THE OFFICIAL AWARD WINNING PUBLICATION OF THE LEE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 2015
SUSAN HEALY:
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
“How can we help you?”
The Florida Bar Ethics and Advertising Department
SWFL’s voice for inclusion
G ifts
from the high court
Appellate procedure amendments
Getting connected with nature
SERVING THE CITIZENS AND LEGAL COMMUNITY OF LEE COUNTY SINCE 1949
ion al at v c du ppro E ing g A inu ndin t n e Co its P d e Cr
SPEAKERS
Kevin Carmichael
Tami Foley Conetta
Friday, May 1, 2015 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Ave Maria School of Law Campus in the Vineyards in Naples
Jan Dash
Alan S. Gassman
Jonathan Gopman
Early-Bird Registration: $150 For more information, visit: www.avemarialaw.edu/estateplanning or contact Jean Takacs at: jtakacs@avemarialaw.edu or (239) 687-5405
Outstanding Sessions from estate planning experts, including: “The Mathematics of Estate Planning” “Powers of Appointment” “Estate and Succession Planning for Closely Held Businesses” “Ethics and Healthcare Directives” “Income Tax Planning for Non-Grantor Trusts”“Asset Protection”
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Presenting Sponsor:
Lunch Sponsors:
Breakfast Sponsors:
Partner Sponsor:
1025 Commons Circle • Naples, Florida • avemarialaw.edu Ave Maria School of Law was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1999, and in 2009 relocated to Naples, Florida. It is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, License Number 4007, and is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free within the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state. http://www.freshfromflorida.com/divisions-offices/consumer-services 1-800-435-7352.
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Contents
21
AD DIRECTORY
24 On The Cover: Susan Healy is the chair of The Florida Bar’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Cover Photo: Giovanni Photography
26
feature 21
Taking a seat at the table
SW Florida’s champion for inclusion
by Sara Fitzpatrick Comito
30
departments 6
Letter from the President
8
Letter from the Editor
by Anne Dalton, Esq.
by Beverly Grady, Esq.
10
Calendar of Events
12
Ethically Speaking
by Henry Lee Paul, Esq.
14
The Florida Bar Ethics & Advertising Department can help your practice
Appellate 101
Important amendments to the Florida rules of appellate procedure
by Christopher Donovan, Esq. LCBA Appellate Law Practice Section
16
Art Happenings
19
by Lydia Black
Real Estate
Where to buy, sell or lease
4
RES GESTAE | February 2015
20 100 Club 24 Legal Lens
Social scene photos
26 Community Connection
Calusa Nature Center
by Sara Fitzpatrick Comito
30 The Dish
Fathoms & The French Press
33 On the Bench
Magistrate Steven Studybaker
35 From the Bar
Carl Joseph Coleman, Esq.
36 From the Bar
37
Miguel Fernández, Esq
Legal Briefs
News and happenings
Allied Business Solutions 25 Ave Maria School of Law IFC Boyle, Gentile & Leonard, P.A. 29 Boyle, Gentile & Leonard, P.A. 36 Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC 18 Burkett Law 11 Buschbom Mediation 29 Business Observer 20 Calvo & Calvo Attorneys at Law 34 CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing 35 Denise Kennedy 17 Dial A Nurse Inc. 17 Donna Tisch 13 Edison National Bank BC Estero Country Club 32 Fort Myers Court Reporting 20 Freidin, Dobrinsky, Brown & Rosenblum P.A. 7 Garvin Law Firm 17 Goldberg, Racila, D’Alessandro & Noone, LLC 18 Goldstein, Buckley, Cechman, Rice & Purtz 34 Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. 11 Hotel Indigo 32 Jason L. Gunter, P.A. 38 Joe Viacava Law Firm, The 16 Joel H. Brown 9 Jurisco, Inc 9 Kremenchuker Law Firm 15 Kuhn Law Firm 33 Kushner & Kushner Attorneys 19 Law Firm of Scott T. Moorey 25 Law Office of Kevin Jursinski & Associates 27 Leonard P. Reina 19 Leslea Ellis, LLC 25 Levins & Associates, LLC 37 LIVINGSTON LOEFFLER, P.A. 37 McHale Properties 19 Merit Court Reporting, Inc. © 13 Musca Law Office, Inc. 3 Over2Social 27 Parvey Frankel 11 Patterson Eskin & Ball 19 Pay Junction IBC Premier Executive Center 19 Simon M. Harrison 38 Spivey Law Firm, P.A. 5 T 3 Communications 38 Veranda Restaurant 29 Veritext Court Reporting 36 Von Ahn & Associates 34
Maximum Referral Fees Paid
Note from the President Our New CLE Library Additions
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
– William Butler Yeats
We are in the process of adding new CLE offerings to our very popular Bar CLE CD Library. All of these CLEs may be checked out by a member for your private or group listening at home, office, or on the road, and each is good for CLE credit for a period of 18 months from the original presentation. T. Terry, Esquire, our CLE Chair, provides his thoughts about our acquisition of the following 4 new Florida Bar CLEs: 1. ABCs of LLCs (October 7, 2014 Florida Bar Course): looks like a good review of LLC taxation. As the economy picks up more lawyers will be setting up, advising, and dealing with LLCs. While not as many or as harsh as S Corps, LLCs have some “tricks & traps.” This is a good follow-up to the January, 2015 Res Gestae article by Kathryn Pugh. 2. And You Thought Estate Planning Was Easy (October 24, 2014 Florida Bar course). A review of estate planning. 3. Family Law—2014 Case Law Update (October 22, 2014 Florida Bar course). The Florida Bar’s Family Law section does not put out for sale their Certification Review course, so this is the next best CLE.
LEE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION Administrative Team Executive Director Sharon Brotherton
Executive Assistant, Lawyer Referral & Pro Bono Coordinator Lisa Poulin
Executive Council President - Anne Dalton, Esq. Vice-President - Scott Atwood, Esq. Secretary - Kelly Fayer, Esq. Treasurer - Daniel Endrizal, Esq. Member-at-Large - Beverly Grady, Esq. Member-at-Large - Aaron Haak, Esq. Past President - John D. Agnew, Esq. YLD President - Kimberly Bocelli, Esq.
Committees History E. Bruce Strayhorn, Esq. & Jenna Persons, Esq.
Law Related Education T. Rankin Terry, Esq.
Law Week Hon. John S. Carlin
Mock Trial Mary C. Evans, Esq. & Karla Campos-Andersen, Esq.
Pro Bono
4. Annual Ethics Update (October 3, 2014 Florida Bar course). Everyone needs ethics credit and this is an annual course of long standing.
Audrey M. Singleton, Esq. & Aaron Cilek, Esq.
Check the Lee County Bar Association website (www.leebar.org) for additional future offerings, as well as other current CLE CDs on specific practice topics.
Janette Smith, Esq.
February is the month that the Bar traditionally honors past Bar Presidents. Those of you who were able to attend our annual lunch and holiday celebration in December, 2014 had the privilege of hearing Frank Pavese, Senior, a consummate raconteur, share his reminisces about professionalism and ethics in his Presidential year of 1955. In addition, Judge Seals, President in 1984 before his “year” was truncated by his elevation to the Bench, shared his wisdom. If we are very lucky, both of these gentlemen, in addition to all of our other LCBA Past Presidents, will be able to attend our February 20 luncheon, held at noon at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers. Our Judicial and Peer Attorney Panel on Ethics and Professionalism for that month includes Judge Kathy Sturgis, Marcy Shaw and President Emeritus John Agnew and will be moderated by Henry Lee Paul. It starts at 11 am on February 20, immediately prior to the Bar luncheon. Each general membership meeting focuses on a local charity. For February, our charity will be the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW), the savior of wildlife and teaching hospital on Sanibel. CROW was featured in the January, 2015, edition of the Res Gestae, and I hope that you all will stop by their table at the February general membership meeting.
Membership Social Events Amanda Mitteer-Bartley, Esq.
Practice Section Chairs Alternative Dispute Resolution Anne Dalton, Esq. & Bill Merchant, Esq.
Appellate Law Margaret White-Small, Esq. & Stacy Sherman, Esq
Criminal Law Keith Upson, Esq.
Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Kenneth Kemp, Esq. & Matthew Linde, Esq.
General Civil & Business Litigation
Mary Ellen Briedé, Esq. & Carlos Kelly, Esq.
Tort Litigation Preston John (PJ) Scheiner, Esq.
Family Law Dustin Butler, Esq. & Ryan O’Halloran, Esq.
Anne Dalton, Esq. adalton@daltonlegal.com | (239) 337-7900 6
RES GESTAE | February 2015
Land Use & Governmental Law Russell Schropp, Esq.
Personal Injury Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Family Law
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Letter from the Editor A new year always brings new opportunities and beginnings, and as we settle into 2015, it’s important for us to take stock of the many benefits Lee County Bar Association membership brings you. As with any professional association, our members are the lifeblood of the LCBA, and we seek your help in encouraging other attorneys to join. There are so many opportunities to get involved, from contributing your talents to the LCBA’s committees and Law Week events, to authoring articles for Res Gestae or speaking to a classroom of kids about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. A robust new offering of Continuing Legal Education courses has been planned to coincide with our monthly LCBA luncheons. These resources for furthering your professional development represent just one of many benefits in store for the year. Our practice sections have become increasingly active, and you will be seeing an informative article from each of them in subsequent issues of Res Gestae. We will also keep you informed on the Young Lawyers Division’s activities. Our new website is another improvement that will help members make the most of their membership. As always, you can look forward to a full roster of traditional networking and appreciation events, including the Bench/Bar dinner on March 7, our annual golf tournament, and the annual Bar-B-Que. The award-winning Res Gestae magazine continues to serve as a hub for members to reference other attorneys and services they may need, provides a calendar of upcoming events, and presents the opportunity to read educational, challenging or interesting articles. Inside this issue: consider taking up Susan Healy’s call to participate at the state level and learn more about the Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s mission. I believe you’ll find it worthwhile to help pave the way for talented, hard-working attorneys to achieve success regardless of their minority group status. Henry Lee Paul returns with a piece on the resources available to you from The Florida Bar’s Ethics and Advertising Department. Christopher Donovan delivers a riveting piece on recent changes in the state’s appellate procedure. We’re pleased to focus this month’s Community Connection piece on the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium. Perhaps you will consider joining me on the board of this important local facility for environmental education. We look forward to your ideas, comments and suggestions regarding this publication so it keeps you current on new information and LCBA events. What would you enjoy reading in Res Gestae? What would you enjoy writing? We are ready for you to get involved in your LCBA this year. Beverly Grady, Esq. bgrady@ralaw.com | (239) 338-4207 8
RES GESTAE | February 2015
THE OFFICIAL AWARD WINNING PUBLICATION OF THE LEE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
239.334.0047 resgestae@leebar.org
Staff Box PUBLISHER Connie Ramos-Williams 239.690.9840 EDITOR-IN-CHEIF Beverly Grady, Esq. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sara Fitzpatrick Comito CREATIVE DIRECTOR April Bordeaux ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Linda Fiore 239.690.9840 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Anne Dalton, Esq. Beverly Grady, Esq. Henry Lee Paul, Esq. Christopher Donovan, Esq. Lydia Black Sara Fitzpatrick Comito BILLING INQUIRIES 239.334.0047
7370 College Parkway, Suite 206 Fort Myers, FL 33907 239.690.9840 | ConricPR.com | info@ConricPR.com Res Gestae is an award winning magazine published monthly by CONRIC Publishing in partnership with the Lee County Bar Association. All editorial, advertising and photos may be submitted for consideration through email to: resgestae@leebar.org. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information published, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from omissions or errors. Opinions expressed by our writers and advertisers are not necessarily opinions shared by the LCBA, Res Gestae, or CONRIC Publishing. Copyright© 2015. Lee County Bar Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No portion of the publication may be reproduced in part or in whole without prior written permission of the Lee County Bar Association. To inquire about such permission, please contact the Lee County Bar Association at info@leebar.org.
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Calendar of Events
February 6
February 25
11:30 – 1 p.m. Courtroom 5H. Assistant Attorney General Elba MartinSchomaker (Tampa Criminal Appeals Division) will speak on “State Appeals: Preservation of Error and Perfection of the Record”. Keith Upson, Chair.
5:30 – 6:30 p.m., Conference Room, Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt, PA
Lee County Bar Association Criminal Law Practice Section CLE & Lunch Meeting Executive Council Meeting
Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Meeting
February 26
Land Use and Governmental Law Practice Section Lunch Meeting
Noon – 1 p.m. at The Connection Café, First Street at Jackson, Fort Myers
Noon – 1:30 p.m. at Lee County Public Works, 1500 Monroe St, 1st FL Conference Room. Russell Schropp, Chair.
