Firms: Salaries and Information - Florida

has anyone noticed a lack of activity on the other board? I cant opent he page anymore?

[evenodds]

It's not you.

The infirm boards have been down all week.

Now, the only question is if anyone else has migrated over here.

[Aloha Mr. Learned Hand]

The other question is are they done for good, which despite everything that happened would be a shame...

[Anne Elk]

Another question, why would they go down with no notice to their users?

Seems very strange that only their GA boards are down but not their boards for Divorce, PI, etc.

If they stay down, maybe Law.com or one of the other popular legal sites will do a short story on it and refer people to this new board. I remember reading a story like that two or three years ago on one of those sites about people moving to the other boad from a "former other board." That's how I found it.

[robustpuppy]

There was a fair amount of posting activity on a handful of the Boards - regional, clerks, students, etc. -- even though Big, Politics, and FB were dead. So it's hard to believe Findlaw would cut off those loyal users.

But, is it mere coincidence that the old Boards have been down since shortly after Thurgreed's recent post about wanting to amass a compilation of song parodies on the old Board?

Hmm.

[Aloha Mr. Learned Hand]

Post from SFTM saying they had an extended outage and they're up and running again...

I am only hearing the sounds of crickets. Is anyone out there? Anyone have anything to talk about? Gorgeous day down here.

Yeah Brief Guy,

I just got the first edition of the Colson Hicks Edison newsletter. What does anyone know about this outfit? It looks like they are handling super high-end plaintiff work and they’ve moved to Coral Gables. Are they on an expansion drive, prospects of diversifying offices nationally?

Fencerider

I think they only have 15-20 lawyers, so I would not be looking for them to expand out of Florida. Mostly large PI cases, and they get some big verdicts. They have been in the news lately because Ervin Gonzalez is involved in the big cemetery Menorah Gardens class action suit.

That is about all I know about them.

I watched Ervin Gonzalez and Neal Hirschfeld (Greenspoon, Marder) argue motions for plaintiffs in that case. They could not be more different in style, but both were extraordinarily effective and they got everything they asked for. Judge Fleet paid them sincere compliments. About the only thing that was still pending was class certification.

Does anyone know whether Judge Fleet has ruled yet regarding class certification in Menorah Gardens?

Not sure. Knowing Fleet I would be surprised if he did not certify the class. Speaking of Gonzalez, he is always giving CLE lectures and is a pretty charismatic speaker.

[notcasesensitive]

Any Florida lawyers have any tips on where to go (restaurants/bars/clubs) in South Beach? I've been once before, but it was a while ago. Interested in both good people-watching sites (Crobar seemed good for that last time) and cool, laid back spots...

Any suggestions?

[evenodds]

From the South Florida Business Journal:

Exile family threatens to sue U.S.

Stephen Van Drake

A Cuban exile family this week threatened to force the United States into trade warfare with the European Union over foreign hotel chains that operate luxury resorts on 100 acres of prime oceanfront property Fidel Castro confiscated 43 years ago.

The Clinton and Bush administrations "have done their best to drag their feet," failing to enforce a law penalizing companies that traffic in stolen property, said Nicholas J. Gutierrez Jr. of Miami, lawyer for dozens of adult members of the Sanchez-Hill family, most of whom live in South Florida. Before Castro's takeover, the family owned 100,000 acres in Cuba.

The clan plans to sue the government in January, forcing the Department of State to deny U.S. visas to employees of Madrid-based hotel giant Grupo Sol Meliá under 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (known as the Helms-Burton Act).

The Sanchez-Hills would also sue Sol Meliá in Miami, seeking $100 million for usurping its land, Gutierrez said.

Sol Meliá operates five resorts on 30 acres of his clients' land, he said. The Spanish company manages a total of 20 resorts with 8,580 rooms in Cuba with plans to open its 21st property next year, said Monica Cerdá, Sol Meliá's Madrid communications director.

If the Sanchez-Hill family prevails, five other foreign hoteliers with five resorts squatting on 70 acres of family oceanfront property would probably settle, Gutierrez said.

But the winding road to reparations promises many detours and potholes, international lawyers and Cuban trade experts say. Helms-Burton has become a paper tiger, and it's unlikely the Sanchez-Hill family will see any dollars from Sol Meliá.

The Sanchez-Hills, and up to 300,000 Cuban-Americans must resolve their claims in Cuba once there's a new regime - not in Miami. Otherwise, South Florida's courts would logjam, they said.

Besides, the United States and Cuba must first settle 5,911 claims worth $15 billion by U.S. corporations against the island nation certified by the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, under the Cuba Claims Act of 1964 before lifting the embargo and normalizing relations.

Full text: http://www.bizjournals.com/industrie...5.html?f=et153 (free registration required for web access)