Daily Archives: March 14, 2012

The Florida Bar – Daily News Summary

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An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today’s edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

March 14, 2012

–The Florida Bar–

VITAL FUNDING FOR LEGAL AID– Sarasota Herald-Tribune, column, http://www.heraldtribune.com, March 14, 2012. [Also: LEGAL AID BENEFITS ALL FLORIDIANS-- Tampa Bay Times, letter-to-editor, http://www.tampabay.com, March 14, 2012].
The guest column by Michele Kane Cummings, president of The Florida Bar Foundation, which also ran as a letter-to-editor in the Tampa Bay Times, states: “In the United States, when a suspect is accused of a crime, he or she is guaranteed the right to an attorney. But when someone is the victim of an abusive spouse or landlord, when a foster child needs help navigating the legal system, or when a disabled veteran is improperly denied government benefits, there is no such guarantee of representation. For low-income individuals and families confronting civil legal issues such as these, often there is only legal aid. Even in the best of times, legal aid has historically only been able to meet about 20 percent of the need for civil legal assistance. And these are not the best of times. . . . As it has for the last 10 years, the Florida Legislature has appropriated funding for legal aid again this year; this time $2 million. Clearly, our Legislature recognizes the need for this critical funding for civil legal assistance. We are hopeful that Gov. Rick Scott will recognize the tremendous benefits of this program and will allow it to continue to assist so many of Florida’s low-income families.”

FAMILY LAW SECTION GIVES $75,000 TO SUPPORT CHILDREN’S LEGAL SERVICES– The Florida Bar News, http://www.floridabar.org, March 15, 2012.
The Family Law Section has provided The Florida Bar Foundation with a $75,000 charitable gift to support Children’s Legal Services grants to Florida’s local legal aid organizations. The gift is in response to the impending loss of legal aid attorney positions throughout Florida and the potential impact on the availability of legal services for low-income children, such as foster children and those in need of access to medical, mental health, and special education services. “A core mission of the Family Law Section is to be at the forefront of efforts to protect children’s rights,” said David Manz, chair of the Family Law Section. “We are proud to be able to provide this contribution to the Foundation’s Children’s Legal Services Grant Program as a way to effectuate our mission.”

–Legal Profession–

FIRST COAST LAWYER HONORED FOR PIONEER MORTGAGE FRAUD CASES– The Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com, March 14, 2012.
  ”I’m a death-penalty prosecutor who is fairly conservative who now sues banks for a living.” That’s how James Kowalski Jr. described himself in a nutshell. Kowalski was recently named by The Florida Bar as a winner of one of its 2012 Pro Bono Service Awards. He was recognized from the state’s 7th Judicial Circuit, consisting of Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties. Although his office is in Mandarin, most of Kowalski’s pro bono work is done in St. Johns County with a focus on something he helped pioneer. Now a national issue, mortgage fraud was a rarely used term when Kowalski’s first such client walked into the firm where he began his civil career a few year ago. Kowalski said he and his partner found that the mortgage company had signed documents in New York and then had them notarized in Pennsylvania. That’s when Kowalski said he realized the bank’s words were not the Gospel. Jacksonville maritime lawyer Suzanne Judas was named as winner of The Florida Bar’s Pro Bono Service Award in the 4th Judicial Circuit, made up of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.

CHIPLEY NATIVE RECEIVES AWARD– Chipley Bugle, http://www.chipleybugle.com, March 14, 2012.
The Tallahassee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) selected Dawn Pompey Whitehurst as the 2011 Trial Lawyer of the Year. ABOTA is a national legal organization whose goal includes preserving the right of trial by jury and promoting professionalism and the independence of the judiciary. Whitehurst has been a practicing trial attorney for the last 22 years. Over her career, she has worked as a prosecutor in Tallahassee with the Second Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, an assistant general counsel with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and an assistant city attorney for the City of Tallahassee City. She is currently a plaintiff’s trial attorney with Knowles Randolph, P.A., in Tallahassee.

–Other–

FIU LAW SCHOOL JUMPS IN THE RANKINGS– The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, March 14, 2012.
Florida International University’s young law school continued its steady rise in the U.S. News World Report graduate school rankings — jumping from 132nd to 113th in this year’s rankings, released Tuesday. Though FIU’s No. 113th rank still places the school well behind more-established programs such as the University of Florida (No. 48) and the University of Miami (No. 69), FIU College of Law Dean R. Alexander Acosta praised what he called FIU’s steady string of accomplishments since opening its law school 10 years ago. Those accomplishments include FIU law graduates ranking first in the state in Florida Bar passage last summer.

6 Fashion Faux Pas That Could Blow Your Divorce Hearing

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When it comes to fighting for spousal or child support in a divorce hearing, covering the cost of an attorney is just the beginning. 

Family law and divorce attorney Daniel E. Clement says in his 25-plus years of practice, his clients have never failed to ask, “What do I wear?”

