Article take from Jacksonville Business Journal
By: Christian Conte
JACKSONVILLE — The local legal community faced struggles relating to the still lingering issues with a slowly recovering economy, a consolidation of law firms and a continued surge of foreclosure and bankruptcy cases.
Nationally, there was a surge of law firm mergers in 2011, according to the legal consulting firm Altman Weil Inc. Changes in the local law community included the attorneys at Pappas Metcalf Jenks & Miller PA joining the Jacksonville office of Gunster, and Jimerson & Wilson changing its name to Jimerson & Cobb to reflect the new shareholder, Christopher Cobb. Gunster also expanded its private wealth management services division in 2011 with the addition of John Cole, Kevin Kane and Jason Van Lenten, who were all from the law firm of Ivan, Cole, Bonnette & Kane.
The types of cases most widely practiced continued to be related to foreclosures and bankruptcy cases, said Rogers Towers PA attorney Chris Hazelip. And not only did banks sue borrowers in foreclosure cases, but also a growing number of borrowers sued their lenders for wrongfully foreclosing.
Robo-signing, the practice of bank employees signing documents and affidavits without verifying the information, became headline news in 2010, but continued to be an issue and stalled foreclosure cases in the courts in 2011. A number of states started addressing the issue in court, including the state of Nevada, which filed suit against Lender Processing Services Inc. (NYSE: LPS), based in Jacksonville, and some of its subsidiaries, alleging the company falsified foreclosure documents and made deceptive statements relating to efforts to correct document fraud.
Brenda Ezell, owner of Ezell Law Firm PA, said employment lawyers were also busy in 2011 — another outgrowth of the recession — and became more engaged in advising their clients on social media-related issues.
A growing number of law school graduates were unable to find work under the guidance of seasoned attorneys at law firms. Some were forced to find work in other fields, volunteer or open their own firm.
To address the issue of young lawyers starting their career with little guidance, theJacksonville Bar Association and association President Mike Freed enhanced its monitoring program to match the young lawyers with more seasoned ones.
After more than three years of legal arguments, a U.S. district judge ruled in favor of the local law firm Harrell and Harrell in a case that challenged The Florida Bar’s regulations on lawyer advertising. The Florida Bar regulates all lawyer advertising in the state, and television and radio advertisements must be approved before they air.
The suit, which Harrell and Harrell filed in January 2008, claimed that some of the Bar’s regulations are “vague and arbitrary” and violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Several new laws grabbed headlines in 2011. A Florida law passed in May provides assurance to owners of limited liability companies organized in Florida.
LLCs are legal entities that own property and other assets, make contracts and guarantees, incur liabilities and lend and borrow money.
The Olmstead Patch Bill, named after the Florida Supreme Court case a year earlier that raised the issue, strengthens the protections of the members of a multimember LLC against lawsuits against them personally.
The legislation was important because, before its passage, the business community was concerned that entities organized as a Florida LLC would relocate to other states that offered greater assurances against lawsuits against them personally, said Michael Ivan Jr., an attorney at Brennan, Manna & Diamond PL