Nonprofit Spotlight

Heroes Unmasked is making a difference “Together They Rise”

Heroes Unmasked is a non profit organization based in Southwest Florida and was founded by Michael and Maria Elkady with the goal of rendering aid to all children who are unwell. The organization is a group of caring individuals wearing costumes resembling superheroes. They make appearances at hospitals and residential homes throughout Florida. The vision of the organization is to partner nationally with companies to benefit all children who have illnesses, providing aid spiritually and emotionally during treatment. They have visited 992 children to date at no cost to families. In addition, they bring each child a new toy and help alleviate medical expenses for families in need as they drive the miles for the smiles.

Heroes Unmasked is calling on all heroes within the community to join their alliance of fighting evil, known as ailments in children. Their commitment is to ensure every child has a brighter tomorrow. They are actively seeking donors, sponsors, volunteers and board members to support their mission as it’s the community that brings their vision to reality.

Finding our Silver Lining after Hurricane Ian

by keith grossman, esq.

Hurricane Ian, with its unexpectedly high storm surge topping 20 feet, grueling ten hours of heavy rain, and strong wind gusts that exceeded 190 miles per hour, ripped through Lee County with a vengeance, leaving catastrophic destruction in its path. Neighbors and loved ones lost their homes, cars, businesses, personal belongings, and even their sanity and hope. Rather than give up, however, our community, our state and our nation came together to recover and rebuild. In the aftermath of the storm, we are showing our resilience, and we are certainly showing our humanity. Hurricane Ian ultimately made landfall on September 28 at Cayo Costa. It battered the coastline from Naples to Sarasota. Heroes were born during this storm, bridges were rebuilt, and power and hope gradually restored. It will take time to fully recover. Many are finding the silver lining, though, and looking forward to a fresh new start and rebuilding stronger than ever. Some of our members have shared their personal stories of the storm’s impact, as well as the silver linings they have found. Vernon Guirguis told me, “My house is a complete loss so I will likely be knocking it down and selling the lot.” Guirguis additionally posted on Facebook,

“After much deliberation we’ve decided to relocate to Orlando. Hurricane Ian provided us with an opportunity to start over: new house, car, job, clothes, furniture, everything. And, most importantly, to be closer to family. Although it can be a bit terrifying at times, we are absolutely excited about this new adventure. However, this decision wasn’t made lightly. I was born and raised in Fort Myers and have been in that same house since 1987. Sage and Grey had the same bedrooms as I did as a kid. We played in the same yard and fished in the same water. This will always be ‘home’ to me. And although Noelle is a transplant from New England, SWFL has been her home for 15 years too. To say this is bittersweet is an understatement... We love you all. You all have touched our lives in one way or another. The outpouring of love and support this past month has been just amazing – which makes this decision that much harder. But we know this is a good move for our family and consider this the silver lining in all of this.” Toni Peck’s home is in the Moody River area, not far from Guirguis. Her family stayed in their home during the hurricane because “we never had flooding during any storms before.” Peck described a harrowing experience where everything seemed fine well into Vernon Guirguis the storm when they finally lost power and

internet. She said, “Thirty minutes later, water started coming through the front door.” Her family, which includes four children and three dogs, made the choice to use their kayaks to get to higher ground. It required multiple trips in the midst of the storm, each trip taking approximately 10 minutes. Fortunately, Peck’s family is safe. They are temporarily living at her parents’ home, and she hopes she’ll be able to remediate the water damage and move back into her house. Danielle Levy Seitz also had water intrusion in her home. She told me, “We had to gut our entire first floor. It will take some time to rebuild, but we are fortunate to be safe and have family nearby that can take us in while we rebuild.”

LCBA Executive Director, Lauren Baugh, also had major damage. She is continuing to live in her home while determining her options. She told me, “During the hurricane, I lost my AC unit and parts of my roof. Half of the AC unit literally flew off the roof of my townhouse and went who knows where. The other half fell on its side, broke itself and tore my roof open. I am currently having to argue with both my HOA and insurance company as my HOA bylaws are not written clearly. Neither I, nor my insurance company, can truly decipher who is responsible for the roof. My townhouse is connected to three other units, and my roof is the only one with damage. It has caused problems because no roofers want to come out and even bid my roof work, as they cannot warrant one-quarter of a roof. Which means, I do not have AC in my home. I am humbled indeed by those who have lost everything, and that is what I think about when I am feeling frustrated with no AC.” Baugh also explained to me the damages suffered by the LCBA. “We were closed for two weeks due to lack of power and internet. When the power came back on, the AC was not functioning, and the landlord fixed that. Then the internet came back on, and our network was fried, so we had our IT company restore it and get us back up and running. While I worked from home, I was limited to only email with no access to my network until the IT company fixed it.” Hurricane Ian is not only a story of devastation and destruction, though. It’s also a story of humanitarian efforts. Baugh said, “The LCBA has partnered with several other Voluntary Bar Association’s (VBAs) in the state to make sure we had access to things during the hurricane, like gas, bottled water, diapers, propane, and hot meals. Many of my VBA leader friends came down or sent help down. Scott Westheimer played a key role in that effort. He, himself, drove down items for a local attorney and her family who lost everything in their home. Braulio Rosa, with the Broward County Bar Association (BCBA), and Diana Castrillon, a member of both LCBA and BCBA, came with two truckloads of items for the Salvation Army and Red Cross to help Lee County at large! Melissa Byers, from the St. Pete Bar Association, has offered our membership free CLEs while we get back on our regular track and offer our own. She has also been moral support for me. Teresa Conte, with Clearwater Bar Association, has checked in on me most days in the last month to make sure I am ok and that we do not need anything. Holly Lipps, with the Sarasota Bar Association, has also been a key player along with Scott Westheimer to ensure that if we needed items, they got delivered to us. Anisha Patel, her husband, Mitesh, and Iris Elijah also made it to Tiffany to bring her all kinds of supplies, as she gave birth to her daughter days before the hurricane. These supplies also included bottles of water for me and my family, as I was not able to find any at any of the grocery stores near me. There have been many more that have assisted us behind the scenes as well.” “I continue to field calls from those who I am close within the VBA world to ensure those who need it get help. While we do not have excess of funds to give out, we have partners in the state’s VBA world who are willing to help where they can.” “We have also partnered with the LCBA Foundation and are collecting funds to assist those legal eagles in our Circuit who need help.” Joseph Abreu, Lee County Clerk of Court Chief Communications Officer, said, “We had eight employees displaced because of the storm, some of whom lost everything. We have been collecting items to help them and our

