October 7-8 - Back by popular demand - the OCBA's Bench Bar Conference - two days of topical information presented by circuit, county, and federal judges regarding practicing in various courts: bankruptcy, federal, appellate, business, circuit civil, county criminal, circuit criminal, probate, and family law / domestic violence. Early registration deadline: Sept. 20, 2010. See website calendar for details or download conference agenda and registration form. For additional information, please contact Marie Bacazehuatl, Seminar/Events Manager. … [Read more...]

ATLANTA --Travel to Cuba may be further away that recently anticipated. A federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld a Florida law banning money for research and education-based travel to countries allegedly involved in terrorism. Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican, who was instrumental in getting the ruling initially passed in 2006, said the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals judges did the right thing. Rivera is running for Congress. The issue has been thorny for years in that the law has raised questions of states rights and it apparently applies to both private and public funding. A lawsuit filed in 2008 by professors at Florida universities claimed the law unconstitutional. The state of Florida appealed her ruling and the result was the latest federal decision. The law represents a setback to educational initiatives set forth by various Florida universities. … [Read more...]

ST. PETERSBURG -- A St. Petersburg-based attorney has sued online lawyer rating service Avvo for libel over inaccuracies, and claims the company engaged in blackmail to get him to participate in his listing. Attorney Larry Joe Davis Jr. claims Avvo incorrectly listed him as an employment-labor lawyer his area of focus is health law -- and alleges that Avvo engages in unfair acts of trade or commerce. "Avvo has a routine business practice of publishing false and misleading information regarding attorneys, and by doing so attempts to coerce their participation in exchange for improving (making accurate) their Avvo.com listing and rating," the suit says. In an interview with Legal Dustup blogger John Cook, Avvo CEO Mark Britton said theclaims "make no sense." Britton told Cook that Davis is attempting to bully the online attorney rating service. … [Read more...]