Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Below, Michelle Anthony-Desir describes the island’s unique draws and the regulations that should be considered for foreign buyers.
The property market on the island is currently more active than it has been for some years for a combination of reasons:
Saint Lucia has been and continues to be an attractive destination for second homeowners and property developers. Not only is it an English-speaking island, but it also enjoys good airlift from major hubs throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Of course, the island’s rich cultural heritage and the welcoming and friendly personality of its people are a major draw to the island, coupled with its natural beauty and topography.
A number of persons who have the flexibility to work from home now realise that “home’ in many cases could be the Caribbean.
The real estate offerings on the island are varied from unbuilt lots to standalone homes, villas and condominiums. Depending on individual taste, lifestyle and budget, there are suitable options for everyone.
First-time buyers are often caught up in the excitement of owning property. It is not uncommon for deposits to be paid without a written agreement or proper title searches being made, or for agreements which have not been appropriately vetted to be signed. In addition, appropriate inspections of buildings may not be carried out prior to completion of purchases or boundaries clearly demarcated and identified. It also goes without saying that the source of funding for any purchase must be confirmed before the acquisition process advances too far.
Whether a buyer has found a property on their own or through a realtor, it is imperative that he or she is armed with an experienced and reliable real estate attorney who will assist them with legal contracts and title searches and will advise on deposits and best practices on the island. It may also be necessary to have a licensed valuer and quantity surveyor on the team.
Foreign buyers should be aware that – save for one or two exceptions – they will be required to obtain an Aliens Landholding Licence to purchase property on the island.
Growing up I had visions of being an archaeologist and having amazing adventures. I quickly realised that the scope for such a career was limited in the Caribbean. While I had had the experience of being educated outside of the Caribbean in my earlier years, what I did know was that I wanted to live and work in my home country. Ultimately, my journey into law was influenced by my desire for a career that would allow me the freedom to chart my own path as well as to provide various avenues for the practice of law.
Athena Law was conceived on the idea that there had to be a better way to engage in the practice of law and to create and appreciate a different life experience. For me, Athena Law is part of my own personal journey to finding balance and focusing on aspects of the law that I really enjoy.
There are so many things I would like to do, but realistically speaking, time may not work in my favour. I would not describe it as a career goal, but the one thing I would love to do is to develop a podcast. I am working on a few concepts and ideally, I would want to launch it within the next twelve months.
Michelle Anthony-Desir, Founder
Address: 6 Brazil Street, Castries, Saint Lucia
Telephone: +1 758 452 5111
Email: mdesir@athenalawslu.com
Michelle Anthony-Desir
October marks the 25th anniversary of my call to the Bar in Saint Lucia. I am a fully trained West Indian attorney and I have practiced in Saint Lucia from the date of my call in 1996. My practice focuses on conveyancing, commercial and investment law and legacy planning.
At Athena Law our desire is to simplify complex legal journeys to make them more client-friendly and to create more efficient work flows and processes. The aim is that, through this type of collaboration, clients will feel more empowered to make decisions with clarity throughout the course of a legal matter.
Johansson sued Disney in July, accusing the company of breaching her contract by offering the film on its subscription streaming service Disney+ when the film was still playing in cinemas.
Johansson’s complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, argued that the dual-release of Black Widow had reduced her compensation which the actress said was to be based in part on box office revenue from an exclusive run in cinemas.
However, at the time, Disney countered that there was “no merit” to Johansson’s claims and asserted that it had complied with the terms of her contract. Disney also said that Johansson’s lawsuit showed “callous disregard” for audience safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement released on Thursday, Alan Bergman, content chairman for Disney Studios, said, "I'm very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow.”
Bergman went on to say that Disney was looking forward to working with Johansson on a number of upcoming projects, including plans for her to produce and star in a film based on Disney’s Tower of Terror theme park rides.
Johansson also said she was happy to have resolved her differences with Disney and was looking forward to future collaborations. "I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team,” her statement said.
Below, Kelly D Feig outlines the purpose of the Marchman Act and the aid it can provide to families.
The Marchman Act is a civil – not criminal – procedure. It is a Florida statute that enables families or friends to petition the court for mandatory assessment and treatment for someone who is abusing drugs or alcohol and has lost the ability to appreciate that they have a problem. The proceedings are confidential and are usually conducted as part of the mental health division of the court. I can help people residing outside of Florida as long as they are within the borders of the state when they are served.
The Marchman Act is primarily for chemical dependency and substance abuse. It is used for involuntary assessment and treatment with initial assessment order for up to five days and successive treatment orders of up to 90 days. This is different than the 72-hour hold many states have implemented primarily for mental illness when someone appears to be a danger to themselves or others.
Attorneys should be aware that this is a two-step process. The Marchman Act process begins by filing a Petition and Request for Assessment and Stabilisation (Detox) and/or Treatment. Once the court has reviewed this petition, either through an ex parte process (no hearing required) or an actual hearing before the court, a court order may be entered. The respondent may be court-ordered to immediately go to a facility that has been pre-determined for completion of the assessment/stabilisation/detox or be picked up by law enforcement and delivered by them to the nearest facility as ordered by the court for the assessment/stabilisation/detox. Following this, the treatment providers will render their assessment and make a recommendation for treatment to the court.
The Marchman Act is a civil – not criminal – procedure.
The client must understand that the attorney and the court officials cannot dictate the level of care and have no influence on the level or type of treatment the respondent will receive. The trained professionals base their treatment recommendation and the level of care based on the respondent’s needs. Typically, treatment is outpatient treatment, day-treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and/or residential treatment. It is the obligation of the client and the client’s attorney to enforce the order of the court upon the respondent.
The next step in the Marchman Act process is the filing of a Treatment Petition by the lawyer if one has not previously been filed and is warranted. Some counties in Florida require the assessment facility to file the second petition, so the lawyer should review the local rules in each county before filing. The court will review this petition and the treatment recommendation by the clinician to decide whether to order the respondent to comply with this recommendation. If the court orders treatment, the order will be in place for a minimum period of 90 days. Substance abuse treatment is either paid for privately (cash) or through pre-existing personal insurance plans. If neither the respondent nor the client has the ability to pay for treatment, the only treatment alternative is typically the use of a county or government-funded indigent program.
If a treatment order has been entered and the respondent is non-compliant in any way, the attorney should file a Rule to Show Cause with the court and bring the respondent before the judge for violating the court order and seek sanctions. Generally, if this occurs, the judge will have a hearing, and if proven, give the respondent one more opportunity to return to treatment and comply with the court order to avoid incarceration. Should the respondent yet again fail to comply with the court order they will be found in civil contempt and possibly incarcerated until they are ready to return to treatment.
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It is important to note that serving time for contempt does not invalidate the existence or duration of the original order for treatment. The respondent must continue treatment pursuant to the original order subsequent to being released from custody.
The client must further understand that, although the respondent is recommended at one particular level of care during the assessment, the clinicians may increase or decrease the level of care at any time. Often, a respondent, based on their participation (or lack thereof), may start at one level of care, but subsequently need a higher or lower level of care based upon their participation in the treatment process. This is not uncommon and should be expected. Prior to the end of the 90-day treatment period, should the respondent still meet Marchman Act criteria, based on a medical professional’s recommendation, an extension can be filed for up to an additional 90 days.
It is important that attorneys (or individuals petitioning) be aware of the deadlines for filing so that the court does not lose jurisdiction. Once jurisdiction is lost, the process must start from the beginning. One way to avoid this pitfall is review the statute and the local rules. Another action attorneys can take is setting a status conference every two-weeks (even if the respondent enters treatment voluntarily and there is no order) so the court maintains its jurisdiction.
It is curious. When I mention the Marchman Act to other attorneys, many have no idea what I am talking about and are surprised. I think that addiction is stigmatised as a sign of weakness, but this could not be further from the truth. The majority of those that overdose are regular people that were prescribed a very addicting medication. I began my journey into this area of the law out of necessity – I have a family member that suffers from addiction. As a family we tried everything from religion to geographical cures to equine therapy. At no point did anyone advise us about the Marchman Act. Even when I would call a treatment centre and express my desire to send my loved one and explained his unwillingness, no one suggested I had an option through the courts. Even after I became aware of the Marchman Act as an attorney, I feared exposing my loved one to the court system. Out of desperation and a very real fear of losing him, I finally filed my first petition.
When I mention the Marchman Act to other attorneys, many have no idea what I am talking about.
The statute has been a Godsend. While it is not a magic bullet, every day that a person is clean and sober is an opportunity for them to heal – and I believe everyone has the ability to heal.
Florida has personal jurisdiction over anyone within the borders of the state. The beauty of this act is that as long as someone steps foot in the State of Florida we can attempt to obtain jurisdiction for the purposes of getting them help through the Marchman Act. I suggest that anyone anywhere that fears their loved one has lost control over drugs and alcohol reach out to our firm to discuss their options and whether the Marchman Act is the answer for their family.
Kelly D Feig, Founder
The Law Office of Kelly D Feig, PA
Address: 2410 NE 10th Street, Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009
Telephone: (305) 979-2488
Email: kelly@kdflegal.com
Kelly D Feig
My name is Kelly Daniela Feig and I am a solo practitioner working in South Florida. I graduated from the University of Miami School of Law with honours in 2007 and have transitioned my practice to focus in the areas of probate (administration and litigation), guardianship, and mental health (specifically Marchman Acts). I do not regret leaving the big firms as my practice allows me to give zealous but personal and compassionate representation to my clients without worrying about billable hour requirements and firm politics. While the probate area of my practice deals with lives lost, the Marchman Act area of my practice affords me a role in saving lives; every day I get to help families and friends save the life of someone they care for and love and that is priceless.
Below, we hear insight from Steve Brooks on the causes of this surge in truck and other vehicular accidents in the Sunshine State. He also offers his advice for how victims of truck accidents should act immediately following the incident.
Yes, there has. Here in Florida, we saw a record number of traffic fatalities in 2019, according to the most recent data available. Even last year with decreased driving due to the pandemic, traffic deaths increased by 8% year over year.
Truck accident statistics are even more unsettling. The number of large trucks involved in fatal accidents recently increased over 4% in just one year’s time. Fatalities of those in crashes involving large trucks are up 36% from 2010, and injuries are up 96%.
Central Florida is intersected by I-4, which runs from Orlando to Tampa, and the incredibly busy I-75 runs from north to south. Both Highway 27 and Highway 41 crisscross through Central Florida as well. I consider this to be the centre of the state. That’s why Central Florida is nicknamed the “Heartland.”
Due to being in the middle of the state, Central Florida is a natural centre for warehousing, trucking and logistics. The Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center was recently developed near Winter Haven due to its geographic location. This is driving additional warehousing and logistic centres as the main “inland” port in the state. This development has been a boon for the local economy — but with the good comes the bad.
The highways that intersect Central Florida have the same number of lanes as they did seven or eight years ago. These same roads now must support the dramatic growth in truck traffic that comes with the increase in warehousing and logistics centres, on top of general population growth.
