Submissions and nominations of articles are now being accepted for the fifth annual Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Professional Responsibility. To honor Fred’s memory, the committee will select from among articles in the field of Professional Responsibility with a publication date of 2014. The prize will be awarded at the 2015 AALS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Please send submissions and nominations to Professor Samuel Levine at Touro Law Center: slevine@tourolaw.edu. The deadline for submissions and nominations is September 1, 2014.
Month: March 2014
The Florida Supreme Court Rules on the Eligibility of Unauthorized Immigrants For Bar Admission
The Florida Supreme Court has finally issued a per curiam decision in the much watched case of an undocumented immigrant who sought admission to the Florida Bar.The applicant, Jose Godinez-Samperio, graduated from Florida State University School of Law, and passed the Florida Bar Examination. http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNNews01.nsf/SMTGT/Are%20undocumented%20immigrants%20eligible%20for%20Bar%20admission%3F
The Supreme Court ruled that unauthorized immigrants are ineligible for bar admission and must show that they are legally present in the United States. Even though the applicant was covered by the Dream Act (DACA) under Federal Law, the Supreme Court found that the State of Florida still needed to take legislative action to permit aliens to receive public benefits, including the granting of a license to practice law. In a passionate concurrence, Justice Labarga notes the injustice of this result as mandated under federal and state law.
The decision is full is found here. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2014/sc11-2568.pdf
Dean of Students and Lecturer
University of Miami School of Law
New York Changing Its Contingency Fee Formula – New York Personal Injury Law Blog
OTHERWISE: New York Changing Its Contingency Fee Formula – New York Personal Injury Law Blog.
The Second Department of the Appellate Division of New York Supreme Court is tinkering with the time-honored rule in personal injury cases – the plaintiff;s law firm fronts the costs, pays itself back off the top, and calculates the contingent fee on the net recovery. Eric Turkewitz reports and discusses the issues. – gwc
Senate Rejects Obama Nominee Linked to Abu-Jamal Case – NYTimes.com
OTHERWISE: Senate Rejects Obama Nominee Linked to Abu-Jamal Case – NYTimes.com.
Capital defense attorneys – like others who represent the despised – have long been held in high regard by the legal profession. “A lawyer’s representation of a client”, RPC 1.2 (c) tells us “does not constitute an endorsement of the clients political, economic, social or moral views or activities”. One would hope, we know now in vain, that the United States Senate would appreciate that point. Instead conservative Democrats from “red states” abandoned “Debo P. Adegbile, who headed the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund when it represented Mr. [Mumia] Abu-Jamal decades after his conviction, could not overcome a concerted campaign by Republicans, conservative activists and law enforcement organizations, still infuriated by the murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.” – gwc
Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach 