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Orlando, FL-
HOT MESS SPOILER ALERT
Who thought this was a good idea on behalf of THE BAEZ LAW FIRM?
Who raised their hand at the weekly status update and said:
“I’m sick of this crapp-ass coffee, I make $300 bucks an hour.
I make big bucks so I should be drinking STARbucks.
Gimme a Venti. I can’t drink this swill another 3/4 hour minimum or I will surely die before the trial.
I KNOW.. how about we figure out a way to make OTHERS pay for it??
Sound ridiculous?
That is nothing compared to the caught-on-camera cluster that took place during yesterdays hearing to declare accused murderer Casey Anthony indigent for costs.
Andrea Lyon, lead counsel and chronic look-of-woehaver, feels approximately $70Geeze of her “charity’s” money has been spent on this case. (Edited to add, methinks she is subtracting $22Geeze, read on)
The Center For Justice In Capital Cases
SHUT THE DOOR. This is no charity, except perhaps to Lyon as she is a paid staff member, serving as it’s director.
It is a certification study class at DePaul, run by Lyon and paid by the defense PI Morty.
Furthermore, as the work product developed in this case supports the curriculum and subsequent GPA of it’s tuitionable students, why the hell would the expenses be allocated to the defense of the case against Casey Anthony instead of DePaul?
There is no charity attributable to Andrea Lyon although she testifies to fund raising efforts through various charities and corporations, and that those charities are now, “in the hole.” $70Geeze, to be exact.
Is this the part where we here her use of the word charity was a charitable way to say she imposed on her budget as a professor?
I will say, given her penchant for hardass reporting from her students, how is it possible she has no clue what her books and billable hour are?
There are 14 students working on a death penalty case that are not attorneys, and client attorney privilege would not extend to them as their is no established agency. If I were the National Enquirer I would be finding out which of those undergrads have fat student loans and what kind of access to information they have. Catch My drift?
SanDiego Sugga Daddy
Todd Macaluso, apparently so sure of Casey’s innocence he gassed up the whirlybird, packed his lucky smoking jacket and signed on to the case.
Jose Baez testified that Todd Macaluso gifted $70 Geeze to the trust account of Casey Anthony. Operating pro hac vice (visitors pass) as representation with his own retainer agreement with Miss Anthony, Mac has violated the rules of the Florida Bar:
RULE 4-1.8 CONFLICT OF INTEREST; PROHIBITED AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS
(e) Financial Assistance to Client. A lawyer shall not provide financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, except that:
(1) a lawyer may advance court costs and expenses of litigation, the repayment of which may be contingent on the outcome of the matter; and
(2) a lawyer representing an indigent client may pay court costs and expenses of litigation on behalf of the client.
As Casey had access to $275K and was not indigent 10 months ago when Todd Macaluso signed on and paid his apparent entry fee, it would be impossible to defend this “contribution” as legal under Florida law.
ABC
The Approving Bogs for Children company has paid out $200 Geeze.
“In August 2008, we licensed exclusive rights to an extensive library of photos and home videos for use by our broadcast platforms, affiliates and international partners. No use of the material was tied to any interview.”
..”The deal was done with an attorney representing several owners of copyrighted content, ABC News spokeswoman Cathie Levine said. That attorney is Baez, she added..”
Really, not tied to any interview? When did those images and videos debut on GMA exactly? Who was on that program when they were shown?
I am quite certain I heard Jose Baez say in sworn testimony that he retained Tim Chinaris, former head of Florida Bar ethical committee to field such inquiries and all were turned down. He added that such agreements would not be ethical. Maybe he thinks ethical is transposable with visible.
Several owners of content means multiple people were paid for this “extensive library”. If ABC is claiming that Baez brokered this transaction for all then we have an even bigger problem as he was simultaneously representing the interests of all parties at the time. The agreement that was reached between the parties is critical to understanding the income status of Casey Anthony and her attorneys. Judge Strickland may very well just deny the indigency application and alls well that ends well that these barristers will have to buck up on their own.
That is, until John Morgan gets wind. We will see a copy of the ABC contract in the civil case against Casey Anthony on behalf of Zenaida Gonzalez, fo shcizz. He danced 2 jigs yesterday. There were witnesses.
Without question, Mr. Baez should be REQUIRED to produce this agreement in response to proof their is no recurring revenue or subsequent earnings to his client based on the structure of the agreement. It is not uncommon for such agreements to include royalty clauses, which would mean that someone is getting paid every time a photo or image from that collection is used.
ABC newsroom laid off 1/3 of it’s news staff earlier this month. Nice.
Billable Hours
Perhaps the *thud* moment for me yesterday was when Mr. Baez admitted in open court that he does not track his billable hours on this case.
THUD, AGAIN
Apparently, the reaction is sticking with me.
Under the rules of the Florida Bar, there is a very stringent set of requirements when determining reasonable fees for clients.
Short Version:
RULE 4-1.5 FEES AND COSTS FOR LEGAL SERVICES
(b) Factors to Be Considered in Determining Reasonable Fees and Costs.
(1) Factors to be considered as guides in determining a reasonable fee include:
(A) the time and labor required, the novelty, complexity, and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly.
How can you bill someone $90Geeze, and have no idea how you got there, or whether or not such activities are reasonable to the client and or case?
Judge Strickland ruled that by end of business today the defense team needed to provide a full accounting of requested trust account disbursements.
I am thinking they will take the rejection of her indigency status before another trip to the dunk tank, but that’s just me.
Can you imagine the car ride home with Cheney Mason?
Role play:
“You effing stupid carpetbagging imp..
Do you even know what the eff IN CAMERA means??
It does not mean that information is sealed forever like the shalac on your hair, you moron..”
AL: Yep, I already told him that. Can I offer you some starbucks?
