a federal courthouse within the district.