Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Court cuts trigger blunt warnings By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer The budget emergency facing state governments has produced an uncommon alliance of advocates — from business leaders to public defenders and chief judges — who, in blunt terms, are urging state lawmakers not to slash funding for the courts. […]
Business leaders feel the sting of court cuts By Jan Pudlow, Senior Editor – February 1, 2009 Startling sound bites fell from the lips of Coral Gables economist Tony Villamil: Civil case delays caused by the court funding crisis are resulting in $17.4 billion lost in Florida economic output each year. And those civil case […]
COURTS, LAWYERS, BUSINESSES ALLY IN FIGHT FOR MORE COURTS MONEY By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA MIAMI, Jan. 16, 2009……..Florida’s top legal professionals are embarking on a lobbying effort to stop lawmakers from cutting money fromthe state’s court system. Slicing the court budget, lawyers and judges said Friday, will affect all Florida residents by […]
Former lawmaker wants on Florida Supreme Court By Chris Rizo | Jun 11, 2008 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Former state lawmaker Dudley Goodlette has said he wants to be named to fill one of four upcoming vacancies on the Florida Supreme Court. Goodlette said he wants fellow Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to know he is interested […]
Florida Supreme Court vacancies give Crist ‘tremendous opportunity’ Chris RizoMay. 27, 2008, 2:00pm TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline)-The Florida Supreme Court could be completely reshaped in the near future, with four of the high court’s justices stepping down in the coming months, legal observers told Legal Newsline. The departures afford Republican Gov. Charlie Crist the […]
Insiders Key to Defeat of Rail Deal Trial lawyers’ lobbying arm wields powerful political force. The Lakeland Ledger – By Joe Follick March 11, 2008 TALLAHASSEE | All you needed to know about who was winning and losing the battle to bring commuter rail to Orlando you could learn from looking at the faces of […]
Changes in law, economy affecting legal business By Jeff Brooks – Correspondent Jan 28, 2008 Updated Jan 23, 2008, 8:16pm EST Legislative reforms and economic conditions have shifted the scales attorneys use to gauge their business in a state affected in recent months by tort reform and a downturn in the real estate market. Tort reforms, including medical […]
Published Monday, December 17, 2007 In 2003, the Florida Legislature overhauled the state’s workers compensation system to control skyrocketing costs and the decreased availability of insurance to pay for injured workers’ medical bills. Since then, workers compensation has become more affordable for Florida businesses, resulting in significant decreases in the cost and availability of workers […]
Targeting the Davids as well as the Goliaths OTHER VIEWS MY WORD – William Large October 15, 2007 We’ve all heard the stories and are all too familiar with the resulting lawsuits: a major restaurant chain is sued for serving scalding hot coffee without a warning; a beverage distributor is sued for flammable alcohol that […]
February 1, 2007 By Gary Blankenship -Senior Editor Florida does not need a “loser pays” law for civil litigation, but overhauling its offer of judgment statute could help reduce unnecessary litigation. The Florida House Committee on Constitution and Civil Law also indicated it may look at the law punishing lawyers for frivolous or unjustified […]