February 13
March 7
Law Job Shadow Day Presented by Junior Achievement and LCBA for Lee County students. Contact Christina Schwinn to volunteer.
February 19
Family Law Practice Section Brown Bag Noon – 1 p.m., details TBA
February 20
Professionalism Panel CLE 11 a.m. – Noon at Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center. Panel with Hon. Kathy Sturgis and Past Presidents Marcy Shaw and John Agnew, moderated by Henry Lee Paul. (1 hr. Ethics and Professionalism credit applied for)
Membership Luncheon (Past Presidents honored) Noon – 1 p.m. Charity: Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW)
February 20 & 21
20th Circuit Mock Trial In Charlotte County. Co-chairs: Hon. Mary Evans & Karla Campos-Andersen. Donna Dunakey is the Charlotte County Coordinator. To volunteer call (941) 255-0808, ext. 3087or e-mail donna.dunakey@yourcharlotteschools.net
Annual Bench Bar Dinner
6 – 10 p.m. at Cristof’s on McGregor, 10231 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers.
March 25
Lee County Bar Association Executive Council Meeting 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., Conference Room, Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt, PA
CLE Luncheons April 10, 2015
CLE: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practice Section Moderators: Chair Anne Dalton & Co-chair Bill Merchant. Panel: Honorable Judges Laboda, McHugh & Keith Kyle, Arbitrators/ Mediators Anne Dalton and Bill Merchant 11 am – 11:50 am at Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center
April 30, 2015
Additional Free CLE Opportunity at the Justice Center! CLE: Appellate Practice Section Moderators: Chair Margaret WhiteSmall & Co-chair Stacy Sherman Panel: Second District Court Judges: “Practice Pointers from the Judges’ Perspective”. Panel: Honorable Judge Casanueva and additional Appellate Judicial Panel members; 2 pm – 4 pm
May 1, 2015
CLE: Judicial Ethics Panel: Moderated by Judge Margaret Steinbeck Judicial Panel to be announced 11 am – 11:50 am at Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center
August 21, 2015
CLE: Land Use & Govt. Law Practice Section Moderator: Chair Russell Schropp Panel: County Attorney Richard Wesch; Honorable Donna Marie Collins, Chief Lee County Hearing Examiner, and Attorney/Executive Council Member Bev Grady 11 am – 11:50 am at Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center
September 18, 2015
CLE: Appellate Law Practice Section Chair Margaret White-Small & Cochair Stacy Sherman Appellate Judicial Panel to be announced. 11 am – 11:50 am at Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center
October 16, 2015
CLE: Tort Law Practice Section Chair PJ Scheiner & Criminal Law Practice Section Chair Keith Upson Panel: Judge Gagliardi and Manalich; Attorneys Ken Oliver and Doug Molloy 11 am – 11:50 am at Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center
November 7, 2015
Buckingham BAR-B-Q Ethics Rodeo CLE: Family Law Practice Section Chair Ryan O’Halloran & Co-chair Dustin Butler Panel: Judge Corbin, Magistrate Carolyn Swift and additional panel members 11 am – 11:50 am at “The Smoot Property,” 6250 Jackson Road, Fort Myers, FL 33905
December 18, 2015
Two-for-One CLE Special at the Sidney and Berne David Art Center! See website for details.
Visit us online at leebar.org to see the entire LCBA Annual Calendar and conveniently RSVP for upcoming events. Would You Like to Submit an Event? Email your event submission to resgestae@leebar.org
10
RES GESTAE | February 2015
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11
Ethically Speaking
The Florida Bar Ethics and Advertising Department can help your practice by Henry Lee Paul
I
t does not take a long time in practice to realize that The Rules of Professional Conduct do not clearly address every ethical dilemma encountered in the practice of law. When such a situation arises, The Florida Bar Ethics and Advertising Department can help. The Florida Supreme Court has recognized the reality that an appropriate course of conduct may not always have a bright line, and stated, “While it always may not be clear that a specific course of conduct is proscribed by the rules, an attorney must use sound judgment in applying these ethical standards to a given set of facts. An attorney with concerns about contemplated professional conduct also may request an ethics opinion from The Florida Bar.” The Florida Bar v. Machin, 635 So. 2d 938 (Fla. 1994). The Ethics Hotline is a confidential resource that members of The Florida Bar can use to inquire about issues relating to proposed or future conduct. The Hotline will not provide guidance involving matters of past conduct, including conduct in relation to a disciplinary proceeding. The Hotline will not give an opinion on matters of law. The Ethics Hotline is staffed by seven attorneys and has averaged over 28,000 inquires a year for the last three years. The Hotline number is 1-800-235-8619. An inquiry can be made anonymously or a name can be given. The Hotline attorney will provide guidance to the extent possible, and should provide relevant rules, ethics opinions, case law and other helpful information. The Hotline lawyer keeps a written record of the phone call. This record remains confidential unless a lawyer raises the substance of a call as a defense to a disciplinary proceeding. In such event, the notes of the call are no longer confidential and can usually be located based on the subject of the call, even if the call was anonymous. Written opinions may also be requested and take on average three to five weeks to process. Written opinions can be 12
RES GESTAE | February 2015
appealed to the Professional Ethics Committee and ultimately to the Board of Governors. Requests for written opinions have averaged approximately 600 for each of the last two years. The Ethics and Advertising Department also has a wide range of other resources that may be located on The Florida Bar website. The Florida Bar website home page has a link to these resources under the “Ethics” link at the top of the page. These resources include an indexed library of formal Ethics Opinions. It should be noted that an Ethics Opinion provides persuasive authority but cannot be the basis for discipline. Additional resources include helpful articles and informational packets on the following subjects: Ancillary and other Business Arrangements, Attorney Liens, Candor Toward the Tribunal, Closed Files, Communication with Adverse Party, Financial Assistance to Clients, Interstate Law Firms, Legal Assistants and Nonlawyer Employees, Notifying Clients of Change in Firm Composition, Of Counsel, Outsourcing Paralegal Work and Referral Fees. The website posts proposed Ethics Opinions. Also posted are Ethics Alerts for guidance regarding current issues that members should be aware of. The website also includes The Florida Bar Procedures for Ruling on Questions of Ethics, which should be consulted for an in-depth understanding of the procedures of the Ethics and Advertising Department. RG Henry Lee Paul is former Bar Counsel who now represents lawyers in all matters before The Florida Bar and offers risk management services on all legal practice matters. He also represents applicants in all matters before The Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
