By DONNA BALANCIA Dec. 27, 2009 ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- TFLJ Editor Donna Balancia conducted a hurricane season Q & A with Kurt Thalwitzer, construction law specialist at Mateer Harbert Attorneys at Law in Orlando. DB: Do you think there will be backlash from potential buyers who were looking to purchase homes in Florida? KT: People will want to know whether retention ponds and drains were properly designed. What is a proper design? Is it up to code? Those are some of the questions. Defective construction will come out after sustained periods of wind and rain. DB: Is there the possibility that fewer people will buy in Florida because of the potential that hurricanes carry? KT: Yes, but on the good side, you're still in Florida, the economy is pretty vibrant. There may be less purchasing, but the area has been seeing strong growth, and it will continue to grow, … [Read more...]
A Hurricane Season Question and Answer with Kurt Thalwitzer, Mateer Harbert Attorneys at Law
Law Firm 'Rainmakers' In Demand
The first seven months of 2008 were difficult for most law firms. Dan DiPietro, who oversees law firm client relations at Citigroup Inc.'s Citi Private Bank, says that this year will finish up as the worst year for law firms since the 1990s. Most attorneys are notoriously bad at Rainmaking. Many unprofitable law firms have partners, directors, and shareholders (and even individual attorneys) who have fallen into some bad habits when it comes to bringing in new business. So exactly which habits are bad, and how can you avoid them? Here are the seven deadly sins of attorney business development. See how many you recognize: Dont focus on Just One or Two Ways of Attracting New Clients Attorneys are generally looking for a "magic marketing bullet." They want one way to develop a lot of new business. They run an ad and hope that the ad brings in enough new clients to make them … [Read more...]
Legal-Ease By Glen-Peter Ahlers, 'Of Law And Literature'
ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- I have the delightful privilege each fall to teach a class called Law and Literature. My hope, I tell my students the first day, is that they will come to appreciate the role literature plays in shaping well rounded counselors at law. The ability to hear a story, to tell a story, indeed to read a story, is useful in any helping profession, but paramount in a profession whose primary tool is language. Most students are wary at the beginning, and I cant blame them, for the separation of literature and law was proclaimed wellnigh complete one hundred sixteen years ago. The divorce of law and literature seems in these latter days to be wellnigh complete, and one never hears that a professor of literature in our schools of polite learning refers his students to legal literature for examples of elegance or eloquence; yet historically it is probably true that no two … [Read more...]
Florida’s Gaming Biz Rolls the Dice
By DONNA BALANCIA, Staff Writer Dec. 27, 2009 -- PORT CANAVERAL, FLORIDA --Florida's gaming industry is growing up and a new business model is emerging. "Florida's not a Mom and Pop gambling operation any more," said Bob Jarvis, gambling law professor at Nova Southeastern University. "We're obviously turning a corner and that has ramifications for attorneys and tourism representatives across the state." Jarvis said with the Seminoles bringing in the slots and true Las Vegas-style games into the mix, it will draw a different crowd to Florida than in the past. "There are still local operations that depend on locals and snowbirds, but thats going to change," Jarvis said. "We're evolving into a more mature jurisdiction. Going to gamble will not be seen the same ways as local entertainment like going to the bowling alley. Were talking about Atlantic City or Las Vegas-type high … [Read more...]
Searching The Cell Phone, Make Sure There’s Just Cause
OPINION, The Florida Law Journal Dec. 27, 2009 -- ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- The expedience and accessibility technology provides consumers could tempt complications for law enforcement. Take the case of Ariel Quintana, a Lutz man who recently won a victory for cell phone users when a federal judge found that his phone -- and as a result, his home -- had been illegally searched. Attorney Daniel Castillo represented Quintana, who last June had been cruising along I-75 when he was pulled over for speeding. Upon talking with the driver, Florida Highway Patrol Officer John Wilcox allegedly said he smelled raw marijuana and asked the driver to step out of the car. While in the midst of the routine, Quintana's cell phone rang. That prompted another officer to take the phone off Quintana, dial the latest number and also look through the digital photographs stored in the … [Read more...]
