Woman Used a Commercial Will Instead of a Lawyer

The Florida Bar News edition from June 1, 2014 features an article about a woman who chose to use a commercial or generic will instead of working with a lawyer to prepare a specific will for her needs.

In this case the commercial will form saved her some money in preparing the document.  But it cost her family much more in litigating the will that the initial lawyer would have been.  The problem experienced by this woman could have been easily avoided by addressing all the necessary items in the will had she chosen to use an attorney.  This is not an uncommon story

Florida Tech Presents: Tomorrow's Lawyers

As written by Florida Tech’s School of Arts and Communication:

Second Annual Lecture in Law

Patricia D. White, Dean & Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law, presenting “Tomorrow’s Lawyers”

Thursday, September 26, 2013 in the John and Martha Hartley Room, 2nd Floor, Denius Student Center

  • 5:00 PM Late Registration & Check In
  • 5:15 PM Reception
  • 6:00 PM Lecture

Call (321) 674-8382 or email pdpregistration@fit.edu to register.  More information available on FIT’s website.

Law schools have been under attack in the popular press and the legal profession is changing in many ways. The traditional funding models for education are becoming increasingly problematic. Join Miami Law’s dean, Patricia D. White, as she addresses these issues and shares her vision for legal education and the profession. Dean White will discuss the ways in which Miami Law is anticipating the continuing effects that globalization, technology and the economy will have on the legal world.

The Agenda for the presentation is as follows:

Agenda

  • 5:00 PM  Last Minute Registration and Check In
  • 5:15 PM  Networking Reception with Light Refreshments
  • 6:00 PM  Welcome by Dr. Robert Taylor, Head, School of Arts and Communication
  • 6:05 PM  Introduction of Dean White by Brooke Goldfarb, Prelaw Mentor and Adjunct Faculty
  • 6:10: PM Dean Patricia D. White- “Tomorrow’s Lawyers”

Issues including the fact that law schools have been under attack in the popular press and the legal profession is changing in many ways are covered by Patricia D. White, law dean, University of Miami, who shares her vision for legal education and the profession. Also disscusses how Miami Law is anticipating the continuing effects globalization, technology and the economy have on the legal world, and how traditional funding models for education are becoming increasingly problematic.

  • 7:00 PM  Floor open to questions from the audience for Dean White
  • 7:15 PM  Final question for Dean White, Thank You and Closing Remarks by Brooke Goldfarb

FAQs about Family Law (Brevard County, FL)

The firm puts out a great little piece about How to Choose a Lawyer and usually we mail with it some information about family law issues such as.  (If you are interested in these topics you can call the office for a copy of our material or visit the website as well.)    Recently I came across a great article posted by the American Bar Assosciation titled and it seems a good, short list of things to consider about various concerns in the area of divorce, finding a divorce lawyer, what to do about child custody, and others.

Take a minute to read the full ABA article on family law and follow the links through to the accompanying articles.    Take a minute also to review our on the firm site serving all of Brevard.

Public Defenders Fifty Years After Gideon v. Wainwright

As I have written here on this website – “The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that anyone accused of a crime has the right to assistance of counsel for their defense. …  In 1963 in Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the 6th Amendment required the government give counsel to all defendants charged with felony crimes who are unable to afford an attorney. And in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court extended this protection to all defendants charged with crimes that are punishable by imprisonment.”

Read more from the American Bar Association Journal on the 5oth Anniversary of this case.

Read more about What You Need to Know About Using the Public Defender.

Fingerprint Evidence Restrictions Per Judge

Here is a link to an interesting article about a ruling from south Florida relating to criminal law and the admissibility of fingerprint evidence. It is a quick read if you have a minute.

Miami-Dade judge rules fingerprint evidence
should be restricted

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch, who often wades into controversial legal ground, is questioning long-accepted scientific ideas on latent prints.

Read more here:

Comments from my Facebook post on this topic:

MJC:  Am I reading this right Ken? He thinks fingerprints should be limited b/c they could be similar?? I thought we all had exclusive prints like DNA?? Am I wrong??
Ken: The judge will allow fingerprint evidence to be presented to the jury but will not allow the fingerprint expert to say it “matches” the Defendant’s prints only that they are similar. From a strictly scientific point of view this is a correct ruling, however courts have allowed testimony that prints “match”.
DY: whats next throwing out confessions, oh wait they do that already, video tapes of the crimes, they could throw them out……
Ken: The area of false confessions is fascinating to me as innocent people sometimes confess where they have nothing to gain and the questioning seems non coercive. Then there are confessions made up by jail inmates and traded to the gullible. So yes, some “confessions” should be excluded from evidence.

You can follow my Criminal & Family Law related Facebook page or Twitter for updated information on many topics including local events, court rulings, interesting legal tidbits and more.