Florida, lawyers & the private and public sector: Conflicts of interest

[The Backlash Cometh]

One of my biggest beefs with the way law firms operate in Florida is that lawyers from the same law firm represent the private sector at the same time that they represent the public sector. This creates conflicts of interest if not the perception of one. There are variations on this theme:

(1) A few years ago I researched city minutes and legal time sheets and discovered that the source of the "done deal" public meetings result because the lawyer for developers talked to the lawyer for the city LONG before the first public meeting was held. So at the public meetings, you had city staffers adamant about their positions because they were already following an agenda.

or

(2) In another case, home addresses for lawyers affiliated with one law firm were spread out through the municipalities in the county, evenly. These lawyers were often city attorneys, and/or attorneys representing developers with property rights issues. In cases where HOA's interests clashed with the city or the developer, the friendly neighborhood lawyer offers his services at a reasonable price, but in the end, the HOA walks away with less than they deserve.

I think it's a problem that needs to be researched more thoroughly. What's worse, people know about the problem and do nothing about it because only the Florida bar can do anything about it, and the past reflects a trend that isn't too reassuring.

However, here is a promising article that shows that someone is paying attention:


Land buys raising questions for lawyer

An expressway authority lawyer is linked to parcels near the western beltway

The chairman of the law firm that helped secure locations for beltway interchanges in western Orange County is a lawyer for private investors who have amassed almost 4,000 acres nearby that new roads could help open to development.

The law firm of Broad & Cassel and its politically powerful chairman, C. David Brown II, negotiate land deals on behalf of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority for new roads. The firm arranged right-of-way purchases for the future southern extension of the western beltway (State Road 429) and for two interchanges along the route.

Brown, along with two other Broad & Cassel partners, also serves as a lawyer and a corporate officer for a group of companies representing undisclosed investors who during the past decade have spent more than $21 million to buy 3,827 acres in southeastern Lake County.

Roads leading from the two planned beltway interchanges, if extended west to U.S. Highway 27, would head straight to land owned by those companies three to four miles away.

More
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-asec-brown020104,0,5231531.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. More info: a major partner from Broad & Cassel's is a Bush friend

Bush family friend takes lead on Scripps
An Orlando lawyer with powerful contacts handles the deal to bring the scientific organization to Florida.


When Gov. Jeb Bush needed someone to negotiate a landmark pact with the Scripps Research Institute, he didn't pick a lawyer out of the Yellow Pages.

After all, $369-million in state money was involved, as was a world-renowned scientific organization. And the legal work would pay as much as $275 an hour. So Bush turned to David Brown, a longtime friend.

The 52-year-old Orlando lawyer is on friendly terms with the powerful, from President Bush to golfer Tiger Woods. His real estate clients include members of the Saudi royal family.

Even among lawyers, Brown is a master at cultivating connections. The best evidence: The Scripps deal might never have happened without his networking skills.



http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/20/news_pf/Business/Bush_family_friend_ta.shtml

[hang a left]

2. Sounds terribly corrupt to me. Like alot of other happenings

that have taken place in that state.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. There are lawfirms in Florida that are very tightly knit to the Republican

party. Think about the potential for abuse. They control the laws regarding property rights, which has made Florida the hell-hole that it has become.