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Appellate 101
Holiday gifts from the high court Important amendments to the Florida rules of appellate procedure
J
ust before the winter holidays, the Florida Supreme Court adopted numerous amendments to the appellate rules. In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, No. SC14-227, 39 Fla. L. Weekly S665, 2014 WL 5714099 (Fla. Nov. 6, 2014). These amendments became effective on January 1, 2015. Id. at *3. Most are simply cosmetic. But several are noteworthy. The most significant change concerns the interplay between moving to rehear a trial court’s order and appealing it. Before the amendment, a notice of appeal would automatically cut off any pending motions for rehearing. In re Forfeiture of $104,591 in U.S. Currency, 589 So. 2d 283, 285 (Fla. 1991). The notice of appeal divested the trial court of jurisdiction and the motion for rehearing was deemed abandoned. Id. The Court eliminated this harsh rule by amending Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.020(i)(3). In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *2, *4. Now, if you simultaneously move for rehearing and appeal the trial court’s order—maybe because you’re unsure whether the order is final—then the appellate court will hold the appeal in abeyance until the trial court disposes of the rehearing. Id. This is true for all postjudgment motions listed in Rule 9.020(i), such as motions for new trial, to correct a sentence, etc. Id. While practitioners will welcome this more lenient rule, the Supreme Court did not offer any guidance on how it will work in practice. For example, how will the appellate court know that a postjudgment motion remains pending? How does this affect the briefing schedule? You should include some reference to any pending postjudgment motions in the notice of appeal and expressly invoke Rule 9.020(i)(3), even if it is in a footnote. As for appellate deadlines, such as the briefing schedule and preparing the appellate record, all appellate deadlines probably become effective immediately after a signed, written order disposing of the postjudgment motion, unless otherwise ordered by the appellate court. 14
RES GESTAE | February 2015
by Christopher D. Donovan LCBA Appellate Law Practice Section
Another important change is the effect of one party’s postjudgment motion on an aligned party’s deadline to appeal. Before the amendment, a postjudgment motion would only toll the deadline to file a notice of appeal for the party filing the motion. See, e.g., Coats v. Climatic Products Corp., 756 So. 2d 1104, 1104 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). All other parties either had to file their own postjudgment motion or file their appeal within 30 days of the judgment. Id. The Supreme Court cured this trap for the unwary by amending Rule 9.020(i)(1). Now, when a party files one of the postjudgment motions identified in Rule 9.020(i), then the appellate deadline is tolled for all parties until the trial court disposes of the last postjudgment motion. In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *4. But the Court did not address what happens when one party moves for rehearing and another files an appeal. Likely, a court would read the first two amendments together to hold the appeal in abeyance until the first party’s rehearing is decided. Thereafter, if the first party desired to appeal, then it could simply file a notice of joinder under Rule 9.360(a). This not only comports with the canons of interpretation, but it also preserves both the litigants’ and the judiciary’s resources by resolving all issues in one appeal. The Court also amended Rule 9.100(h), which concerns the procedures for responding in original proceedings, such as petitions for certiorari, mandamus, and prohibition. The amendment gives courts the discretion to either simply order a response or order the opposing party to show cause why relief should not be granted. In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *2, *6. The only substantive difference in these two types of orders lies in the prohibition context, such as when challenging judicial disqualification or subject-matter jurisdiction. If the court issues a show-cause order in that context, then the proceedings below are automatically stayed. Id. If the court merely orders a response, then the trial court retains jurisdiction to proceed with all matters, even trial
Appellate 101 and judgment. Id. Again, this nuance is only important to prohibition proceedings. Id.; see also Alonso v. State, 879 So. 2d 80, 81 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004) (discussing this nuance). In all other original proceedings, there is no automatic stay or loss of jurisdiction in the trial court. See Curry v. State, 880 So. 2d 751, 755–56 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004). Five additional substantive changes are straightforward. They include: • Rule 9.110(k) was amended to define a “partial final judgment” as one that either “disposes of an entire case as to any party” or “disposes of a separate and distinct cause of action that is not interdependent with other pleaded claims.” In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *2 & *6. •
•
Rule 9.110(l ) was amended to explain that if an appeal is filed before a final order’s rendition, then (1) a trial court retains jurisdiction to render a final order and (2) the appellate court may grant the parties additional time to obtain the final order, rather than dismissing the appeal as premature. In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *6. Rule 9.300(d) was amended to add the following three additional categories of appellate motions that do not toll appellate deadlines: motions for sanctions under Rule 9.410, motions for mediation filed more than 30
days after the notice of appeal under Rule 9.700(d), and all motions filed in an appeal under Rule 9.147, which concerns waiver of parental notice in pregnancytermination actions. In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *17. •
Rule 9.320 was amended to extend the deadline for requesting oral argument. It was originally due by the reply brief. Now, the requests are due 10 days after the last brief. In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *17.
•
Rule 9.350(d) was added to clarify that stipulations for dismissal and notices of dismissal automatically stay the part of the appeal being dismissed. In re Amendments, 2014 WL 5714099, at *19.
These important changes became effective on January 1, 2015. It will be interesting to follow how courts and practitioners apply and interpret the new rules. RG Christopher D. Donovan is a local Board Certified Appellate Specialist at the law firm of Roetzel & Andress. His practice focuses on appellate and original-jurisdiction proceedings in both state and federal court. He routinely handles appellate matters in commercial, real estate, employment, probate, family, constitutional and administrative law.