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This growth in truck traffic has also affected not only our highways, but our cities as well. People are moving to Central Florida in droves. In fact, the Winter Haven/Lakeland metro area is the second-fastest growing area in the country. Some of this is related to COVID-19 relocations, but a lot of it is related to job opportunities in the warehousing and logistics space, along with the construction industry.
This puts pressure on county and city infrastructure, so they, in turn, need to engage in substantial capital projects to keep up. It is simple math. An expanding workforce, coupled with heavy incoming population migration from other states, combined with significantly increased truck traffic travelling the same roads and highways equals more crashes.
During the initial breakout of COVID-19 in 2020, we saw a downturn in crashes because there were simply not many people driving. As we reopened in 2021, we have seen an increased number of crashes. This is due to multiple factors including huge migrations of people from the northeast and west, the rapidly growing logistics and warehousing industry, and post-pandemic reopening.
The highways that intersect Central Florida have the same number of lanes as they did seven or eight years ago.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), just ten states account for half of all fatal US truck crashes. Florida is one of those states, and it is why we are seeing twice the normal number of truck crash victims walking through our doors this year. While truck accidents are fewer, the effects can be even more detrimental than a car crash.
The scary thing about truck accidents is a simple matter of physics. When you crash an 80,000-pound semi-truck into a 4,000-pound car, the injuries will be more severe than an identical collision between two cars. This is especially concerning when you note that the truck driver is the least likely to die or be injured in a crash. Most of those who die in truck accidents are drivers of other vehicles.
I am not aware of any recent legislative actions, but I do know the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is studying this problem. There was an FDOT study published in 2019 titled “Large Truck Crash for Freight Mobility and Safety Enhancement in Florida.” This study covered a period between 2007 and 2016 and revealed there were 243,017 large truck crashes in Florida during the study period.
There were interesting findings from this study:
The study identified 7 high crash density locations. The highest density location was in Ft. Myers, followed by Bradenton, Lakeland, Sarasota, Naples and Auburndale. Several roads and intersections in Polk County combined to take the 7th spot. We help victims from all of these areas, so we have seen how this data becomes personal and affects their lives.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), just ten states account for half of all fatal US truck crashes.
There is an old saying in business: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Now that the state has some credible and revealing data, hopefully the legislature will fund the necessary infrastructure to relieve congestion and provide a safer platform to navigate our new warehouse and logistics economy here in Central Florida.
The country as a whole is gradually evolving away from in-person shopping and towards eCommerce. Amazon and other retailers have built huge logistics warehouses across the country to service our changing consumer appetite.
I believe some states in the south are seeing an even higher degree of this type of activity. Florida in particular has seen huge population migration in the last few years. Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are experiencing the same growing pains, to some extent. These states’ populations have exploded, primarily due to migration from northeast and western states. Many companies are relocating to these states because they have low to no income taxes and are generally non-union states. COVID-19 also accelerated the trend to relocate to warmer, low-tax southern states. Accompanying more population and more corporations will be increased truck traffic.
First, check yourself for injuries and call for medical attention if needed. Truck accidents often lead to severe injuries, so you will want to get taken care of as soon as possible. You also need to call the police to come out and write an accident report.
The country as a whole is gradually evolving away from in-person shopping and towards eCommerce.
While you wait for them to arrive, take photos of the accident scene, the vehicles, your injuries, and anything else that could be helpful in determining what happened. Get the information of others involved in the crash and write down contact information from witnesses. Contact your insurance company to report the accident, but do not give any recorded statements until you speak with an attorney, as these can be used against you.
Finally, contact a truck accident attorney as soon as you can. If they are on your case from the onset, they can get records, truck black box data, and evidence before anyone has a chance to destroy it. This can be critical in the fight to get you all the compensation you deserve.
Stephen K Brooks, Managing Partner
Address: 2002 5th Avenue, Unit 101, Tampa, FL 33605
Telephone: 1-800-LAW-3030
Email: steve@brookslawgroup.com
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Steve Brooks
I am the managing partner of Brooks Law Group in Tampa and Winter Haven, FL. For nearly 30 years, our practice has been devoted to “people problems” – personal injury, wrongful death, and Social Security Disability. I am a people-first lawyer dedicated to helping people get the legal representation they deserve.
Like any other business, you're going to need a law firm website to promote your law office online. It's the starting point for many companies, especially if you're new to the game. Without an online presence, it will be difficult for potential clients to get in touch with your law office or even learn about what services you can provide them. And once they do that research and find out how awesome you are, then all of a sudden there's no way for them to contact you.
Ensure that whatever law firm website template design is chosen by the company has a simple focus on sleekness and minimalism rather than being over-decorated or using unnecessary colours. Premium law firm web design agencies would say, you need to create a website that will accurately reflect your professionalism and your practice. This means that you create a transparent and easy-to-read page that has all the necessary information about you and your firm, and that always works fine without any hiccups.
Here's a list of things a good law firm website has to have:
Social media is a must-have tool for law firms. It’s necessary for law firm businesses to promote themselves today more than ever before, and social media is an excellent way of doing business online. With it becoming such a popular platform on the Internet, using it as part of your law firm promotions will allow you to reach out to potential clients who are looking for legal help.
You must be active and interact with your followers and potential clients. You must also ensure that you reply to any comments or questions on the platform you post something within a timely manner, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Google+, Pinterest, or one of the other platforms available. If possible try having some fun with this by running contests and giveaways for law firms online prizes through them as well. Just make sure to follow all guidelines laid out by each specific site when doing so.
