News & Events

Coffey Burlington partner Kendall Coffey was a speaker this month at the ABA / Russian Arbitration Association Conference of the Resolution of CIS-Related Business Disputes on "Seeking protection through interim relief: A multi-jurisdictional toolbox for CIS-related disputes -Library Hall" analyzing the use of attachments, injunctions and other remedies to freeze and secure assets. He was joined by Alexander Troller of Lalive, Peter Ferrer, and Artem Doujko of Osborne Clarke.

For a full detailed look at conference and program click here.

The Daily Business Review published article titled "Florida Judge Warns Against Using Case Law, Not Statutes, to Support Hearsay Exceptions" analyzing arguments that overlook Florida Statutes governing hearsay in favor of focusing on broader case-law analysis.

The article reads "This issue crops up often, according to Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington, who teaches Florida constitutional law at the University of Miami. He said that’s because the many exceptions to the hearsay rule mean case law can develop a life of its own."

One of the cases cited in the Fourth DCA’s opinion, Moscatiello v. State, is pending before the Florida Supreme Court, as are others involving similar issues. That means things could get interesting, as Coffey sees it, because there are three new justices on the bench.

“In times past, Florida’s Supreme Court has, in significant respects, been more sensitive to the rights of the accused than the U.S. Supreme Court, because we have our own state Constitution,” Coffey said. “The Supreme Court of Florida has its own traditions with respect to the rights of the accused, and the new Supreme Court will be closely watched to see if it maintains those traditions or rolls back some of the rights of the accused.”

A copy of the full Daily Business Review article can be found here.

On June 27, 2019, Partner Fernando Tamayo served as a panelist at the University of Miami School of Law’s inaugural Managing Compliance Across Borders conference, where he presented on the topic of “Corruption and Bribery: Cross-Border Comparisons” to a group of attendees that consisted mostly of domestic and international in-house counsel and compliance officers.

Former US Attorney and Coffey Burlington partner Kendall Coffey spoke at the St. Petersburg Legal Forum on two different topics. He spoke on the "Reasonableness as a Principle of Civil Law" (analyzing duties of good faith and reasonable care in the contractual framework) as well as "Law as the Art of War" analyzing legal strategies in litigation that seek to  move issues quickly, more aggressively and creatively to obtain the best results.

The Legal Forum is one of the world’s biggest international law conferences and brings together some 4500 participants from 75 different countries. Click here.

Fernando Tamayo obtained an 8-page opinion from Interpol, ruling in favor of client, Dr. Carlos Polit, removing the red notice that was improperly requested by the country of Ecuador, and deleting all reference to Dr. Carlos Polit in Interpol’s database and its member nation’s national databases.  Carolina Goncalves and Justin King assisted with the drafting of petitions to Interpol, which involved an in-depth analysis of the improper criminal proceedings brought by Ecuador against Dr. Polit.

In its “Decision of the Commission”, Interpol agreed with all three of Coffey Burlington’s arguments advocating for the removal of the red notice: (1) that Ecuador’s criminal proceedings against Dr. Polit violated his right to due process of law (which Interpol considers to be a violation of human rights); (2) that Ecuador’s prosecution of Dr. Polit was politically motived; and (3) that Ecuador’s basis for requesting the Interpol red notice violated Interpol’s rules.

Paul Schwiep was presented with the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas Defender of the Everglades" Award by the Friends of the Everglades. The award was presented to Mr. Schwiep for his dedication to protecting the Everglades.

The Washington Times published article titled "Mueller Report Finds 14 Other Cases for Prosecutors to Pursue" analyzing the Mueller Report and the criminal referrals that follow.

Mr. Coffey said he expects the cases will move to the top of local prosecutors’ to-do lists.

"Because these are referrals from a highly seasoned and talented team of prosecutors and investigators, they will not be ignored by others and, at a minimum, will likely result in significant follow-up investigative processes,” Mr. Coffey stated.

A copy of the full Daily Business Review article can be found here.