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February 2015 | RES GESTAE
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Art Happenings by Lydia Black, Alliance for the Arts Executive Director ee County is a very special place to live, work, play and visit, thanks in part to the many arts and cultural groups that give the region heart. Artists and cultural organizations have driven renewal in downtown Fort Myers. Bold new cultural landmarks, like Fire Dance in Centennial Park, have helped redefine landscapes, and residents and tourists alike flock to the many outdoor festivals, theater performances and arts programs that this area has to offer. The arts certainly are a driving force in the health and wellbeing of our community. Get involved and join us at any number of February arts events! • February kicks off Edison Festival of Light events, from Investors Fairs, to a 5K run to the Grande Parade. Keep up-to-date with all activities at www.edisonfestival.org. • 2015 Community Concerts are in full swing at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. Consider viewing Teatro Lirico D’Europa’s La Bohème or the Russian National Ballet performing Don Quixote. Click on the 2014/2015 Season tab at fortmyerscommunityconcerts.org. • Catch dinner and a show at Broadway Palm Dinner Theater. Crazy for You and West Side Story tickets are available at www.broadwaypalm.com. • The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center presents the 5th Annual American Virtuosi Chamber Concert. The concert will feature the music of the great masters combined with the talent of some of the world’s leading concert artists. Visit www.sbdac.com for details. • Alliance for the Arts kicks off its 2015 Bruce T. Gora Sunset Concert Series with Andy Lutkoff & Saxdance on February 22. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and coolers to create a picnic-like atmosphere. www.ArtInLee.org • Consider a trip to Matlacha Island for a visit to Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens where you’ll discover the bright and vibrant work of Leoma Lovegrove. Visit www.leomalovegrove.com to plan your outing. Now in its 40th year, the Alliance for the Arts CONNECTS ART, CULTURE & COMMUNITY from a 10-acre Fort Myers campus with gallery exhibitions, concerts, festivals, art classes, and a wide variety of other art & culture programs. The Alliance is an artistic gathering place, a cultural community center where people connect to the arts. Visit ArtInLee.org to learn more. RG
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Taking a seat at the table Southwest Florida’s champion for inclusion
by Sara Fitzpatrick Comito
C
onsider this question: what would you like on your headstone? It’s no morbid thought experiment to Susan Healy, but an affirmation that one’s legacy begins now. This is her answer: “She showed up and did the work.” It’s one reason she has been named chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for The Florida Bar. The committee was formed in 2013, and Healy started as one of two vice chairs. It represents only one of many extracurricular activities for the busy Bonita Springs attorney. She has recently opened LawFirmInABox, LLC, drawing on her experience as cofounder of Vernon Healy to provide law firms with integrated management systems to help them succeed in an oversaturated market and compete with non-lawyer legal services like LegalZoom. Healy is also developing a new class on Emergency Law to be offered at FGCU this summer. She’s a member of the Editorial Board of the Florida Bar News/Journal and is leading one of the Vision 2016 teams addressing the future of legal education. Meanwhile, she remains active in the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, Susan Healy which served as a springboard to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
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A reflection of reality Healy would seem the paragon of success, and even an argument against the existence of a “glass ceiling,” a concept that many up-and-comers are keen to eschew. “I see that attitude among younger lawyers and I understand it,” Healy noted. She said that she went to law school to be a lawyer, not a “woman lawyer,” and like her young peers, left school confident that hard work would be her key to success. The reality was a little different. She has her share of horror stories, but none to tell from her work with The Florida Bar leadership. An important part of Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s mission is: To increase diversity and inclusion in The Florida Bar so that the Bar will reflect the demographics of the state. In 2015, one would be hard pressed to find a respected attorney who argues publicly against the intrinsic rewards of achieving diversity across the legal profession. Achieving the mission, however, has the power to transform the political landscape of the entire state of Florida, one community at a time. Healy explained, “Lawyers are leaders. We serve on community boards, are elected to public office and sit as judges. If barriers prevent some of the best qualified people from entering the legal profession and rising to leadership positions, we owe it to the public to tear those barriers down.” The committee boasts an impressive 91-member roster representing every far-flung region of this great state. Only one member, however, hails from Southwest Florida: its
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chair. Could it be our local bar harbors some collective desire to maintain the status quo? Healy doesn’t believe that’s the case. “I think it’s more an issue of being tired of repeating the same conversations. I get that,” she said. “There is no doubt that the profession has become more inclusive over the past 20 or so years, so we tend to want to just check that box and say we’re done.” On the other hand, Healy notes Southwest Florida suffers a lack of representation throughout The Bar, despite Laird Lile and Marcy Shaw’s committed and active representation on the Board of Governors. A warming trend might be on the horizon, however. “For example, the Bar received no applications whatsoever from the tri-county area for the first class of the Leadership Academy. This year, the Academy includes one fellow from Fort Myers and one from Naples, so I hope that means that we’re beginning to see a change.”
Defining diversity One of Healy’s biggest jobs is to work with the chairs of other committees and sections of The Bar. In this capacity, she can apply her management acumen to bridge gaps and correct inefficiencies related to the larger organization’s overall inclusion initiatives. Healy explained, “The Bar has been actively involved in various diversity initiatives for the past 20 or so years, and the result is duplication of effort, without very much coordination and communication.” The Bar has provided specific mandates, each of which is addressed by one or more subcommittees of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In
addition to its chair, two vice-chairs and the past chair, the committee’s leadership team features an executive council that provides strategic planning, decides grant awards and develops new programs. The committee’s historic first achievement came at its first meeting, when it asked the Bar to adopt an open-ended definition of “diversity” which would apply to any population group that is underserved either in the profession or by the profession. “This allow us to address issues like economic diversity that aren’t targets for traditional diversity initiatives,” Healy said. Determining the current demographics of the Bar membership is a mandate that has proved to be one of the committee’s most difficult to achieve. Gender and race/ ethnicity has long been included in membership surveys, but the committee is currently working to develop baseline statistics for categories like sexual orientation or disability. The 2013 survey results show Florida Bar members who are: 37% women, 9% Hispanic/Latino and 3% African American/ Black. A comparison to census records shows there’s work to do, although Healy is hesitant to put the numbers side by side “because people think ‘quota,’ which is not at all what the Committee is about.”
Get involved Initiatives that might be of interest to LCBA members include grants for voluntary bar associations’ diversity programming and the Get Involved subcommittee, which
is providing programs for local bars to assist their members apply for leadership positions including JNC, Bar committees and judicial appointment. “We have a lot of qualified attorneys in Lee County who would be great in these positions, but they just don’t know how to get appointed,” Healy ventured. New this year are mini-grants for bar associations who haven’t previously applied and special grants for pipeline programs to introduce high school-level and younger students to the law. There’s plenty of room on the committee, even for individuals who don’t think they fall into a diversity category. Healy asserted that some Bar members may think that “inclusion” actually excludes them. “But one Committee member recently pointed out that if we are lucky, we will all practice law long enough to become lawyers with disabilities, thanks to inevitable agerelated conditions.” Participation at the statewide level represents an attorney’s opportunity to affect the profession as a whole. Additionally, lack of geographic diversity prohibits the committee from fully performing its duties. “Southwest Florida lawyers face different issues than lawyers from Miami or Orlando or Tallahassee, but if we don’t sit at the table, we won’t be heard. Participation also provides great networking and referral opportunities. Finally, Healy said, “I would love to be able to carpool to meetings!” Email susanrhealy@hotmail.com for information on getting involved. RG
February 2015 | RES GESTAE
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Legal Lens
Francine Donnorummo, Sally Beckett
Debbie Cail, Judge James R. Adams, Maryanne Wagner Greg Blurton, Christina Schwinn
LCBA Luncheon The 2015 EC was inducted by Hon. James H. Seals, with Hon. James R. Adams delivering an invocation and Frank Pavese, Sr. regaling a packed room with tales of yesteryear.
