Ethics seminar looks at alternative facts, Bar grievances, and judicial advice
How does a lawyer convince a jury to reach a decision and render a verdict in the age of “alternative facts?”
The annual Masters Seminar on Ethics, sponsored by the Professional Ethics Committee at the Bar’s Annual Convention, will examine that question among other topics. The online CLE is set for 8 a.m. to noon on June 10 and carries 4 hours of general or 4 hours of ethics credit. Registration will begin early in May and information can be found on the Bar’s convention webpage.
Those other subjects will be a look at what kind of grievance trouble lawyers are getting into and how they are being punished and a judicial roundtable discussion on ethics.
Steven Teppler, chair of the PEC seminar subcommittee, said the segment on professionalism in the age “truth decay” grew out of conversations with fellow committee member Scott Fingerhut, who also is an expert in data security and privacy and a law professor at Florida International University College of Law.
“When it comes to evidence, it can be falsified so easily, not just documents but audio and visual recordings,” Teppler said. “It makes it more treacherous for attorneys….
“Then the question is how do you detect it? We have a mountain of alternative facts that can be supported by alternative evidence. It’s rampant. People are taking liberties, they’re doing it because they think they can get away with it or they think everybody else is doing it so it’s OK.”
“When we look around and see this worldwide erosion of the notion of truth and verifiable fact, we have a responsibility within our profession as that can impact our ethical rules,” Fingerhut said.
His presentation will include a history of “truth bending,” the implication of that on ethical rules, and how human brains react to lies.
Fingerhut will also have “a suggestion for what we as a profession need to do to take back truth to help preserve that core of what we do for a living.”
Added Teppler: “It’s likely this will be considered controversial because some people will consider it political in some way, but it’s not. Facts are facts and truth is truth, and that’s our job as lawyers.”
The segment on Bar discipline will include a Bar prosecutor, a lawyer who defends attorneys facing discipline charges, and a PEC member as moderator. They will look at actions that lead to discipline, how the discipline system works, and how lawyers can avoid those problems with the Bar.
The judicial panel will give views from the bench on ethics, including dealing with COVID-19 issues and maintaining access to justice.
Besides Teppler and Fingerhut, others presenting at the seminar include:
- Winter Park attorney Robert Borr of Irvin & Irvin PLLC, who handles personal injury and first party auto insurance claims. He also advises on federal securities compliance, real estate transfers, and other issues.
- Orange County Judge Amy Carter, who was a public defender and did defense and plaintiff civil work before becoming a judge.
- Caroline Johnson, who practices employment law with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and is a former assistant state attorney and assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Civil Litigation Bureau.
- Ninth Circuit Judge Gisela Laurent, who became Orange County’s first elected Hispanic county judge in 2016 and practiced family, civil domestic-violence injunction, and federal and state court criminal defense before joining the bench.
- Bankruptcy Judge Mindy Mora from the Southern District of Florida, who practiced bankruptcy, commercial finance, and securitized real estate finance before joining the bench.
- U.S. Middle District of Florida Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli, who served an assistant U.S. attorney who tried more than 30 federal criminal trials from 2000-09.
- U.S. Southern District of Florida Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who practiced white collar criminal defense in private practice and is a former U.S. assistant attorney and Department of Justice attorney in the Public Integrity Section.
- Patricia Savitz, staff counsel for the Bar’s Lawyer Regulation Department, who is also a former assistant public defender and attorney for the Department of Children and Families.
- Donald Smith of Smith, Tozian, Daniel & Davis, PA, who represents lawyers in the grievance process and is a former Bar assistant staff counsel.
- Ninth Circuit Judge Kevin Weiss, who after working for another firm formed his own law office doing first party insurance claims, personal injury, family law, corporate and business law, collections, and appeals.