“While a judge in a divorce case is supposed to base his decision on the testimony or evidence presented, your demeanor and your personal appearance may affect the judge’s ultimate decision,” Clement says.

“How you are dressed could very well send messages to the judge which could potentially undermine your legal strategy.” 

Here are six of his biggest fashion faux pas:

1. Ditch your tattered jeans. You’d probably prefer that the judge focuses on your argument rather than your dirt-splattered denim, so opt for business attire or whatever best suits your legal strategy. ” I have a client who wears his work uniform to court because he thinks it subliminally signals to the judge that he is a ‘working man’ and not wealthy,” Clement says.

2. Keep yourself well-groomed. Don’t go nuts with cologne or makeup, but do keep yourself tidy. A judge isn’t likely to grant full custody to a parent who looks like they can barely keep their clothes ironed. “Your clothes should be clean and fit properly,” Clement says. “You have to be comfortable in the clothes with the statement they are making about you.”

3. Skip the designer duds. This sounds like a no-brainer, but Clement had to literally ask one client to undress when he turned up to a child support hearing wearing a tailored suit and a Rolex. “If the gist of your case is you are destitute and need support, don’t come to court dressed in the latest designer fashions with expensive accessories,” he says.

4. Leave your arm candy at home. If you want to look like a jerk, go ahead and bring along your hot new girlfriend or boyfriend for moral support. “Bringing your new ‘friend’ to divorce court just adds insult to injury,” Clement says. “If you need to bring someone to court to provide moral support, bring an extended, adult family member.” 

5. Cover your ink. If you look like any of the regulars on “L.A. Ink,” Clement suggests covering up your tattoos for your hearing. “You  do not want to draw attention to yourself or to look garish or cartoonish. You want to be taken seriously.” 

6. Facial décor. When it comes to piercings, you’ve got to understand your audience. In a divorce hearing, the judge is the only one with the final say. “If you’re trusting a portion of your financial future to someone, wouldn’t you want them to empathize with you or relate to you? Most judges are white collar professionals. You’re not gonna see a judge with a nose ring.”

Here’s what you should wear

Family law attorney Spencer Williams offers this advice for dressing to impress:

For men: A nice button up shirt and slacks will do the trick. Adding a sports coat and/or tie is “optional and nice but not necessary,” Williams advises.  In a pinch, a new and clean pair of dark jeans and a button-up or polo shirt will do.

For women: Stick with reasonable heels. “T hey don’t have to wear flats but watching someone in six inch heels wobble to and from the witness stand or even fall is not pretty,” he says. “Thigh high boots should be left at home. Stockings, if visible, should be traditional.”

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Ex-Haiti official convicted in US for corruption

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MIAMI |
Tue Mar 13, 2012 1:49pm EDT

MIAMI (Reuters) – A former senior telecommunications official in Haiti has been convicted in federal court in Miami for accepting $500,000 in bribes from two U.S. companies that secured lucrative long-distance phone contracts in the impoverished Caribbean nation, authorities said on Tuesday.

A jury unanimously found Jean Rene Duperval guilty on Monday after a week-long trial in a case based on 2001-2005 dealings that involve several former officials who served under former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Duperval, a 45-year-old resident of Miramar, Florida, faces up to 20 years imprisonment when he appears for sentencing on May 21 in the U.S. District Court for southern Florida. An appeal is planned, his lawyers office said.

Duperval, a former director of international relations at Haiti Teleco, Haiti’s state-run telecommunications company, was prosecuted as part of a broader investigation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits U.S.-linked firms from bribing foreign officials.

“Mr. Duperval was convicted by a Miami jury of laundering $500,000 paid to him as part of an elaborate bribery scheme,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.

“Duperval doled out business in exchange for bribes and then used South Florida shell companies to conceal his crimes,” said Breuer.

Duperval was the eighth defendant involved in the corruption scheme to be convicted so far, prosecutors said.

Last year, the former president of Florida-based Terra Telecommunications Corp was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in a scheme to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to officials in Haiti.

Prosecutors said that from November 2001 through March 2005 the company paid more than $890,000 to shell companies to be used as kickbacks to Haitian government officials.

Terra sought to obtain business advantages through the bribes, including preferred telecoms rates, prosecutors said.

U.S. officials have also charged former company executives at a second company, Cinergy Telecommunications Inc.

Haiti Teleco, which was privatized in 2010 and is now controlled by a Vietnamese military-run company Viettel, was the sole provider of land line telephone service in Haiti. Terra held contracts with Teleco that allowed the company’s customers to place calls to Haiti.

Patrick Joseph, the former director general of Haiti Teleco, pleaded guilty to bribery charges last month in U.S. District Court in Miami.

Court documents said Joseph had agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities investigating Terra and Cinergy.

In a high-profile case, still under investigation in Haiti, Joseph’s father Venel Joseph, who served as Haiti’s central bank chief under Aristide, was shot and killed in the Haitian capital last week.

(Reporting By Tom Brown; Editing by Eric Walsh)