Howard Freidin, Leslie Minoff
Peter Gravina, Eric Molina, Matthew Livesay
Suzanne Boy, Douglas Szabo, Shannon Puopolo
Scott Atwood, Nirupa Netram
Christopher Pope, Diane Jensen, Charles Capps
john Agnew, Judge James Seals
Anne Dalton, Henry Lee Paul, Keith Grossman Shown on page 4 (toc): Chené Thompson, Katie Berkey Photo Credit: Jim Jett
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Community Connection
by Sara Fitzpatrick Comito
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.” ~Rachel Carson Bill Hammond has had a lot of pet projects over his half decade of residency in Southwest Florida. Many have gone on to lead independent lives of their own, much like the students he’s mentored in the Lee County public schools and Florida Gulf Coast University. If you’ve ever wandered the boardwalk trails at the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in Estero, delighted in viewing the gentle giants at Manatee Park in east Lee County or spied a pileated woodpecker inside the Six Mile Cypress Slough in Fort Myers, you owe part of that experience to his efforts. One critical educational hub is still in need of the retired teacher’s patient ministrations: the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, the oldest facility of its kind in Lee County. As the board of trustees’ president, Hammond is determined to add this private notfor-profit environmental educational
organization to the roster of facilities and initiatives he has helped usher into an era of operational sustainability so it can most effectively deliver on its important mission of connecting people with nature. If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic headed west on Colonial at the intersection of Ortiz, you’ve probably seen the giant electronic marquee announcing CNCP’s programs. Communication to the public has been an issue, however. With the 105-acre site’s live animal displays, walking trails, butterfly and bird aviaries, gift shop, and meeting and picnic areas that ostensibly would be of great interest to area residents, many have come to consider the facility more of a tourist attraction. This is a perception Hammond is keen to upend (he acknowledges, however, “The tourists are the gravy through the gate). “It’s gotten more and more difficult to communicate,” he said.
“We can’t just put things in the NewsPress anymore. I was president of CREW for years. When we went to an email newsletter, participation dropped off.” CNCP is planning its first newsletter in years, but word of mouth is the center’s most effective form of publicity. “When you double the population every 10 years, it’s like starting over every 10 years to get the word out.” Naturally, newsletters and other marketing materials require some investment in funding, along with staff or volunteer hours. While CNCP is grateful to a dedicated corps of occasional volunteers, it really needs people who can commit to a certain shift or two per week. During this reporter’s conversation with Hammond and Executive Director Mary Rawl, we were briefly interrupted by the delivery of repaired projector parts for the planetarium. It’s one of many Continued on page 28
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Community Connection Continued from page 26 bright spots for the facility, which suffered some financial setbacks as a result of the recession and some past management missteps. And whereas Six Mile Cypress Slough enjoys some funding from the county, and the Imaginarium receives help from Fort Myers’ coffers, CNCP is on its own, and, Hammond said, “Mary and I are so busy trying to
keep the wheels on.” Regardless, plans are in the works for many capital improvements and new programming. The refurbishing of the planetarium projector is a great improvement, but fundraising is needed to procure brand new equipment. A new planetarium director has recently been hired who can actually pre-program “the big star ball,” as Hammond calls it. “Not many people know how to do it, other than turn it on.” Such a five-star technician, combined with shiny new technology, means the CNCP could bring in shows from other well-known facilities around the country. It 28
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can also continue programming to help Southwest Floridians be amazed at their own night sky, many of whom never fully see it due to light pollution - except, as summer camp kids will tell you in joyous unison, if you ever happen to be in the planetarium with a group of them - in the case of…“a power outage!” The grounds of CNCP do provide good viewing of the stars, too, and has become popular with astronomy buffs that meet periodically for discussion and telescope viewing. Gardening groups have also discovered the CNCP as a great place to meet. The facility can also be rented for company picnics, meetings, parties and other events. Hammond is a living encyclopedia of facts related to the benefits of connecting with nature, with studies to cite at the ready. If you live within a mile and a half of green spaces, for instance, you have a lower risk of depression. Kids who play in nature demonstrate better test performance, independence and self-reliance. Put an ADHD-diagnosed kid on a nature-based playground, as opposed to an asphalt playground, for a half an hour before school, and that child could get by on a lower dose of his or her meds.
Kids who learn to love nature end up wanting to protect it, and with Southwest Florida’s fragile ecosystem, that adds up to an investment in our
future. They might even go on to become an attorney, like the four who sit on CNCP’s board. There are some empty chairs in the boardroom, too, and volunteers are critically needed. “I think Florida has one of the lowest volunteerism rates in the country,” said Rawl. Can you commit to a half-day per week for front desk duty, to run classes, perform administrative tasks or help with programming? Whatever your talent or interest, Mary can put you to work. Funds are also appreciated. Picture your law firm’s name on the new aviary that will be built in cooperation with community partners. Refer to calusanature.org for all the exciting events, from the live reptile program to a visiting scientist presentation to the Sunday bluegrass show. And contact Mary Rawl at mrawl@calusanature.org or (239) 275-3435 to get involved. RG Top left down: Joe with campers, rehabilitated skunk. Middle: barn owl, baby alligator in tank. Top right down: boardwalk, fossil camp, entrance to the planetarium.