You can start promoting your law firm business today if you have an account set up on these popular sites: Facebook (by far most popular), Google+, YouTube (if videos are part of your marketing campaign), Instagram (great photo-sharing app for law firms) and Linked In (for law professionals). You can also promote your law practice by tweeting on Twitter, pinning photos and updates to Pinterest, sharing videos on Vine and YouTube, and subscribing to other accounts.
Email marketing has become a popular way to promote a business online. It is a great tool for promoting and reaching out to potential clients. With this type of program, law firms can build up an effective client list made up of loyal customers who have opted in through the proper channels so as not to violate any regulations with respect to spamming or being unsolicited emails.
This kind of targeted email campaign allows a law firm business owner who knows his or her audience well enough from having surveyed them beforehand will be able to target very specific markets based on demographics such as age, location, gender etcetera. They will also know what they are interested in due to being already familiar with your company and more than likely they will be more than happy to receive email updates on your law firm’s current promotions or new law-related services offered.
It's more likely for people to watch a video than reading through long blog posts. People are drawn to videos because it is more engaging than just reading text on a screen. It's good for law firms to utilise video marketing in order to effectively promote their business online. The best way would be having an explainer video, which can help people understand what your law firm does and why you do it. It's a great way for law firms to promote themselves and their business online.
You should have an active blog as part of your law firm's online presence. It is important to create one and post valuable content on it. The best law firms try to make their blogs as relevant and timely as possible because this will increase the likelihood that people will visit it, share its contents, and ultimately lead them back to the law firm website for more information.
A blog can also help you establish yourself as an authority in your field by sharing knowledge about legal issues with others who may not be familiar with everything that goes into practising law or working at a law firm. Your expertise could attract new clients looking for personalised service from someone they feel understands where they are coming from based on what you have shared through your blog posts on topics such as how much work law firms are doing these days, law firm marketing tips, how to succeed as a lawyer at any law firm, etc.
SEO is the staple of online marketing. It is the process of maximising the number of visitors to a particular website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in organic (non-paid) search results from major search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Search engine optimisation has been proven to be one law firm marketing strategy that yields higher returns on investment compared to other forms of law firm marketing.
No business can succeed without an online presence and your first step towards success is creating the perfect website for your law firm. Make sure you have lots of social media accounts where you're active as well as a blog that utilises SEO techniques. Email marketing for targeted audiences and video creation is the way of the future so embrace it as quickly as you can. With these tips, you'll have an avalanche of clients coming your way.
Björn Frommer, at FROMMER LEGAL, combines the two in this discussion of legal tech and his modular cloud platform, JUNE.
The number of mass actions is increasing sharply – not just in Germany, but also throughout Europe. Yet most law firms are unable to cope with these complex challenges using their current digital tools.
This is due, on the one hand, to the fact that many legal tools are tailored to individual rather than mass proceedings, especially the typical legal software. And on the other hand, there are now numerous specific tools that can help with a wide range of issues. However, these do not usually work hand in hand. On the contrary, interface problems often arise and identical work steps have to be repeated multiple times in different environments, in addition to other issues.
You cannot afford to go through all that in mass proceedings. After all, a four-digit number of claims alone require tens of thousands of steps, and therefore thousands and thousands of precisely produced individual documents.
For law firms and legal departments, this represents a massive drain on human resources and, most importantly, time. The logical consequence of this is that, in addition to a lack of business efficiency, there is also an enormous cost pressure. Competitiveness is lost if one does not simplify and bundle operational processes in mass proceedings in an intelligent way.
What sounds obvious and simple is, however, a difficult problem to solve in legal implementation, especially if you have not already been able to gather a "mass" of experience ahead of time in order to translate it technologically.
Therefore, for me, the term "legal tech" has a deeper meaning than it appears to have in general legal jargon. I do not see legal tech as the mere digital handling of legal files. Legal tech has to be much more, namely intelligent and, most importantly, economical.
I do not see legal tech as the mere digital handling of legal files.
Yes, but it is easier said than done. We launched the modular cloud platform "JUNE" in 2020. It allows tens of thousands of legal processes to be handled comprehensively and efficiently. However, an intelligent platform like JUNE is not just created on the drawing board. We are, of course, also building on a wealth of experience that we have gained over many mass litigation projects.
At FROMMER LEGAL, we have specialised in precisely that – the management of large-scale legal projects. Here we have always relied on specific technologies. JUNE was nevertheless the start of something entirely new.
We translated all the wishes and visions from our almost 20 years of legal practice into reality. JUNE is thus based on our own experience and provides us with the best tool currently available for handling mass proceedings. I would say that we have been successful.
Today I am sure of one thing: you have to have walked a rocky path (sometimes even a wrong one) yourself to reach your goal. Shortcuts do not work in such complex projects, because otherwise the software would lack the crucial proximity to reality.
Every company that relies on software to deliver its services has the same problem: users lack the technical know-how, while IT service providers usually lack the specialist knowledge requirement that users are confronted with.
Finally, we lawyers lack the time and patience to take on this challenge. And by that, I do not mean programming the software ourselves, but rather dealing in depth with the countless possibilities, testing them, investigating them, acquiring them, on-boarding them, learning them, etc. The solution here is actually rather simple: we need IT specialists for the law firm's IT.
That is no longer questioned. Specialists are also necessary for the technological content. These could be either external legal tech consultants or internal staff units. Legal engineers, i.e. those who translate legal needs into technological requirement profiles, also bring the requisite knowledge. So, what has to be done? Law firms have to create new positions. It is that simple.
