Let me preface this by saying that I love lawyers. I really do. I mean, not all of them. There was the guy who wrote to my boss that I was (and I’m summarizing here) a mentally challenged monkey (we won that case). There was this other guy that told me that if my witness needed to use the restroom during a deposition, there was a potted plant in the corner. And then of course you have the run-of-the-mill smattering of scoundrels and liars.
I think the rest of you are great.
But can we stop writing and speaking like robots? The legal alerts, the press statements, the briefs, the oral arguments. It’s like someone asked ChatGPT to act like a boring lawyer and our profession is working its hardest to execute on this command. I think it’s time the legal profession took the red pill. It’s so much more interesting outside of the Matrix.
Maybe the impact of AI on the legal profession will be to force all of us to strip the robot out of it. Maybe the impact will be that the stuff that makes us human – emotion, humor, soul – will be the differentiator.
When we started MM&H six years ago, one of our core tenets was to Be Human. In broad brushstrokes, it meant that we needed to be mindful that on the other end of every bill we send out is a person, it meant that we had to be aware that the choices we make as attorneys impact real people in real life, it meant that when someone drops the ball, a colleague needs to pick it up, and it meant that it’s ok to be an idiosyncratic weirdo.
In other words, we’re not robots.
The most important inflection points in any case are those moments that demand humanity. It’s the emotion of a witness during direct examination. It’s the passion of an attorney during oral argument. It’s the tapestry of storytelling that gets woven into important filings. It’s knowing what the best counteroffer is to a settlement demand based on thousands of conscious and subconscious inputs.
There may well come a day that AI truly and fully replaces thousands of hours of attorney work involving legal research, memo writing and drafts of documents across the spectrum. And I, for one, welcome our robot overlords with open arms. But as long as judges and juries remain human, as long as concepts like “equity” and “discretion” remain at the forefront of our jurisprudence, I’ll keep betting on humanity.
Welcome our newest human...
Meet Annie Rosenthal
After grinding her opposition to dust, Annie unwinds with her semi-famous-quasi-Insta-influencer dog by watching some of the trashiest British reality dating shows imaginable immersing herself in obscure, relationship-based unscripted television dramas.
Find out more about her Lawsome accolades and experience here.
And, in case you are wondering, YES we are always looking for like-minded (and maybe unlike-minded) individuals to join our team.
FTX CUSTOMERS WANT FRAUD SUITS GROUPED IN FLORIDA — MM&H IS ONE OF THREE FIRMS LITIGATING FROM THE OUTSET
Regular readers of Lawsome News will recall that Florida is one of the most pro-business states in the country when it comes to enforcing restrictive covenants (Tips for Employers discussed here in our last newsletter/LAW360). On January 5, 2023, however, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule to ban all noncompete clauses in the United Sates. While few think the proposed rule will withstand judicial scrutiny, it appears as if the political tides are shifting against the broad enforcement of noncompete provisions.
But employers fear not: restrictive covenants are just one of many tools MM&H attorneys have in their toolbox to protect against thieving employees. Even if the FTC has its way, MM&H has held dishonest employees accountable by litigating trade secret, breach of fiduciary duty, and corporate divorce cases. Restrictive covenants may be the sharpest tool in the shed for Florida businesses at the moment, but MM&H will not allow their diminution to leave you defenseless in a legal fight. Of course, if you're being abused by your employer, MM&H has your back too. (see Tips for Employees). Need more information? Contact Yaniv Adar or Michelle Genet Bernstein.
Don Hayden Throughout his career, Don has been committed to pro bono representation. He served as the Chair of the widely recognized Pro Bono Program of Baker & McKenzie in North America for over seven years. He co-counseled with Lambda Legal in Langbehn v. Jackson Memorial Hospital, a high-profile case that led to an executive order by President Obama requiring all health care facilities receiving federal funds to have equal visitation rights for same sex families.
In addition, he was involved in the drafting of an amicus brief on behalf of leading juvenile rights organizations, in Gill v. State, which led to Florida courts overturning the state’s prohibition against homosexuals adopting, and in Windsor v. the Internal Revenue Service, he assisted in drafting an amicus brief on behalf of Fortune 500 companies in favor of marriage equality.
He has been awarded for his work in the areas of foster care and juvenile justice by Lawyers for Children America and the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office.
On May 14th, 2023 Don will be honored by SAVE at their Champions of Equality Gala. We will be there! We hope you will join in the celebrations!
No Longer Your Parent’s Florida Supreme Court: Florida Supreme Court is Now One of The Most Conservative In Country
BY DON HAYDEN | Feb 25, 2023
For some of us, that can remember the days of Gore v. Harris, 772 So. 2d 1243 (Fla. 2000), the Florida Supreme Court was seen as an evenly divided court maybe veering slightly toward the left on issues bought before it (for the younger readers, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling above that would have allowed the recount in South Florida to continue, and perhaps change history, or at least who would be in the White House for four years). Fast forward to 2023, the Florida Supreme Court is one now seen as one of the most conservative state supreme courts in the country with not one of the Florida Supreme Court justices appointed by a Democratic governor. In his first term, Governor Ron DeSantis was able to appoint seven justices (two of whom were almost immediately elevated to the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals under Trump). The other two justices to fill out the seven-person panel were appointed by Governor Charlie Christ, when he still counted himself as a Republican.
Recent court decisions indicate a much more activist court in many cases endorsing the culture war legislation and executive orders of Governor DeSantis and the heavily Republican-controlled Florida legislature. Most recently, the Florida Supreme Court has deleted a rule that allowed for judges to take courses in “fairness and diversity” to meet a continuing education requirement in a 6-1 ruling with a scathing dissent by Justice Jorge Labarga. [...] Read More
Anticipating Special Assessments and Options for Investors to Recover Loses
Josh Migdal and Darci Cohen
Read mo
The Florida Local Counsel Guide and the Complex Business Litigation Section
Yaniv Adar and Maia Aron
Forward this newsletter if you think you know someone in need of some Lawsome News in their inbox once in a while...
Mark Migdal & Hayden 80 SW 8th Street, Suite 1999 Miami Florida 33130 United States
You received this email because you are subscribed to Marketing Information from Mark Migdal & Hayden. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails
