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September 2, 2010 |
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 After two awful years, hopes rise
Following massive layoffs of lawyers and staff by many Florida law firms in 2008 and 2009 — and in some cases office closures — the hemorrhaging appears to have stopped. In fact, many law firms are now hiring, not just the all-important laterals with a portable book of business but associates as well. Even more surprising, firms are not just hiring in the red-hot areas of bankruptcy and litigation, but are looking for a few lawyers in real estate and mergers and acquisitions.
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Firms in the right niche succeeded in tough times
While most Florida law firms have struggled in the economic free fall, a few counted 2009 as a year for expansion.
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 Labor & Employment
Feds switch focus to employers
Attorneys such as Anne Marie Estevez say South Florida’s cultural mix and abundance of small businesses can make for a litigation nightmare.
Law lags behind in social-networking issues
Courts, which have been known to lag decades behind technological advances, haven’t gotten around to setting legal standards for the use of social-networking sites in the workplace, attorneys say.
Court to decide if there is right to privacy on company cells, pagers
“What are the legal boundaries of an employee’s privacy in this interconnected, electronic-communication age, one in which thoughts and ideas that would have been spoken personally and privately in ages past are now instantly text-messaged to friends and family via hand-held, computer-assisted electronic devices? It is precisely this question that is before the court.”
NCAA pools just don’t mesh with today’s workplace
Seemingly harmless March Madness office pools result in $1.4 billion in lost employee productivity each year, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas, a business outplacement firm. This statistic is calculated by figuring college-educated employees spend an average of 10 minutes on each of the tournament’s 15 days on tournament-related activities while at work, costing employers $94 million per day. Even though many companies believe the loss of productivity is worth the improved morale, larger issues loom for employers.
Contrary to courts, Congress broadens disabilities definition
Over the course of the ADA’s first 10 years, Congress became concerned with the ways in which the U.S. Supreme Court construed the definition and determined judicial construction had bred too narrow a standard in defining an ADA disability. Lawmakers believed the courts wrongly denied protection for people who Congress originally sought to defend. To rectify the court interpretations, Congress passed the amendments to statutorily reject the Supreme Court decisions in Sutton v. United Air Lines and Toyota v. Williams and eradicate several restrictive requirements that had been judicially imposed on those seeking to establish disability in an ADA cause of action.
Just having more discrimination claims won’t improve labor force
The Obama administration has taken many steps to remind us there is a new sheriff in Washington. One is in its appointments to agencies enforcing federal employment laws. We have heard that the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department is “open for business.” The appointments to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and the Departments of Justice and Labor signal a turn toward more regulation, investigation and enforcement litigation.
DBR TV: The challenges facing labor and employment attorneys as worker rights and immigration get increased attention from the president.
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 Law Firm Diversity Survey
The Daily Business Review’s annual diversity survey indicates minorities actually made gains at several firms in spite of the recession, and overall the bar has been raised.
DBR TV Report:
Concerns about setbacks for minorities and women in the law appear to be unfounded, according to the Review’s South Florida Diversity Scorecard.
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 Bankruptcy & Auctions
In a ruling of interest to mortgage lenders, a bankruptcy judge ruled that even a grossly negligent lender can come out on top. The Jan. 11 decision is good news for Countrywide Homes Loans, which is trying to recover on a $691,000 loan made to Richard Spair in 2004 to refinance his Wall Township, N.J., home. Countrywide acquired the mortgage from Quicken Loans in 2006.
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 Health Care Fraud
Prosecuted doctors: Caught in catch 22?
Attorneys, patient advocates and physicians say a Miami acquittal is indicative of how doctors can be unfairly prosecuted for drug or insurance fraud
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 Prosecuting health care fraud
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 Managing Partners Survey
Law firms ready for the up cycle
With layoffs and pay cuts hopefully behind them, South Florida firms look for ways to increase revenue.
For some firms, it’s all about the silver lining
Overall, 85 percent of managing partners described feeling optimistic about the coming year at their firm. Some firm leaders even said the recession strengthened their businesses.
The Charts
Video Report:
Reporter Vanessa Blum’s video report on laws firms big and small tightening their belts and as one person put it, “flat is the new up.”
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 Corporate Counsel Compensation
Base salaries rise, but disappearing bonuses and sluggish stock options hurt general counsel in the wallet.
GC’s losing altitude in overall paycheck
Top legal officers of Florida corporations got some good news and some bad news with their paychecks in 2008.
Compared to rest of work force, GC’s still getting paid fairly well
General counsel of the nation’s largest companies managed to get a modest raise. All cash metrics for last year were up, while anything involving stocks, option grants and cash outs were down.
Bankruptcy expert tops pay list
Usually, the chief legal officer of a thriving global conglomerate takes the top spot in a national survey of general counsel compensation. That was before the global recession. This year, the top honor goes to Gregory Doody, an expert in bankruptcy law.
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