And to avoid any misunderstanding: lawyers do not have to become programmers. The technical implementation should and can be done by others. That we did it was in our case logical and consistent.
Law firms have to create new positions. It is that simple.
JUNE is not just a fusion of recycled programmes. At FROMMER LEGAL we have been writing our own programmes for decades, but for JUNE we pooled all our ideas and wishes and we started the whole development process from scratch on a completely clean slate.
The important thing here was that we did not just develop for ourselves, but for the market. That makes a big difference in terms of software architecture. Our previous law firm systems were obviously strongly tailored to our needs and built to be rather monolithic.
JUNE, on the other hand, is designed to meet a wide variety of needs and, above all, is modular. JUNE can be expanded. JUNE grows continuously. JUNE even allows the integration of third-party tools. We are therefore catering to the current trend of cloud-based technology – not static old-school software, but rather a dynamic linking of diverse applications under one roof.
For us, JUNE is the digital tool par excellence for handling mass proceedings and other large projects in law firms, legal departments or public authorities. Mass proceedings and litigation are on the rise, but, as I mentioned at the beginning, they generate an enormous amount of time and effort - and often only for a modest fee.
Not quite, but almost. JUNE is absolutely data-driven and thus takes over essential work steps, from digitisation and data capture to file management, deadline management and automated document creation.
The decisive factor here is the completely different way of dealing with the vast amounts of correspondence: the platform and its users do not work directly with this bulk, but with structured data, which is surprisingly easy. This is because every piece of correspondence is converted into essential core information and then into data. This, in turn, allows work steps to be automated and project-specific workflows to be established and maintains an overview of the overall project.
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Another new feature is that clients can access the platform directly and therefore benefit from complete transparency – a wish that comes up more and more often in large-scale projects. And because key figures mean everything in mass proceedings, reports are generated in real time.
Since we are also receiving enquiries from other countries, JUNE now has to become multilingual. This is an item on our roadmap.
Yes, absolutely. The word about the operational advantages of JUNE has now spread outside the legal sector. Insurance companies and public authorities are becoming interested in accessing the system. Recurring processes are not an exclusive legal phenomenon. Here, you need only provide precise information on the operational process during onboarding; the logic behind it remains the same.
No, I do not think so. A machine will not be able to take over the specific way we lawyers think in the foreseeable future. In any case, we should not try to remove the link between human and legal expertise.
A machine will not be able to take over the specific way we lawyers think in the foreseeable future.
Where ethical principles do not play a direct role, the machine must help to simply facilitate and accelerate work steps. It serves to ease the workload, but should certainly never be given a final decision on complex legal issues. The legal expertise will always remain with the lawyer, and that is a good thing.
Björn Frommer, CEO
Address: Goethestraße 49a, 80336 München, Germany
Telephone: +49 89 6931354
Björn Frommer is a lawyer and managing partner of FROMMER LEGAL and the CEO of JUNE GmbH. Developed using FROMMER LEGAL's expertise, JUNE is a modular cloud platform that supports law firms and legal departments in defending mass claims.
Julie Katz, a highly experienced intellectual property litigator, remarks on how she has witnessed this shift in attorney attitudes first-hand and offers her insights as to how and why it should be reversed.
I have observed and experienced a high level of incivility first hand in IP litigation, and I can only say that it makes an attorney’s job more difficult than it already is. We are engaged to advocate for our clients, which may require advocating zealously. What some attorneys seem to forget is that it is our client’s legal position for which we are fighting. When it gets personal, involving attacks that go beyond energetic representation, it does not advance the case for either party.
In fact, the entire tone of legal prose may be changing. Even emails or letters representing your views or those of your client have taken on increasing levels of edginess. Rather than taking issue with a position that opposing parties have staked out, many lawyers act as if the attorney on the other side is the target, attacking the advocate as “you” rather than parrying the position or the legal point of view.
When it gets personal, involving attacks that go beyond energetic representation, it does not advance the case for either party.
It has had an effect on several levels. Uncivil conduct by attorneys during litigation increases the cost of the litigation. When there is overt hostility between counsel, negotiation tends to bog down and resolution becomes more difficult and time-consuming. Time may have to be taken solely to address the incivility in a case, further increasing the overall cost for a client, particularly if they are being charged by the hour.
On another level, an attorney who brings overtly aggressive behaviour to the court may cast a dim light on their own client, causing them to be seen less favourably. This can also jeopardise the credibility of the witnesses for that party. In my opinion, it is not a risk worth taking. A client may want me to take an aggressive line in a case, and that may be warranted, but personal attacks and ill manners in court not only go beyond zealous advocacy, but will likely be remembered by the presiding judge.
The legal market is more competitive now, and attorneys who are naturally prone to win at any cost are perhaps feeling even greater pressure. Proper mentoring and training of young lawyers can sometimes take a backseat to the push for billable hour commitments. If you combine a lack of training with increased pressure, stress grows exponentially – and attorneys are not exactly known for dealing well with stress. So the profession as a whole suffers along with the art of being an attorney. Well-trained lawyers who normally pass on their skills to the next generation seem to be, unfortunately, falling by the wayside.
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Taking care of yourself mentally and emotionally is important. Mentorship is key. Training programs within law firms, within bar associations, and within other legal organisations can only improve civility in the IP profession. There is no better example of this than the America Inns of Court. Their mission is to inspire the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education and mentoring. If more attorneys participated in a meaningful way at this level, I believe that the entire profession – and by extension, our clients’ interests – would benefit. And maybe even help create a kinder world.
