Florida

Criminal defense lawyers say police have it wrong in claimed law professor contract-hit case

Lawyers for two suspects in what authorities say was a contract hit on a Florida law professor that may be linked to a bitter divorce are dubious about the merits of the case against their clients. Plus, another criminal defense lawyer well-acquainted with the family of the law professor’s wife…

Jun 6, 2016 1:53 PM CDT

Lawyer exits partnership at 275-attorney firm to take lead role in consumer law practice

After a decade defending institutional clients in lending and debt-collection cases, Florida lawyer George Andrews decided it was time for a change. So he gave up his partnership in 275-attorney Shutts & Bowen and his 21st-floor office. Last month he joined Loan Lawyers and he is now working out of…

Jun 6, 2016 9:25 AM CDT

Federal prosecutors routinely got a look at documents selected by defense for copying, motion says

A copying service routinely gave Miami federal prosecutors CDs containing documents flagged by the defense for trial preparation, according to a May 26 motion filed on behalf of a doctor charged with health-care fraud. The motion says the materials are classic attorney work product, report the Wall Street Journal Law…

Jun 6, 2016 7:25 AM CDT

Man hurt by SWAT team as he tried to cash check can seek another $3.3M award from Bank of America

When Rodolfo Valladares went to a Florida branch of the Bank of America in 2008, he was just trying to cash a $100 check. But after he was mistaken for a robber by a teller, a SWAT team was called, and Valladares was kicked in the head by responding law…

Jun 3, 2016 3:53 PM CDT

With help of new laws, Aloha State says hello to tourists, goodbye to some among homeless population

With a cost of living that is one of the highest in the country, Hawaii has a limited supply of affordable housing. But, due in part to its warm weather, the Aloha state also has a substantial homeless population, comprising more than 7,600 individuals among some 1.4 million residents, according…

Jun 3, 2016 2:32 PM CDT

15 lawyers to exit Miami IP boutique for Cozen O’Connor; 5 more left earlier for another firm

Most of the lawyers at a Miami-based intellectual property boutique will be exiting for Cozen O’Connor later this month. The two name partners of Feldman Gale will be in charge of a new national intellectual property litigation practice group at the Philadelphia-based Cozen firm, which lists more than 600 attorneys…

Jun 2, 2016 4:05 PM CDT

Affidavit links law prof’s slaying to ‘desperate desire’ of ex-wife’s family to win battle over kids

Updated: A probable cause affidavit links the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel at his Tallahassee home to a battle over the relocation of his children following his bitter divorce from another law professor, Wendi Adelson. “Investigators believe motive for this murder stemmed from the desperate desire…

Jun 2, 2016 9:43 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer at first avoided prison in $700K client thefts, but gets time for not paying restitution

Once a top commercial litigator in Miami, Guy Bailey avoided prison after he was convicted in 2014 of stealing $700,000 from his clients. Jailing the disbarred attorney—who was then 76 and physically impaired—would have served no useful purpose, the trial judge said at the time, and Bailey’s six-year probation sentence…

Jun 1, 2016 4:10 PM CDT

Clyde & Co. to acquire 18-lawyer Miami firm, seeks to be top US insurance coverage shop

A London-based international law firm plans to open its sixth U.S. office by acquiring an 18-attorney Miami, Florida, corporate litigation boutique. Clyde & Co. announced the deal with Thornton Davis Fein on Thursday, and expects it to be complete by July 1. “Our ambition in the United States is to…

May 26, 2016 9:35 AM CDT

Man is charged in death of law prof Dan Markel; case is reportedly investigated as murder for hire

Updated: Police in Tallahassee, Florida, have arrested a man with a criminal record in the July 2014 shooting death of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. Police arrested Sigfredo Garcia, 34, on Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and possession of cocaine, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Unidentified sources told…

May 26, 2016 7:01 AM CDT

SPLC sues Florida county for sending immigrant minors to ESL classes instead of high school

The Southern Poverty Law Center has sued a southeastern Florida county, alleging it is violating immigrant minors’ rights by shunting them into adult English courses when they try to register for high school, the Naples Daily News reported. In Fort Myers federal court, the SPLC accused Collier County, Florida, of…

May 20, 2016 3:55 PM CDT

Disbarred securities lawyer gets 30 months, must pay $1.95M to IRS in tax case

A disbarred New York securities lawyer who subsequently moved to Florida has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison and ordered to pay $1.95 million to the Internal Revenue Service in a federal tax-evasion case. Paid in part in stock options for working as outside counsel to a corporation, William…

May 19, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

Lawyer says she’s being targeted by jail staff over client’s cooperation in smuggling probe

A Florida lawyer who says she has been cleared on a false accusation of having jailhouse sex with a Broward client is under fire again. This time, attorney Jessica Mishali is accused of smuggling cellphones to the same jailed client, who she is now representing in a Miami-Dade case. She…

May 16, 2016 4:03 PM CDT

Reprimand and apology sought from judge who emailed public defenders, insulted prosecutor

Appropriate punishment for a rookie South Florida judge who sent an email giving sentencing tips to public defenders is a public reprimand, a judicial ethics watchdog says. Plus, the state Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended Thursday that Broward Circuit Judge John Patrick Contini hand-deliver a written apology to an assistant state…

May 12, 2016 2:45 PM CDT

Judicial candidate may be excluded from ballot because of a 20 cent shortage

A Florida lawyer is trying to get his name on the Miami-Dade judicial ballot despite one impediment: The check written to cover his qualifying fee was 20 cents short. Lawyer Daniel Espinosa says in a letter to the division of elections that he would like to qualify for the ballot…

May 10, 2016 8:53 AM CDT