Pricey Perks Risk Miami Attorney’s Job

Law Practice

Posted Dec 3, 2007, 01:38 pm CST
By Martha Neil

A $300,000 office renovation. A $1,500 lunch tab. Expense-paid staff training trips—to Hawaii and Cancun.

No, these aren't the hallmarks of a successful private-practice law office. They're some of the expenses run up by Miami City Attorney Jorge Fernandez, who envisions his municipal law office as a "world-class law firm serving a world-class city"—equipped with two high-definition big-screen plasma television sets, according to the Miami Herald. Fernandez himself costs the city over $240,000 annually before the extras are added.

Although the pricey perks are now being criticized and Fernandez' expense-account spending is being investigated by prosecutors, it isn't clear that he has done anything wrong. "His spending occurred in plain view of city leaders, as his budget is approved by commissioners and his restaurant tabs are approved by Miami's finance director," the newspaper notes. And the big-screen TVs weren't for his personal office, but for conference rooms where they are used by municipal law office groups involved in training sessions and the like.

His counterparts in other cities, however, indicate that they manage to make do with significantly lower expenses, and Fernandez' lavish spending could put his job at risk, the Herald reports.

''I have zero budget for entertaining, nor can I imagine the circumstance under which I would charge my taxpayers for entertainment expenses,'' says Orlando City Attorney Mayanne Downs.

Meanwhile, Miami Beach City Attorney Jose Smith says he ordinarily approves only travel within the state of Florida. ''You can learn a lot locally on issues of municipal law,'' he says.

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Posted by Mike Hunt - 1 year, 1 month, 2 days, 19 hours, 12 minutes ago

Miami’s been a mess for years. Witness Miami Vice. Full of Mariel Boat lift people, too. What do you expect? Who else is running the show? More South Americans down there than in South America. Give me a break!
Posted by samuel - 1 year, 1 month, 2 days, 18 hours, 43 minutes ago

Republico de Banana.

I believe we should be more sensitive to the cultural background of others. Who are we to impose our cultural ethics upon our fellow Americans? Their practices, even if offensive to our sensibilities and ethical mores, are just as valid as anyone else’s.
Posted by Gringo in Charm City - 1 year, 1 month, 2 days, 18 hours, 18 minutes ago

Miami has no different a set of problems than NYC or Chicago used to have several years ago. It is just that the City is about 20 years behind in terms of ethics. A large part of that civic retardation is owing to the fact that many in the government hail from countries with little or no civic ethics and where corruption is a method of survival. Until that runs its course and folks become properly assimilated, this City will still be the third world city that Tancredo declared.
Posted by Jim - 1 year, 1 month, 2 days, 16 hours, 19 minutes ago

Kudos Jorge Fernandez. Perhaps better perks increase the ability of the city’s legal department to recruit more talented attorneys and/or reduce the compensation demanded by attorneys working for the department. It might actually save the city money in salaries and/or higher quality legal work. Given the choice between working in a nice office or a slummy one, I’ll take the nice office any day.
Posted by Naresh - 1 year, 1 month, 2 days, 9 hours, 22 minutes ago

Hey, it’s working for Mr. Fernandez. He’s doing all of this stuff out in the open. The people to criticize are the city supervisors and administrators who approved the spending.

Besides, who are we to judge Mr. Fernandez? If Miami’s citizens are ok with that kind of system, why should we criticize it? It’s a different way of doing business, perhaps distasteful for someone from mainstream anglo culture, but it’s their way. You must remember that Mr. Fernandez isn’t lying or hiding anything. He’s doing all of it out in the open. He’s not a cheater or a liar. Bottom line, it works for Miami. Why are we judging the way they do things?

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