Julie A Katz, Founder
Address: 1711 N Hermitage Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60622
Telephone: (312) 857-3101
Email: julie@katzgroupllc.com
Julie Katz has over 30 years of experience in the intellectual property arena, working closely with clients on both litigation and prosecution across numerous technologies, industries and consumer markets. Her practice is focused on aligning her clients’ intellectual property portfolio with their overall business strategy by identifying, protecting and maximising their IP rights. With a deep understanding of IP law and enforcement strategies, a client-centred service philosophy and a history of successful litigation outcomes on high-profile infringement cases, Julie has earned the tactical and nuanced insight that allows her to rigorously protect her clients’ business interests.
This month we have the pleasure of speaking with two attorneys who have managed both. Melanie Damian and Tom Culmo of Damian & Valori LLP | Culmo Trial Attorneys speak with us on how their firms came to collaborate, the challenges they faced along the way, and the advice they have to give other lawyers who are considering joining their firms.
Damian & Valori LLP, a business litigation law firm, and Culmo Trial Attorneys, a plaintiff's personal injury law firm, joined forces to help victims of financial wrongdoing and those who have been victimised by the wrongful acts of others, leading to serious injury or death. The goal of the collaboration is to leverage Tom’s trial advocacy skills on the complex business cases and expand the services we can provide to our clients and referral sources. For example, Melanie’s sophisticated understanding of corporate management, finances and the internal workings of businesses from the Receivership practice provides a resource for Tom in his dealings with private corporations and potential fraud cases. At the same time, Tom’s thorough investigation skills and extensive trial experience help the firm in its preparation for mediations, depositions, and trial in complex business cases.
In addition, the two firms leverage each of our extended networks to benefit each of our respective practice areas and develop a robust network, and that has helped expand and grow the law firm and better serve our clients.
For several years leading up to the official announcement of our collaboration, our two firms regularly worked together on a variety of matters. From referrals to co-counselling on important cases, we had been naturally collaborating for several years. While an unusual collaboration, the synergies were immediately apparent in that the breadth of experience among the attorneys and expertise that is complementary and provides an opportunity to expand both firms’ practice areas.
Because the collaboration is unique, we had to consider first how it would work and how we would refer to our collaboration from a branding perspective. We ultimately settled on a dual brand and the process is ongoing. Working together was actually more natural than explaining the collaboration.
Because the collaboration is unique, we had to consider first how it would work and how we would refer to our collaboration from a branding perspective.
Just as we announced the collaboration in March 2020, the world shut down due to COVID-19. This presented a challenge to joining our firms because our lawyers were not able to work in close collaboration to understand and engage in brainstorming ideas as a team as well as they might have because of remote work. We also faced the challenge that we were unable to raise awareness and properly introduce the collaboration to our respective networks in traditional forums ,such as networking events and lunches.
To help address this challenge, we worked on new joint “Firm Values” remotely as a team. Also, when we were able, we reinstituted firm events and all-attorney lunches. We also developed a more comprehensive marketing and advertising strategy that would ensure our new firm brand and news of our collaboration was reaching potential referral sources and that our long-time friends and clients were aware of how we were working together. Our strategy included remote speaking, targeted sponsorship and ramping up our social media efforts to ensure we remained top of mind amongst our network of clients, who we know are active on social media.
In the year and half since we launched our collaboration, we have been able to expand our client base and increase the number of cases we have been working year over year. Having a more robust team behind both practices has allowed us to attract additional talent and grow each of our respective practices, as well as get involved in large antitrust cases – one of the goals of our collaboration.
In the year and half since we launched our collaboration, we have been able to expand our client base and increase the number of cases we have been working year over year.
Nothing has changed, but there has been growth and strengthening of all of our collective practice areas. Tom has jumped in to handle litigation cases in several of the receivership matters the firm is involved with and has teamed up with the other partners and associates on other business litigation and personal injury cases. It has all been very positive.
Make sure your values are aligned. Oftentimes, even if the business arrangements make sense, if the priorities or values are not aligned the collaboration will not make sense. For example, while law firms are certainly businesses if the one partner values profit over service and the other service over profit the collaboration won’t work. One early team activity was establishing our “Firm Values”. It helped us define and develop an understanding of who we are together and communicate it throughout the firm at every level. Our values are: Integrity, Graciousness, Ownership, Heart and Soul, Excellence, Loyalty and Persistence.
Melanie: I always wanted to be an attorney for as long as I can remember – inspired by Perry Mason and LA Law because I did not know any actual lawyers growing up. I had this idea that I should fight for other people. The only thing that would change over the years is the type of lawyer I would be (criminal, civil, international law). When I finally had the opportunity to work as a clerk in law school it was at a business litigation firm, Bailey Hunt Jones and Busto, that does not exist anymore. But I loved it so much, I knew I had found what I wanted to do.
Tom: As a lifelong athlete, I have always been drawn to competition. I always thought being a lawyer would allow me to pick a side and compete. When I took a trial advocacy class in law school, I knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer. I started doing insurance defence work and after a short time knew I wanted to represent regular people who needed someone to fight for them. I was fortunate to have met a great trial lawyer who I convinced to give me that opportunity. Don Russo, who was a mentor to many very successful young trial lawyers, hired me in 1992 and the rest is history.
