What has been your best experience from your time as a Fellow? My best experience has been connecting with my fellow class at the various events hosted by the BLS at the Labor Day Retreat and FL Bar Conference. I’ve created business connections and friendships for a lifetime (in fact, one of the fellows in...Read More

Jessey is currently second vice chair of the Inclusion, Mentoring and Fellowship Committee What has been your best experience from your time as a Fellow?   The highlight of my Fellowship experience has been being able to engage with my Fellows class, both interpersonally and professionally. In practice, I often find myself faced with issues...Read More

What has been your best experience from your time as a Fellow? Getting to meet the other fellows, getting involved in multiple projects, and getting to see firsthand the impact BLS has on its members and the legal community. Why did you apply to the Business Law Section’s Fellowship Program? I wanted to find a...Read More

What has been your best experience from your time as a Fellow? My best experience has been attending the Annual Labor Day Retreat each summer and presenting a CLE on emerging data privacy issues in Florida. The Retreat fostered meaningful connections with Fellows and practitioners, while presenting allowed me to engage with a unique practice...Read More

By Samantha Medina Discovery disputes are won or lost before the motion is filed. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202 requires good faith conferral(s) before filing most non-dispositive motions and demands a substantive certificate of compliance identifying dates, methods of communication, positions, and any failure to respond. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have similar...Read More

By Ali S.Iftikhar, Barakat + Bossa, PLLC In December 2024, the Florida Supreme Court adopted Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.202 (“Rule 1.202”), which requires parties to confer in good faith before filing non-dispositive motions.[1] The rule’s stated purpose is to improve case management, promote judicial efficiency, reduce unnecessary litigation costs, and ease the burden...Read More

By William Slicker In 1995, Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat began archiving web pages and named their site the Internet Archive. In 2001, they rebranded as the Wayback Machine. The name Wayback Machine is a take off from the Wayback Machine used by Mister Peabody and Sherman to travel back in time in The Adventures...Read More

By Deedee Bitran Think Small Businesses Are Immune from Discrimination Laws? Think Again. A recent case involving Jewish therapists facing workplace discrimination has sent a clear message to small employers: being under the 15-employee threshold of Title VII does not give employers a free pass to discriminate. The therapists, who were employed at a practice...Read More

By Jocelyne A. Macelloni On April 29, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court adopted a revised summary judgment standard, aligning it closely with the federal standard. On May 23, 2024, further amendments to Rule 1.510 were announced, followed by additional updates on December 5, 2024. This overview highlights 10 key points that every practitioner and judge...Read More

By Deedee Bitran Religious accommodation in the workplace isn’t just a legal requirement—it’s a growing area of litigation risk. A recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit against Marriott underscores the stakes for employers nationwide.[1] Last month, the EEOC sued Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation and Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. in the Middle District of Florida...Read More