Toni Peck

Danielle Levy Seitz

Lauren Baugh

community since the hurricane. We’ve also been encouraging our team members to volunteer their time.” He continued, “The Clerk’s office is dedicated to uplifting our community. We are a pacesetter agency with the United Way, and our employees donate thousands annually. This year, we are set to donate over $27,000, which helps fund the American Red Cross local chapter, 211, Harry Chapin Food Bank – and countless programs that helped during and after the hurricane. Hopefully we can top that in 2023 with Clerk Karnes as the Pacesetting co-chair with Tax Collector Noelle Branning.” Samples of other organizations who stepped up to assist our community included: • United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades Counties partnered with the Collaboratory to create the SWFL Emergency Relief

Fund

• Midland Trust also partnered with the Collaboratory to create a $10,000 Hurricane Relief Fund • Through October 31, the Harry Chapin Food Bank received almost 6,126,000 pounds of food and distributed over 4,327,000 pounds of food • Airbnb launched a resource for Florida residents displaced by Hurricane Ian. They created a page that shows open (vacant and available for rent) properties available outside the FEMA Disaster zones • Governor Ron DeSantis activated the Florida Small Business

Emergency Bridge Loan Program, making $50 million available with at least $10 million going to small businesses that are agricultural producers impacted by Hurricane Ian.

The program, administered by the Florida Department of

Economic Opportunity, provides short-term, zero-interest loans to small businesses that experienced economic injury or physical damage due to Hurricane Ian • Through October 21, the American Red Cross deployed more than 2,700 workers. It also provided relief supplies to more than 19,000 households, served more than 1.4 million meals and snacks and provided more than 3300 overnight stays in emergency shelters • World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit organization backed by celebrity chef Jose Andres, began mobilized chefs to get food to first responders and residents • Public Defender Kathy Smith, and her employees, aided in repairs and rebuilding efforts for individuals. Peck was one of the recipients of those efforts. She said they helped tear out her walls and pack her belongings. They also assisted in getting her a generator. Peck said, “They really came through for us and really helped us.” If you are experiencing difficulties, please reach out to Lauren Baugh. She will be able to help point you in the right direction to get you help.

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Reviewing Florida Bar advertising rules

by keith grossman, esq.

On October 26, 2022, the Florida Bar Board of Governors agreed with the Bar staff opinion that a North Florida law firm’s TV ads, which feature child actors portraying insurance agents, are not permissible under Bar rules.

The children, acting as insurance agents in the ads, are intimidated by the law firm’s tough reputation. In the ad, a firm lawyer states, “remember the name that they don’t want to hear: [the name of the firm].” Bar staff determined the ads are “inherently deceptive or misleading and impermissible under Bar Rule 4-7.13(a)”, and a comparison of a lawyer’s services that “could not be objectively verified” in violation of Rule 4-7.13(b)(3). In 2005, and then again in 2021, lawyers who used pit bulls in their ads were in trouble with the Florida Bar. In 2021, the lawyer in question had advertised as the “Pitbull Lawyer” on numerous platforms. These platforms included online websites, blogs, Facebook, and an advertising wrap on a boat. He also used the name “Pitbull” on his business cards and office door.

In 2005, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the use of pit bull and a pit bull’s image harmed the legal profession. It stated that using the phrase and image in advertising did not assist the public in making an informed decision before hiring an attorney. The Court also said invoking the pit bull demeans lawyers. Therefore, it harms the legal professional and the public’s confidence and trust in the justice system. Marketing and advertising are important ways in which attorneys generate business. However, the Court and the Bar’s rules weigh the need to generate business against the public interest. The Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct set out an extensive amount of restrictions. Attorneys and law firms are responsible for researching and following the advertising rules in each state in which they advertise. Sometimes the regulations change. For example, in 2014, following a federal judge’s ruling and results from a Barsponsored survey, the Bar dropped advertising guidelines that said it was inherently misleading to include past amounts that clients have won in lawsuits in television, radio, and billboard advertising. The results have to be “objectively verifiable”. The Bar president at the time, Greg Coleman, also said it was time to review other parts of the Bar’s advertising program, including the requirement that most ads be submitted to the Bar for review before they are published or aired. Under Rules 4-7.19 and 4-7.20, there are still requirements for submitting unsolicited direct mail and direct email advertisements and television, radio, print, and internet advertisements (except for lawyer or law firm websites) for review.

Certain advertising is excluded from the review requirements. They are characterized as exempt under Rule 4-7.20. These types of exempt ads include “Tombstone” ads, legal listings, and professional announcements, to name a few.

The Bar’s Standing Committee on Advertising publishes the Handbook on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation to assist lawyers. It provides general information on lawyer advertising, how to file advertisements with The Florida Bar, current rules regarding advertising and sample ads for reference. The handbook was updated July 7, 2022 and includes the most recent amendments to the lawyer advertising rules. The Bar also has a website page with FAQs.

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