Melanie: After eight years and more than 18,000 hours of working in a midsize law firm, although an incredibly good experience for me, I realised that the business model, was not sustainable for me in the long term. I realised that if I stayed, I would not have freedom to grow into the professional I wanted to become in either my work life or my personal life. So, in July 2004, I took the risk of starting a firm with Peter Valori. It was a slow process, and it took perseverance, many late hours, and many donated free services, but we built loyalty amongst our clients, and today I am proud of the firm we have built.
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Tom: My father and grandfather each had their own small businesses and being around them was a huge influence on me. Like them, after four great years with Don, I realised I wanted to have my own business and my own firm. I took the leap with only four clients and hit the ground running. I was again fortunate to have the friendship and mentoring of some great lawyers who helped me and had my back as I built my practice: Gene Kubicki, Mike Josephs, Lew Jack and Andy Haggard, to name a few.
We aim to continue what we have been doing and continue to build upon this new foundation. We all work really hard and enjoy what we do. Practicing law and engaging in the community with people you like, and respect is a privilege and a blessing. It is also a lot of fun.
Melanie Damian and Tom Culmo, Co-Founders and Partners
Damian & Valori LLP | Culmo Trial Attorneys
Address: 1000 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1020, Miami, Florida 33131
Telephone: +1 305-371-3960
Fax: +1 305-371-3965
Email: mdamian@dvllp.com | tom@culmotrialattorneys.com
Damian & Valori LLP | Culmo Trial Attorneys is an AV Rated business litigation and personal injury firm. The firm provides its clients with professional, high quality, experienced counselling, strategic advice and representation in litigating and resolving complicated business and corporate disputes, and personal injury matters. The firm also represents individuals and families who have been victimized by negligent conduct, defective products. The practice areas focus on hospital malpractice, personal injury, premises liability, product liability, and wrongful death cases.
Melanie Damian, co-founder of Damian & Valori LLP and partner of Damian & Valori LLP | Culmo Trial Attorneys, represents public and private companies and individuals in a variety of complex business and securities litigation. She has been appointed as an equity receiver in 19 federal court cases and 21 state court cases and regularly serves as court-appointed Federal Equity Receiver, Special Monitor, and Distribution Agent.
Ms Damian is a past chair of the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar, President of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Florida Chapter and is active in child advocacy. She is also the founder of two south Florida non for profits, Educate Tomorrow and SEED School of Miami that serve the educational needs of at-risk children.
Tom Culmo, founder of Culmo Trial Attorneys, practices in the areas of hospital malpractice, personal injury, premises liability, product defects, wrongful death, and commercial litigation matters. He is board certified as a specialist in civil trial practice by The Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been lead counsel in over 100 jury trials, obtained jury verdicts in 25 different counties in Florida, and has successfully represented clients in claims against a large number of hospitals and hospital corporations.
Mr Culmo has received numerous professional acknowledgments throughout his career. He has been repeatedly included in The Best Lawyers in America, has received the “AV” pre-eminent rating from the Martindale Hubbell peer review directory, and is a member the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Carlos García-Egocheaga, CEO of Lexsoft, explores the important role of taxonomy in KM project success.
Firms tend to use the terms taxonomy, classification, glossary and keywords interchangeably when building their knowledge management (KM) systems. It’s understandable – the differences between these terms are nuanced. However, a lack of appreciation of their correct connotation – especially of taxonomy – could hamper the design of the KM system and therefore successful adoption of this business function in the firm.
Foremost, the most common confusion is between the terms classification and taxonomy. It’s true that the terms classification and glossary are components of taxonomy, but the latter is much more. For a start, classification and glossary are static in nature, whilst taxonomy is dynamic. Taxonomy is a layered structure and also works as the filter within the workflow that lawyers use to navigate through content. Let’s illustrate the concept using Amazon search. If you search for “mobile phone”, Amazon will throw up over a thousand results, alongside filters to help refine the search – i.e., by price, brand, customer reviews, camera resolution, internal memory, and so on – and enable the individual to eventually find the exact product he or she is looking for. In the KM system, the taxonomy serves as the filter in this Amazon search scenario.
Likewise, often people substitute “keywords” with taxonomy and vice versa. This leads to duplication in the KM system because the terms used as keywords can and often are also the terms for which taxonomies are built. To illustrate, VAT, real estate, Brexit and Spain could be keywords, but taxonomies could also be developed to address each of these areas.
Therefore, it’s important to recognise the role of keywords and taxonomies within a KM system. Keywords are free-text terms that are best kept as very specific classifications for which a separate taxonomy isn’t required. Take the terms “Contract”, “Madrid” and “M&A”. These can be either keywords or part of a taxonomy, but a particular firm could classify “Contracts” as part of the “Document Type” taxonomy and “M&A” as being part of the “Commercial Law” taxonomy – leaving “Madrid” as a free-text inputted keyword.
At a future date though, if the firm’s activity in the Madrid region expands, “Madrid” could be removed as a keyword as it becomes part of the “Jurisdiction” taxonomy. For this reason, if a firm has a long list of keywords, an approach might be to replace the terms with a set of predefined taxonomies so that the lawyers can use them as filters while searching.
With taxonomy playing a “make or break” role and due to its complexity, there are some key considerations that are worth paying attention to when designing taxonomies in the KM system:
More crucially though, the insight will help to continuously fine-tune the KM system. You might find that there’s minimal usage of X taxonomy, suggesting it’s no longer required. Conversely, lawyers may be routinely searching within that taxonomy, but there are no new documents being submitted for inclusion – giving you an opportunity to proactively discuss and address the problem with Practice Heads.
