It wasn't that long ago that the world was caving in on Attorneys Guy Lewis and Michael Tein.
Judge Dresnick was holding contempt hearings into allegations they lied about the source of their fees in the defense of their client in a civil wrongful death case. Bar complaints were in the works. The Herald was giving them as much bad publicity as you will ever see two good attorneys get. And bashing them was easy: they were successful civil lawyers who by all appearances had gotten caught with their fingers in the Miccosukee cookie jar. It's called schadenfreude.
The piling on included, regrettably, your blogger and this blog. There have been times that by blogging we have made grievous errors that have hurt people. Mistakenly and prematurely announcing the death of a beloved judge was one such error we will never forget, or forgive ourselves for the pain we caused his family. And believing the Herald's slanted, malicious, and downright erroneous coverage of attorneys Michael Tein and Guy Lewis was another mistake that hurt innocent people. As a criminal defense attorney, we should have known better.
Then Attorney Paul Calli got involved in the case. And what he did is what we all aspire to as defense attorneys. He undertook the representation of two clients who had almost no friends left. The judge was out to get them. The media was engaging in a very public lynching of their reputations. And the Bar had opened a file. But Calli had one thing on his side: the truth. And luckily for Tein and Lewis they had the right lawyer for this seemingly impossible defense.
In short order Calli turned the tables. He got his client's stories out. He successfully defended them before Judge Dresnick, exposed the other side's mendacious tactics, and carried the day in civil court.
This week saw full vindication for attorneys Michael Tein and Guy Lewis as the Florida Bar closed out the complaints with a no probable cause finding and began an investigation into the attorneys for the Miccosukee tribe. The comparison in criminal court is like getting a not guilty and then having the cops arrested for lying. It was a truly remarkable feat of lawyering and one worthy of praise.
So there you have it. A few lessons learned, two lawyers have their reputations restored, and one damn fine job of lawyering. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Enjoy this hot summer weekend. Dolphins football starts Sunday.
Showing posts with label Michael Tein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Tein. Show all posts
Friday, August 02, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
DRESNICK'S EYES SPINNING!
The long strange saga of attorneys Lewis and Tein, the Miccosukee Indian trbe and Judge Ronald Dresnick played out this week during contempt hearings before Judge Dresnick.
The hearings concluded with Dresnick finding that neither Lewis (former US Attorney Guy Lewis) nor his partner Michael Tein comitted perjury. The ruling was a clear victory for Lewis and Tein and their lawyer Paul Calli who came in and did a brilliant job turning the litigation in this case around after the media (including this blog we are ashamed to say) had already convicted Lewis and Tein in the court of public opinion.
EYES SPINNING IN HIS SOCKETS:
The Herald covered the hearing here and had this quote from Judge Dresnick:
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ronald Dresnick said the $3 million in fees charged by attorneys Guy Lewis and Michael Tein to represent the two Miccosukee Tribe members in the 2009 civil trial “made my eyes spin in their sockets.”
“I’m just shocked by the amount of these fees,” said Dresnick, a veteran judge who presided over a three-day sanctions hearing and ordered the pair to pay the fine to an opposing plaintiff’s attorney. “I’m just flabbergasted.” The contretemps started after a three million dollar jury verdict in a case involving a car accident in which Miccosukee tribe members were the defendants. The plaintiffs sought to collect on the judgment and the defendant's said they had no money to pay. Inquiry was made as to how much the defendants paid their lawyers. Lewis and Tein denied their fees were paid from the Tribe and the controversy began. From the Herald article: On Wednesday, Dresnick found that Lewis and Tein did not commit perjury and did not intentionally mislead the judge at the previous sanctions hearing. But the judge implied that both lawyers should have shown more candor to the court before he decided to raise a prior $3,500 sanctions fee. The ruling is a victory for Paul Calli and his clients Lewis and Tein. No lawyer wants to be cited for perjury. But ouch! The fine hurts. We would be back to domestic wines for a year. Appeal anyone? How do you, as a criminal practitioner, avoid this tsuris (legaleese for "oy- this sucks") ? Rumpole Rule #2STAY OUT OF CIVIL COURT! See You In Court.
The hearings concluded with Dresnick finding that neither Lewis (former US Attorney Guy Lewis) nor his partner Michael Tein comitted perjury. The ruling was a clear victory for Lewis and Tein and their lawyer Paul Calli who came in and did a brilliant job turning the litigation in this case around after the media (including this blog we are ashamed to say) had already convicted Lewis and Tein in the court of public opinion.
EYES SPINNING IN HIS SOCKETS:
The Herald covered the hearing here and had this quote from Judge Dresnick:
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ronald Dresnick said the $3 million in fees charged by attorneys Guy Lewis and Michael Tein to represent the two Miccosukee Tribe members in the 2009 civil trial “made my eyes spin in their sockets.”
“I’m just shocked by the amount of these fees,” said Dresnick, a veteran judge who presided over a three-day sanctions hearing and ordered the pair to pay the fine to an opposing plaintiff’s attorney. “I’m just flabbergasted.” The contretemps started after a three million dollar jury verdict in a case involving a car accident in which Miccosukee tribe members were the defendants. The plaintiffs sought to collect on the judgment and the defendant's said they had no money to pay. Inquiry was made as to how much the defendants paid their lawyers. Lewis and Tein denied their fees were paid from the Tribe and the controversy began. From the Herald article: On Wednesday, Dresnick found that Lewis and Tein did not commit perjury and did not intentionally mislead the judge at the previous sanctions hearing. But the judge implied that both lawyers should have shown more candor to the court before he decided to raise a prior $3,500 sanctions fee. The ruling is a victory for Paul Calli and his clients Lewis and Tein. No lawyer wants to be cited for perjury. But ouch! The fine hurts. We would be back to domestic wines for a year. Appeal anyone? How do you, as a criminal practitioner, avoid this tsuris (legaleese for "oy- this sucks") ? Rumpole Rule #2STAY OUT OF CIVIL COURT! See You In Court.
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