The purpose of this summary provided by the Communications Department of The Florida Bar is to present media coverage that may be of interest to members. Opinions expressed in the articles are attributable solely to the authors. The Florida Bar does not adopt or endorse any opinions expressed below. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.
December 12, 2019
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The Florida Bar
STUDY GROUP TO REVIEW HOW THE PROFESSION IS REGULATED
The Florida Bar | Article | December 12, 2019
The Daily News Summary features Florida Bar News stories on criminal justice reform bills, legal access initiatives and a review of how the legal profession is regulated. In response to the “rapidly changing” environment in which legal services are provided, the Florida Supreme Court has asked the Bar to launch a comprehensive study of the regulation of the legal profession in Florida. President John Stewart announced the initiative at the Board of Governors’ December meeting in Orlando. The Bar will focus on lawyer advertising, referral fees, fee-splitting, entity regulation, regulation of online service providers, and regulation of nonlawyer providers of limited legal services.
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Civil Justice
MIAMI TV’S MICHELE GILLEN SETTLES GENDER, AGE BIAS LAWSUIT AGAINST CBS
Law.com | Article | December 11, 2019
Michele Gillen, longtime South Florida investigative journalist reached a confidential settlement to resolve her age and gender discrimination lawsuit against the CBS-owned WFOR-TV shortly before a Dec. 9 scheduled trial. Gillen, a former anchor and winner of 38 regional Emmy awards and the station’s chief investigative reporter left the station after 19 years in 2016 when her contract was not renewed. She sued in 2018 claiming she was a victim of a “culture of toxic misogyny” at the Miami station and the CBS network.
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Civil Justice
Tort Reformers Are Almost Starting to Like Florida, Once Atop ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List
Law.com | Article | December 10, 2019
Florida slid from the top in 2017 to second place last year to now an unnumbered candidate to watch in the annual report released by the defense-friendly American Tort Reform Foundation. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the altered makeup of the Florida Supreme Court are credited with improving Florida’s legal climate from the perspective of the 300-member foundation backed by businesses, municipalities, associations and professional firms.
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Civil Justice
LAWSUIT TARGETS FLORIDA MARIJUANA FIRM OVER TEXT MESSAGES
Tampa Bay Business Journal | Article | December 12, 2019
A complaint filed in the federal Northern District of Florida, Mats Jaslow alleges that Quincy-based Trulieve Inc. violated federal communications laws by sending unsolicited text messages to his phone that advertised special deals on marijuana products in October and November. Jaslow’s lawyers said he never gave Trulieve written permission to contact him through an automatic telephone dialing system. Jaslow is seeking class-action status in the lawsuit and asking for $1,500 for each violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
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Civil Justice
FLORIDA SPLIT: SHOULD ATTORNEY FEES COUNT TOWARD FEDERAL AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY?
Law.com | Article | December 09, 2019
A decision by a Miami federal judge highlights a split among Florida district courts on whether to include statutory attorney fees when calculating whether an insurance coverage case removed from state court meets the federal minimum for the amount in controversy. In her decision Thursday [Dec. 5], U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ruled district courts may consider pre-suit demands in evaluating whether a case has been properly removed.
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Criminal Justice
PROSECUTORS: SCAM RING STOPPED AT FLORIDA VETERANS HOSPITALS
Connecting Vets | Article | December 12, 2019
Ten Veterans Affairs employees and five vendors have been arrested for stealing millions from the federal government by bribing purchasing agents and others at South Florida veterans hospitals and then billing for orders that were non-existent or grossly overpriced federal prosecutors said Wednesday [Dec. 11]. According to U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, the scam began almost a decade ago and involved hospitals in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
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Civil Justice
GOING TO COURT WITHOUT A LAWYER IS NEW NORMAL FOR U.S. LITIGANTS
Bloomberg Law | Article | November 22, 2019
Many Americans go without legal counsel in civil suits because they can’t pay for it and, they’re increasingly representing themselves — with unequal outcomes. There are efforts to change self-representation rates. Civil Gideon, an organization named after the 1963 Supreme Court case establishing free legal counsel for indigent defendants in criminal cases, is trying to expand the right to certain civil disputes. The American Bar Association backed the effort in 2006, but questions remain about how states would fund it.