Florida

A Holland & Knight First: Black, Female Leader

Kelly-Ann Cartwright is something of a trailblazer. She has been named executive partner of Holland & Knight in Miami, the first black woman to lead one of the firm’s offices and the only black woman to lead a large law firm in South Florida, the Daily Business Review reports. Cartwright…

Sep 21, 2007 1:59 PM CDT

Pain-Patient Pardon Ends 25-Year Term

The wife of a disabled Florida man serving a 25-year sentence for trafficking in drugs–the medication he needs to suppress his pain–was stunned yesterday when the state pardoned him at a scheduled hearing on his request for a sentence commutation. Richard Paey, 48, who suffers from chronic fiery pain in…

Sep 20, 2007 6:43 PM CDT

Prosecutor Charged in Sex Sting Tries Suicide

A federal prosecutor arrested in a child sex sting tried to hang himself in jail early today. John David Roy Atchison was accused of flying to the Detroit area to have sex with a 5-year-old girl. His suicide attempt comes one day after he assured a judge he would not…

Sep 20, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

Reprieve for Star Florida Student in Deportation Case

A special bill is being pursued in the U.S. Senate to help a star Miami area student facing deportation with his family as illegal immigrants. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) filed a bill Monday to help Juan Gomez, a popular high school football player and star student who is now attending…

Sep 19, 2007 3:46 PM CDT

PI Lawyer Plea: $1.3 M, Up to 15 Years, in $13 M Fraud Case

A federal judge has approved a plea deal that calls for a once-prominent Miami personal injury lawyer to serve up to 15 years in prison. Louis Robles, who has been disbarred, must also repay former clients $1.3 million of the more than $13 million he defrauded them of in asbestos…

Sep 18, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

U.S. Prosecutor Arrested in Child Sex Sting

A federal prosecutor has been arrested on suspicion of flying to metropolitan Detroit with the intention of having sex with a 5-year-old girl. John David Roy Atchison was arrested in an undercover Internet sex sting, the Detroit Free Press reports. Police told the newspaper he flew with a Dora the…

Sep 18, 2007 1:26 PM CDT

Janet Reno, Music Mogul

The woman who became famous as the first female attorney general of the United States is now making a mark in an entirely different line of work: music production. Janet Reno, 69, has put together a three-CD package, Song of America, that provides a musical history of the country, and…

Sep 17, 2007 4:49 PM CDT

Trial of Miami PI Lawyer Gets Under Way

Attorneys for a Miami mass-torts lawyer going on trial for stealing client money want to question potential jurors about their views on personal injury lawyers. Jury selection in the trial of asbestos lawyer Louis Robles gets under way tomorrow, the Daily Business Review reports. Robles was willing to accept a…

Sep 17, 2007 1:00 PM CDT

Armed Cop Assailant Killed

Updated: After a massive hunt, police shot and killed a man suspected of killing one Miami-Dade cop and wounding three others with a high-powered rifle. Shawn Sherwin LaBeet was armed and wearing body armor when police surrounded him at a pool in a Miami condo complex and shot him dead,…

Sep 14, 2007 10:35 AM CDT

Law Profs Back Embattled Ave Maria Faculty

Updated: A continuing faculty controversy at Ave Maria School of Law that has become focused, in part, on a planned campus move from Michigan to Florida is heating up. Faculty say they have been treated outrageously by the current administration, and Christian legal academics are rallying in their support. In…

Sep 13, 2007 7:05 PM CDT

Grandma, 85, Chases and Helps Catch Alleged Thief

A purse-snatcher picked the wrong victim when he allegedly stole Marta Suarez’ handbag yesterday in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. The 85-year-old victim, a former Cuban track star in the 1930s, took off after Ivan Lavar Edwards, 29, and was reportedly gaining on him as she chased him into…

Sep 13, 2007 3:21 PM CDT

ABA Accreditation Issue for Ave Maria

Updated: An effort to establish a new law school with a religious mission has been threatened by real estate issues and a faculty revolt. However, the dean of Ave Maria School of Law says faculty concerns are overblown, and he is confident that the Catholic institution will soon be doing…

Sep 12, 2007 11:57 PM CDT

Lender Battles Could Cost Homeowners

As if struggling homeowners didn’t already have enough to worry about, insolvent lenders could saddle some with unexpected bills. In a bankruptcy court battle in Delaware between American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. and Freddie Mac, for instance, the U.S.-chartered housing financier says it has seized some $7 million in mortgage…

Sep 12, 2007 10:12 PM CDT

Judge’s Death Leads to Courthouse Mold Fears

A mold problem in a Miami federal courthouse has spurred studies and warnings from the chief judge, who told clerks they should use masks and gloves when handling documents that may be coated with the stuff. Concerns increased after Magistrate Judge Ted Klein died of a respiratory illness last year…

Sep 12, 2007 11:16 AM CDT

Starting at $40K, FL Jobs a Stepping-Stone

Young attorneys working as assistant prosecutors and public defenders in South Florida make only about $40,000 annually when they first start work. So, within five years, most have moved on to other jobs. In Broward and Miami-Dade counties, roughly 20 percent a year depart for greener work assignments elsewhere, and…

Sep 11, 2007 7:01 PM CDT