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The Dish
by Sara Fitzpatrick Comito
For a columnist whose job it is to highlight a vast variety of dining and hangout options throughout Lee County, my habitual go-tos seem to form an increasingly paltry radius around my humble abode just west of downtown Fort Myers. It’s easy to get lazy when there’s good food, hospitable service and a cozy atmosphere a mere eight-minute ride in any direction. Recently I started catching on to a buzz about new things happening at Cape Harbour Marina. Cape Coral’s definitely put itself on the dining map with upstarts like Nevermind and Nice Guys. But Cape Habour? I’m pretty sure that’s the end of the world. There might be an ancient map in my desk drawer somewhere indicating “here be dragons” right on that spot. Of course, the multi-use yacht club and lifestyle center is anything but uncharted; I’m just a creature of habit—this column is not only for your edification, but mine as well! I can now confirm there’s new reason to venture over the bridge with the opening of Fathoms Restaurant & Bar and The French Press café. And how lucky are you, all ye residents of yonder cape! Background photo: Cape Harbour. Above photo: Chefs Ben Voisin and Fabrice Deletrain
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Last September, owners Tim and Meredith Hoffman breezed into Cape Harbour from the Caribbean, where they continue to run the luxury resort Montpelier Plantation & Beach on Nevis, with paint cans in hand and their French chef in tow. They set their course to the waterfront eatery previously operating as The Joint, and insisted that ultra-casual eatery’s own chef, who also happens to be French, join forces to stage a coup d’état of sorts. The resulting aesthetic is airy, clean and modern, while retaining the requisite dark wood detailing reminiscent of a seaworthy galley. Chefs Fabrice Deletrain and Ben Voisin churn out good portions of fresh, carefully crafted food from their open kitchen and plate it with a keen sense of play. Right next door, the Hoffmans have opened The French Press, a European-style bakery café offering a much-needed antidote to the pace of modern life with fresh brewed coffee, hand crafted pastry, breakfast, lunch, and - get this - two dozen flavors of homemade gelato. Yum! Starbucks’ coffee pipeline might be spilling out onto every street corner from Seattle to Key West, but I for one am going to travel to the good stuff. Looks like that radius will have to become a bit less paltry, especially with Voisin’s wife, Val, serving as a most gracious hostess. But back to Fathoms. As the sailors among us will know, a fathom is a nautical measurement representing six feet. It will take diners many trips to fully plumb the depths of the many different influences represented on the menu, especially with a bevy of inspired delights offered as daily specials. A scallop
appetizer comes with three giant specimens of the buttery bivalves judiciously seared and mounted onto a cloud of butternut squash velouté, with a hidden pocket of apple and vanilla chutney below, and thin, crisped chorizo planks providing a salty, meaty counterpoint. Other starters include a Peruvian-style mahi ceviche; a tartare of ahi tuna with avocado, cashews and mango; chicken liver mousse pate with herb crostini, red onion marmalade, cornichons and Dijon mustard; and the most tender beef tips imaginable. Creative salads include a fresh take on the Caesar with baby kale in attendance and the nostalgic-turned-cool again iceburg lettuce wedge. The entrees offer something for everyone at this family-friendly establishment, including delicate thin-crust pizzas, refined yet satisfying sandwiches, Cajunstyle seafood mac and cheese, lamb chops, a perfectly cooked cedar plank salmon, and the OMG burger with Wagyu beef on fluffy brioche with melty fontina, red onion marmalade and truffled arugula. The heady flavor of truffles also imbues the creamy polenta serving as a bed for Chef Ben’s signature braised pork cheeks with rosemary jus. Tempting as it is, don’t stuff your cheeks too much. You might fancy something sweet from next door. Maybe an exquisite éclair with a nice cappuccino as you stare out at all the pretty boats. Or a pistachio gelato. But that’s my fantasy. There are 23 other ways for you to find your own frozen bliss. All this for a reasonable price while you watch the high-dollar boats bob
hypnotically on the harbor. Some day, all this will be mine, I say. That juicy, marbled beef burger from pampered cattle? Yes, it was. And it was only a 20-minute ride. That 32-foot Boston Whaler, on the other hand—well, I’m going to have to write a few more columns. RG
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Fathoms Restaurant & Bar 5785 Cape Harbour Drive Cape Coral (239) 542-0123 FathomsRestaurant.com Full Menu Available 11:30 am to 10 pm 7 days a week Bar open late y The French Press 5789 Cape Harbour Drive Cape Coral (239) 542-0212 TheFrenchPressFL.com 7 am to 10 pm 7 days a week Check websites and Facebook pages for specials and events.
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Sara Fitzpatrick Comito is the Communications Editor for CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing, and associate editor of Res Gestae magazine. For suggestions and comments on this regular feature, contact Sara at Sara@ConricPR.com.
Photos from top down: Braised pork cheeks, OMG burger, mahi ceviche, and gelato.
February 2015 | RES GESTAE
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On the Bench Magistrate Steven Studybaker When Magistrate Steven Studybaker went to law school, it was a fallback position. Having presided over family law matters since 2007 and the dependency docket since 2008, he’s exactly where he wants to be today, and where he plans to stay until he retires. He thinks today’s prospective lawyers would do well to take a look at the crowded field and maybe find a fallback of their own. “When I was in high school, I vacillated between medicine and law,” he recalled. He made the right choice, not only because of the specter of those intimidating chemistry classes, but because the job is gratifying. “Most of the families and children are better off at the end of a dependency case than they were at the beginning,” he attested. His interest in children is personal, having six of his own, four of which were adopted. Previous to his current post, Magistrate Studybaker worked at the former Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, starting when it first started hiring full time attorneys. He had had dealings with the agency during his time at Lee County Legal Aid. His inside perspective of the work of today’s Department of Children and Families, which split off from HRS, serves him and the folks who come before him well. The position is not without its challenges, starting with the heavy caseload, owing probably to greater public awareness: “More reports generate more cases.” However, the professionalism of both the family law and dependency bar helps keep the wheels of justice turning. In a crowded field, the attorneys who stand out for the magistrate are those who know how to vigorously advocate for their client without engendering undue animosity toward the opposing party. “The attorneys have to help the parties understand the proper way to disagree and argue,” he explained. Magistrate Studybaker also notes that attorneys who enter the field as a second career often have an advantage. A former nurse or engineer, he offered, can bring a separate and complementary skillset that can help him or her rise to the top. In his off time, the magistrate enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren and working out at the gym.
