The world's oldest democracy, and perhaps its best, has a new Prime Minister- Liz Truss- England's third female leader. Truss will pick up Tuesday where PM Boris Johnson leaves off. A dedicated Brexiter and Conservative, she will travel to Scotland to meet the Queen, who will formally ask her to form a government. The Queen has met every PM since Churchill, but this will be the first time the Queen has met a Minister of Parliament outside of London and asked them to form a government. The Queen is in Scotland for the summer and the 96-year-old monarch has some mobility issues, as the Palace discretely refers to her age-related challenges.
Truss has had a long and winding road to becoming PM. She was the foreign secretary before winning election, so she is well known to world leaders. But as a young woman she was a Liberal Democrat. Even after joining the Conservative party, she was staunchly an anti-Brexit European Union supporter ...until she wasn't. Which brings to mind a few Churchillian bon mots of wisdom: "Those that don't change their minds never change anything", and "A person who isn't a liberal in their youth has no heart. A person who isn't a conservative in their middle age has no brain."
We supported former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, but alas neither he nor we prevailed.
THE HANZMAN METHOD
Closer to home, the praise for the handling of the Surfside Building collapse continues to generate praise. The NY Times weighed in with a very flattering profiled of Judge Michael Hanzman, which included the quote from Judge Jon Colby that the survivors received "personalized justice."
Miami has a lot to be proud of in the way this case was handled and settled. It was done quickly; hard work uncovered several hundred million dollars of coverage that was not readily apparent at the outset of the case; and law firms were cajoled into relinquishing their normal 33-44% fee structure for recovery. It may be a road map for how the legal system handles future mass-tort disasters. Kudos to the Judges and the law firms who handled the case. It was very much a collaborative effort. First among the groundbreaking way this case was handled, was the speed in which it was resolved.
Ask just about any litigant in a case what the most frustrating part of the legal system is for them, and they will respond that it takes too long. There is no closure. Some of the problem lies with the new economics of the law. More lawyers means more competition which means lower fees which means lawyers take more cases to generate the fees needed to run a law firm which means cases move slower.
Couple that with the overbooked dockets and inability to get a hearing within six months of filing a motion in civil court, and you have a court system not responsive to the needs of the public it serves.
But maybe there is a flip side to that never ending downward spiral of the length of cases. And that is the quicker the case moves, the less time it takes, the less hours lawyers have to put in, and thus the lower the fees. Call it the ....Hanzman Method???
Has a nice ring to it.
One thing is for sure, Judge Hanzman can expect to be consulted by Judges across the country the next time one of these unfortunate tragedies hits the legal system.
Summer is officially over- now comes the sprint of trials and hearings until Thanksgiving. Slow and steady wins the race. Well, maybe with the Hanzman Method, quick and steady will be the new normal.
12 comments:
The Hanzman method: take an event that is obviously res ipsa, scare off the small firms by saying they'll have to work for free, wink at your buddies so they agree to be the receivers, lawyers and mediators knowing they will get paid notwithstanding your pubic endearing comments that the lawyers will be working for free. Those lawyers threaten the insurance companies that if they don't settle they will be the only defendant at trial. Think the prisoners dilemma. Then give your buddy lawyers three times their outrageous high hourly rates. Everyone sings your praises. This should be easy to replicate.
HANZY & COCO. The two coolest Judges EVER.
Just a beautiful act of “Judicial Compassion” by both Judge Hanzman and Judge Jon Colby.
Two legal legends.
Thank you for this item, and for your commentary about Judge Hanzman.
The Surfside case and J Hanzman's handling of it have reinforced the message I have been crying into the legal wilderness for a long time: Judges need to be knowledgeable, and experienced in the practice of law. They also need to master the rules of procedure applicable to their assignments: criminal, civil, family, probate, whatever.
J Hanzman, as we now all know, had about 30 years of civil litigation experience, which included mass tort litigation (class actions), a tough and challenging practice area.
Judges need to have the intellectual and legal chops; they can always learn to be "nicer," or "more patient," etc., but they need to ascend the bench already possessing the mental ability and experience, plus the willingness to keep learning.
Hanzman for PM!
There’s a female tennis player named COCO who just made the quarterfinals at the US Open.
Need I say more about karma and manifesting the universe?
Don’t forget playing God and royally screwing survivors.
9:28am. No. No. No. Definitely not the case. You have zero facts to back this up.
Why don’t you tell us who YOU are and what you have accomplished legally in your career - and we can compare you to Judge Hanzman and Judge Colby.
They both did this with much skill, intelligence and compassion. You think YOU could have presided over 100 death trials in two months? You think YOU could have awarded full damage verdicts to homeowners and surviving families?
You do realize that the mediator Bruce Greer had over 1000 hours and worked for free. You do realize that Judge Jon Colby gave up two months of his life to work Pro Bono in our court house.
Their $1million plus fees went to the victims.
When does this happen in our court system.
Shame on you.
Shame on the plaintiff lawyers for getting 3x their inflated fees. But Bruce Greer, a former Federal Judge nominee, as the mediator and Judge J. Colby should get a Florida Bar Pro Bono Award! Hanzman should be Chief Judge in a few years after Judge Sayfie completed her service to the bench. Right?
Bruce Greer is one of the finest, most talented. And most generous lawyers that I know. Sorry that the good lord cannot vlone him.
Judge David Miller, one of the least reasonable judges on the bench, denied an unopposed motion to continue trial based on parental leave in clear violation of the applicable rules. The judge also threatened sanctions against the movant. The Herald covers it here:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article265348906.html
Shame on Judge Miller.
Remember when millennial me was a thing? Thank god that dark period of the blog ended.
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