These considerations will ensure that the taxonomy design meets lawyers’ needs, and is in tune with their way of working. Today firms are looking to adopt artificial intelligence technology for search and KM – a robust, dynamic taxonomy is the engine that will power that approach. The phrase “rubbish in, rubbish out” is widely quoted in data extraction-related contexts. It holds true here too. After all, the artificially intelligent robot will be trained to interrogate just the taxonomy in question to deliver search results. A well-designed taxonomy alongside superior quality content will ensure that the robot in the KM system delivers the right information – which in turn will deliver value and lead to successful KM and AI adoption.
About the author:
With over 25 years of experience in the technology sector, as Managing Director of Lexsoft, Carlos García-Egocheaga is responsible for driving the strategic direction and expansion of the overall business globally. He oversees all aspects of Lexsoft including the P&L, HR, legal and business development.
This month, we have the pleasure of speaking with Jonathan LaCour at Employees First Labor Law, who outlines everything you need to know about sexual harassment in the workplace – from the most common signs to employees’ legal options and how companies should handle incidents of sexual harassment responsibly.
Sexual harassment in California is the unwanted sexual advance of another that is so severe and pervasive that it permeates the workplace. Traditionally, the typical sexual harassment case has been an older gentleman that hit on a younger female staff member and continued to do so in a harassing manner. Those still exist – however, over the years, the legal landscape for sexual harassment claims has changed. We now see fewer sexual harassment cases than we used to due to California requiring anti-sexual harassment training for employers with more than 50 employees, and due to the media coverage of sexual harassment and sexual assault cases. We now also have same-sex sexual harassment claims.
If an employee is the victim of sexual harassment and he or she makes a complaint, and the company takes an adverse employment action against the employee, the employee would then be able to file a claim. A typical adverse employment action is a wrongful termination, a demotion, or reduction in pay. The employee would be entitled to damages.
If an employer becomes aware of sexual harassment, they should immediately call a time out, perform an investigation and interview all persons that could potentially be witnesses and determine if sexual harassment did in fact occur. If it did, the company should then take steps to ensure that the bad actor is appropriately punished and potentially terminate the harasser.
We now see fewer sexual harassment cases than we used to due to California requiring anti-sexual harassment training for employers with more than 50 employees.
In general, companies are very afraid of sexual harassment claims. Alki David, who is a media and Coca-Cola bottling executive, has been ordered to pay over $74,000,000+ in total for sexual harassment claims against him, including a $58,000,000 damages award from a single case in 2019.
Retaliation is any form of an adverse employment action taken against the person who made the complaint of sexual harassment. This could be anything that tends to alter the terms of employment in a significant way that harms the employee. This can take place in the form of termination, demotion, suspension, reassignment, moving the employee to a different office further away from their home, or reducing or terminating employment benefits. The general rule of thumb is that the employee needs to be economically harmed in an action taken by the company in response to the complaint.
Employers and their insurance providers will usually be very aggressive in defending claims of sexual harassment. As a result, it is very important that you have all of the evidence of the sexual harassment and are not relying on the defendants to provide it to you. In one of the cases that we prosecuted in 2019, a client’s boss was sending her Snapchat messages of a sexual nature because they would disappear. It wasn’t until she deleted her Snapchat that he started texting the same messages to her through text. Had she only had the knowledge and not evidence of the Snapchat messages, we would not have been able to prevail.
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Sexual harassment cases are usually cases where you know it when you see it. Some people cannot control their libido and will use their power to attempt to force sexual relations. But you need to have evidence of the sexual harassment and the complaint. Most clients make complaints through email and/or text message.
Defendants do not willingly give up evidence and will hide responsive evidence if you allow them. In the Sempra Gas/Porter Ranch gas leak litigation, the defendants have been sanctioned millions of dollars for hiding documents. An LSAT company named Blueprint was sanctioned over one million dollars for discovery abuse and withholding and deleting evidence. What makes you think they would not do the same in your case?
To prove these cases, you need documentary evidence – emails or text messages.
We have settled sexual harassment cases for enormous sums, including one at $1.8 million. No stone goes unturned in our cases. Most plaintiff-side employment lawyers work up cases and give up at the end. That is not us, and our results reflect that.
To prove these cases, you need documentary evidence – emails or text messages.
I knew at a very early age that I wanted to be a lawyer. My aunt was an attorney and I saw how people would come to her with questions and look to her for advice. I followed her journey and even went to the same law school as her, Loyola Law School.
It is extremely gratifying to right a wrong that an employer has inflicted on an employee. We have been blessed to help change clients’ lives for the better. That is what drives us to get great results.
As a firm, our goal is to go to trial at least 5 to 7 times per year. We believe it is essential to tell the story of our clients to as many juries as will listen and to help achieve justice. Only then will defendants and their insurers start to realize the value of these cases and pay accordingly.
Jonathan LaCour, Founder
Address: 18100 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 850, Irvine, CA 92612
Telephone: (310) 853-3461
Fax: (909) 392-0231
Email: jonathanl@pierrelacour.com
Jonathan LaCour is the founder and managing attorney of Employees First Labor Law. He is known in the industry as an aggressive advocate exclusively for the rights of plaintiffs in labor law matters. Over his years of practicing in the industry he has handled claims including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, retaliation and workplace discrimination. He is consistently named a Superlawyers Rising Star and has been named to the National Advocates Top 40 Under 40 since 2017. He is one of the most sought- after employment lawyers in all of California.
Employees First Labor Law is a labor and employment and workers' compensation law firm based in California. Since 2011 the firm has routinely been part of cases worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, including one worth $6.8 million in 2016. Staff at Employees First Labor Law strive in all cases to achieve generous compensation for their clients.
