Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Taxation & Estate Planning Blogs -> Florida Probate Litigation Blog

Taxation & Estate Planning

: Florida Probate Litigation Blog

3d DCA lectures probate litigator on ethics

By Juan C. Antúnez

pa href="http://www.flprobatelitigation.com/uploads/file/3D08-0005.pdf"Hernandez v. Gil/a, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 5156623 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec 10, 2008)/p pYou know you're having a bad day when the 3d DCA writes an opinion for no other reason than to lecture you on your ethical duties./p blockquote pAlthough the arguments raised by the appellant below and here are meritless and would ordinarily prompt a per curiam affirmance, the role and actions of Hernandez's counsel warrant attention./p /blockquote pOuch! The 3d DCA goes on to admonish Hernandez's counsel for going along with her client's quot;continued direct disobedience of unstayed court orders.quot; And to make matters worse, the 3d DCA ordered Hernandez's counsel to pay the other side's legal fees./p pstrongBut what this case is really about is saying quot;NOquot; to certain clients./strong The longer I practice law the more convinced I become that deciding which cases NOT to take is probably the single most important decision I make as a lawyer. The linked-to opinion is a prime example of how bad things can get when you take on the wrong case./p pstrongJust Say No!/strong/p pAfter writing about this case the last time it was appealed [a href="http://www.flprobatelitigation.com/2007/02/articles/new-probate-cases/will-and-trust-contests/the-art-of-the-general-release/"click here/a], I was asked by a lawyer considering whether he should step in as Hernandez's new lawyer what I thought about the matter. My answer: quot;Run, don't walk, away from this guy.quot; Well, it turns out the 3d DCA has similar advice for the next probate litigator sizing up a particularly difficult client:/p blockquote pWe believe that this opinion and the monetary sanctions that will follow provide an adequate lesson on when to decline representation .nbsp; .nbsp; .nbsp;nbsp; strongldquo;Just say nordquo;/strong applies to some clients and matters, just as to drugs./p /blockquote pI couldn't have said it better myself./pimg src="http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/TheFloridaProbateLitigationBlog/~4/488258835" height="1" width="1"/

Full post as published by Florida Probate Litigation Blog on December 17, 2008 (boomark / email).