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We also are looking for a Plaintiff Personal Injury Attorney; both positions will be in our downtown Fort Myers office. Personal Injury or PIP litigation must have at least 3 years of experience as well. In addition to experience, strong academic credentials, and excellent research and writing skills are also needed. GOLDSTEIN, BUCKLEY, CECHMAN, RICE & PURTZ, P.A., offers a great work environment, beneets and competitive salary. Qualiied candidates should send their cover letter, resume, and writing sample in conndence to:
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RES GESTAE | February 2015
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From the Bar Carl Joseph Coleman, Esq. Joe Coleman has gone through a few changes in his life. For a change of scenery during high school, he took a year abroad in Germany. Later, his journey led him to England. Recently, his role has changed from the president of Fowler White Boggs to managing shareholder of the Fort Myers office of Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney after a merger between the Florida-based and the national firm. A few things haven’t changed, however. You may remember a leather-clad Coleman on a Res Gestae cover back in 2011; his love of motorcycle riding is still very much intact. He still goes by “Joe” rather than his given first name: “The only time I ever heard ‘Carl’ is when the nuns had me by my hair and were dragging me across the room,” he laughed. Finally, he’s still very much interested in doing the right thing. Coleman focuses primarily on business litigation, helping clients with matters like contract disputes, commercial torts, wage and hour disputes, and the like. It’s a practice area he enjoys because he gets to learn about all sorts of different businesses. He’s also a mediator/arbitrator. But a case a couple of decades ago stands out in his mind as a satisfying achievement in his pursuit of doing the right thing. In the mid-90s, he and Pat Geraghty represented a young black couple that had been discriminated against by their landlord. The landlord circulated an inflammatory letter questioning the legitimacy of the family’s children. They sued, and the lawyers obtained the largest verdict in the U.S. in a fair housing case, including a sizable attorneys’ fee award, which they were able to collect on within a few years. Coleman stayed in touch with them for a few years after that. The story is humbling, and so is having seven siblings. Two older brothers are lawyers too, living a dream their dad sacrificed by dropping out of law school to support the family. Another way to keep ego in check is to travel abroad, as he also did as a teacher in Colombia for a year. “You develop a different perspective of your own country, and it’s a healthy perspective.” He indicated that appreciation of other cultures is the best cure for the common ethnocentrism.
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From the Bar Miguel C. Fernández III, Esq. Miguel Fernández professes a great respect for the timing of things. There’s the first of three church mission trips to Cuba, which he calls his “35/35 Trip.” At 40 years old, he was on a journey to visit the land he left when he was five years old. “Thirty-five years later, it took only 35 minutes for the wheels to leave the runway here, and land there.” There was the short interval between interviewing and being offered an assistant state attorney position under the supervision of now-retired Chief ASA Randy McGruther. There’s the recent pronouncement of the normalization of relations between the U.S. and the island nation of his birth, to which he ascribes mixed feelings and is left with the question as to the timing, given Cuba’s continuing track record of human rights abuse and its repressive system of government. Then there’s the one personal milestone whose time has yet to come: “A lot of people have helped me and supported me in my professional dream and aspiration to become a trial judge. God willing, maybe the time will someday be right.” Between it all, he’s managed his greatest accomplishment: “When all is said and done, if you don’t have family, you don’t have anything.” Fernández said he could have stayed at the SAO forever, where he tried a lot of cases and gained some great experience. It all came down to timing, of course. With the impending birth of the first of three daughters with wife Denise, he said, “I just couldn’t do it on a prosecutor’s salary.” Ever since, he has primarily worked to defend the rights of the accused guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. “Without the U.S. Constitution and the Rule of Law we cannot be the greatest country that’s ever existed on the face of the earth.” A defining moment in Fernández’s lifetime involves his pro bono defense of three federally prosecuted Cuban dissidents who had conspired to escape Communist Cuba with a pilot of a 40-year-old Polish airplane. The dilapidated craft ran out of fuel off the coast of Sanibel and the passengers were rescued by the crew of a Russian freighter, of all things. It’s quite a story complete with a hard-won happy ending. But unfortunately, we’ve run out of time.
Mediation of Insurance Coverage and Extra Contractual Matters Anywhere in Florida Geoffrey H. Gentile, Esq. is available statewide to assist parties in cases where insurance coverage questions or issues of insurance good faith are the key to resolution. Geoffrey H. Gentile, Esq.
Statewide Experiece: • Claims attorney, worked in claims dept of major carrier • In-house trial counsel for two carriers • Private firm insurance defense counsel, personal injury and property damage claims • Represented claimants in personal injury cases • Represented business and individuals in insurance coverage cases: commercial and personal lines • Represented both insurance companies and claimants in extra-contractual insurance matters 2050 McGregor Boulevard Fort Myers, FL 33901 239-337-1303
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RES GESTAE | February 2015
Legal Briefs Boy elected president of HRMA SWFL Suzanne Boy was sworn in as the 2015 President of the Human Resource Management Association of Southwest Florida (HRMA), a local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. HRMA is a group of more than 260 human resource and other professionals who come together to discuss issues related to human resource management, and to find ways to better serve their employers and employees. An attorney at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., Boy concentrates her practice in employment law, assisting clients with all aspects of employment-related litigation, claims, and client counseling, including employee handbooks; supervisory training; wage/hour matters; and employee termination, leave, and disciplinary issues. Boy frequently speaks to businesses and professional groups on various employment matters. Boy is a member of the Labor and Employment Section of The Florida Bar and the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law.
Lile presents at national financial teleconference Laird A. Lile was one of two featured experts presenting on current trends in litigation involving estates and trusts during Cannon Financial Institute’s recent national teleconference, “The Trustee’s Nightmare: Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation.” The Naples wills, trusts and estates attorney addressed protecting trustees and enforcing rights for beneficiaries. The program was part of the Cannon Estate Planning Teleconference Series, which features nationally renowned estate planning attorneys. Lile was recently appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and elected vice chair by his fellow commissioners. He was appointed in 2013 by the chief justice to a second three-year term on the Supreme Court’s Florida Courts Technology Commission, which is overseeing the technological overhaul of the state’s courts. Cannon Financial Institute is a global consulting and professional development firm serving the financial services industry.
Attorneys Jess W. Levins, Esq. Scott A. Cummings, Esq.
PrActice AreAs Wills ∙ Trusts ∙ Probate Trust Administration ∙ Guardianship Foreclosure Defense ∙ Real Estate Corporations ∙ Bankruptcy ∙ Asset Protection Pre and Postnuptial Agreements
P: (239) 437-1197 F: (239) 437-1196 www.LevinsLegal.com 6843 Porto Fino Circle Fort Myers, FL 33912
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Marisa Boysen
Public Defender’s Office Stefan Campagna
The Mack Law Firm
Christopher D. Donovan
Roetzel & Andress, LPA Samuel J. Fisher
Law Office of Samuel Fisher Troy A. Luster
Twentieth Judicial Circuit Jacqulyn Mack
The Mack Law Firm Andrea S. Pleimling
Aloia, Roland & Lubell, LLP Cory Seegmiller
Law Office of Brantley Oakey David Z. Smith
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