Rusty Law

Madoff Raises Unemployment

Bernie Madoff’s former assistant is now a hairdresser.  She went to cosmetology school over the summer for an extreme make-over on her career path.  She is not going to work in finance any more, and that is true for many other former Madoff employees as well.  

Twenty years’ experience in a successful Ponzi scheme does not play well on a job interview if you got caught the twenty-first year.  After book rights and fraud allegations, there is not much for these people to do except increase the unemployment rate.  

And Madoff is not in a position to write recommendations.  He is residing in a different kind of gated community, with extra tight security for the next 150 years.  Even members of his family who were involved in the business could face criminal charges relating to aiding and abetting the fraud.  They may have been a-betting they would not get caught!  

Until the government offers a tax incentive to hire former Madoff employees, Manhattan’s Lipstick Building is the kiss of death for Madoff’s staff, except his assistant, and she is moving on in style.   

Tantalizing False Advertising

Body work on “Dancing With the Stars” is over six gallons a season in spray-tan juice.  Instant abs are a pigment of imagination.  Forget a retouch in post-production, the airbrush is sculpting arms and finding cheekbones for the rigors of high definition TV.  We are getting a clearer picture, but is it true?  The Florida Supreme Court would like to avoid such a question when it comes to lawyers’ websites.  

The Internet has opened a wide avenue for the informational age, including advertising and interactive social networking, which are both a great way to reach people; however, restrictions concerning such online outreach is becoming tighter for lawyers.  Already there is a proposal to review MySpace and other online social networking accounts prior to admission to the Bar.  Now lawyers’ websites are coming under scrutiny from the Florida Supreme Court.  

The Bar views websites as similar to Yellow Pages ads, not just informational conduits, and therefore the websites should come under similar review.  A special committee was created to further examine website advertising.  An attorney should not appear tanorexic on Facebook or in any other way false or lacking fitness of character.  

This is not a testimonial.  This is not a characterization of services, nor will past results be provided on this blog.  Word of mouth is still strong for lawyers as with other businesses.  Thank you to my clients for your loyalty and patronage.  

Happy Anniversaries

One year ago I was admitted to the Florida bar, and my law practice has grown rapidly since.  My background in real estate title motivated me to attend law school.  I am proud to provide service in areas where legal and land issues often overlap.  

My family has been in the title business for thirty years.  We’ve enjoyed the ups and downs of the housing market.  When we opened the doors in 1979, the first month we only had two orders.  Even in the recent downturn of real estate, we’ve done better than that.  To celebrate our thirty years, we open the doors and say:  “We’re still in business!”  

A lot of title companies have closed in that time, and a lot of homes have gone into foreclosure.  These are not the best of circumstances, but I’m proud to say I have the real estate experience and the legal qualifications to serve those in need.  I’m willing to do the work and accomplish difficult tasks—happy anniversary to my family’s business and to me.  

Land Title of America and Rusty Law work together in the same building on South US 1 in St. Augustine, and we’re glad to be of service to our community.  

Colonizing Florida - Erosion of Colonial Bank

“Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.” – William Shakespeare 

It’s always best to be the middleman, except when you’re a subprime lender.  We’ve lost another financial institution, Colonial Bank—long live BB&T! 

While Taylor Bean & Whittaker was headquartered on Florida soil, Colonial Bank was colonizing Florida from Alabama.  Colonizing Florida has always been risky business since the time the Spanish plundered our fair state for gold but got only quartzite, and a lot of it.  The Spanish lost the territory to England, briefly, then finally surrendered it to the United States in 1821, whose continental acquisition hung over the peninsula like an anvil.  

Hopefully the FDIC will remain an effective a stabilizing entity in Florida.  As for Colonial Bank, that sure line has eroded.