Florida

Latin Launch for DLA Piper? Firm Mulls Possible Brazil, Miami Offices

Although it already has an active Latin American practice, DLA Piper doesn’t have any offices in South America. That may soon change, predicts the Lawyer, now that the firm has added former McDermott Will & Emery tax partner Stuart Berkson to its attorney roster. With 28 years of experience in…

Jun 10, 2008 5:21 PM CDT

YouTube the Crime, YouTube the Time: Fla. Judge Orders Online Apology

Two cental Florida pranksters who posted a YouTube video of their drink-tossing attack on a fast food drive-through counter worker have been ordered by the judge in their battery and criminal mischief case to film and post an apology for their misconduct. In addition to serving 100 hours of community…

Jun 10, 2008 4:41 PM CDT

South Florida Law Firm’s Website Worries Ethics Experts

A full-time adviser to the Miami-Dade County mayor in South Florida also happens to be a lawyer. And, on the website for Gazitua Letelier, the law firm of which Luis Andre Gazitua, 32, is a founding partner—at least until recently—was a photograph of Gazitua looking into downtown Miami from an…

Jun 9, 2008 4:35 PM CDT

Porn Producer Convicted for Obscenity in Florida

An actor and producer who calls himself Max Hardcore was convicted of obscenity charges yesterday by federal jurors in Tampa, Fla. The producer, whose real name is Paul F. Little, was convicted of distributing obscene material on the Internet and through the mail, report the St. Petersburg Times and the…

Jun 6, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Law Firm Fights Fla. Teen’s 30-Year Sentence for Deadly Driving

William Thornton IV was reportedly driving without a valid license when he skidded through a stop sign on a poorly lit road in Citrus County, Fla., in 2004. Both occupants of the vehicle he hit, who weren’t wearing their seatbelts, were thrown from their SUV and died. But Thornton, who…

Jun 5, 2008 3:23 PM CDT

Lawyer Walks Out of Hearing, Misses 10-Year Disbarment Recommendation

Anti-porn crusader Jack Thompson walked out of his discipline hearing yesterday after the judge refused to let him talk about his objection to the proceedings. The hearing then proceeded as bar counsel Sheila Tuma recommended that Thompson be disbarred for at least 10 years for disciplinary violations, the Daily Business…

Jun 5, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Swayed by Defendant’s Testimony, Jurors Puzzle Lawyers With Verdict

Demetrius Carey was charged as a triggerman, at age 14, in an alleged robbery-gone-bad that resulted in the death of a 56-year-old South Florida woman on her front steps as she was returning from the grocery store. But the now-16-year-old defendant apparently may have saved himself from a potential life…

May 29, 2008 9:12 PM CDT

Mom Hears From AG, Concerned Parents After Class Voted to Expel Her Autistic Son

The Florida Attorney General’s Office has contacted a Florida woman whose misbehaving autistic 5-year-old son was expelled from class last week based on a vote of his classmates. Melissa Barton had said she was considering a lawsuit over the incident in a Port St. Lucie School. She said the teacher…

May 29, 2008 4:47 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Suit Seeking Seating of Democratic Delegates

A federal judge in Tampa has tossed a lawsuit that seeks to force the Democratic Party to seat Florida delegates. Judge Richard Lazzara said the party has the right to make its own rules, CNN reports. The suit by Democratic strategist Victor DiMaio had contended the party’s plan to penalize…

May 29, 2008 2:58 PM CDT

Mom Considers Suit After Class Voted to Expel Her Autistic Son

Updated: A Florida woman is considering a lawsuit after a teacher allowed students to take a vote on whether her misbehaving autistic son should remain in class. Melissa Barton said the teacher made her 5-year-old son, Alex, stand in the front of her classroom after he returned from the principal’s…

May 27, 2008 6:01 PM CDT

Rare Chance to Change Florida Supreme Court: 4 Vacancies Expected

The chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court announced today that he is resigning for family reasons, giving the state’s governor a rare chance to reconfigure it. That’s because Chief Justice Kenneth Bell, 52, is one of four judges on the seven-member court who will be leaving within the next…

May 23, 2008 8:15 PM CDT

Suit Seeks to Force Democrats to Count Florida Delegates

A federal lawsuit filed yesterday claims the Democratic Party is required to count all of Florida’s delegates because of the state’s history of discrimination. The suit notes that Section Five of the Voting Rights Act requires the Justice Department to approve any significant voting change in Florida to make sure…

May 23, 2008 12:35 PM CDT

Fla. Judge’s Dilemma: How to Sentence Teen in Traffic Death?

For the past two weeks, a Florida judge has been thinking about the Ryan Cornett case every day as he drove to work. Although the state highway patrol determined that Cornett, then 17, wasn’t responsible for the death of Duke Gray, 37, in April 2007, the teen was charged with…

May 22, 2008 10:00 PM CDT

Referee Says Outspoken Fla. Lawyer Disparaged Litigants, Lawyers

A referee has scheduled a sanctions hearing against outspoken Florida lawyer Jack Thompson after concluding he disparaged and humiliated litigants and other lawyers. The referee, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dava Tunis, also found that Thompson made false statements to tribunals and improperly practiced law outside the state, the Daily Business Review…

May 21, 2008 11:12 AM CDT

Holland & Knight Lays Off 70 Legal Secretaries

Holland & Knight is laying off 70 legal secretaries, about 5 percent of its support staff. The move comes after a small decline in the firm’s gross revenue last year, the Daily Business Review reports. Firm spokeswoman Susan Bass told the publication the layoffs were a result of a review…

May 21, 2008 10:51 AM CDT