Summarily - A Podcast for Busy Lawyers

Co-host Jennifer Opiola joined Robert to review PIP and insurance opinions issued by the Florida DCAs in March.

• Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., v. laguna Riviera Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 2D DCA (retroactivity of § 627.714(4)). 
• Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Avril and Romain, 4th DCA (deductible as an affirmative defense).
• Arway v. Progressive Amer. Ins. Co., 6th DCA (statute of limitations defeated by policy language).
• Envision Ph...

Equality Florida sued Governor DeSantis et al., challenging H.B. 1557 (the "Don't Say Gay" law). The parties recently settled, and Florida agreed to limit the law's scope in significant ways.

Robert is joined by John C. Quinn, a partner at Kaplan Hecker and Fink, and D. Brandon Trice, counsel at Kaplan Hecker and Fink. John and Brandon were part of a team of lawyers, led by Robbie Kaplan, who, along wit...

Co-host Jennifer Opiola joined Robert to review PIP and insurance opinions issued in February, including one dealing with inconsistent verdicts and another about the retroactivity of the pre-suit demand statute under chapter 627.

• Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Tsirnikas, 2d DCA (inconsistent verdicts); see also Chiarella v. Ford, 4th DCA.
• Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Peipert, 3d DCA (entitlement to prejudgment interest).
• C...

Are you ready for new rule 1.041 (Notice of Limited Appearance), effective April 1? Tune into this episode to learn what you need to know. Robert and Lindsey also cover several opinions from January.

• In re: Jane Doe 23-B, 1st DCA (judicial waiver).
• Tanner v. Dashner, 4th DCA (single-homicide rule; ex post facto).
• Nelson v. State, 5th DCA (judge's comments at sentencing).
• Tesla v. Monserratt, 4th DCA (apex doctrine).
• John Knox V...

Co-host Jennifer Opiola joined Robert to review PIP opinions issued in January.

• United Auto. Ins. Co. v. ISO Diagnostic Testing, 4th DCA (fee schedule).
• Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Andre, 4th DCA (setting aside default). 
• State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Matthews, 5th DCA (prejudicial statements and right to fair trial).
• Sulzer v. Amer. Integrity Ins. Co. of Fla., 6th DCA (retroactivity of pre-suit notice statute; certi...

On Tuesday, February 6th, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in United States v. Trump and held that the former president is not immune from criminal prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office. 

Robert discussed the opinion with constitutional law professor Harold Krent of the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Summarily is sponsored by BetterHelp and The Law Office of Scott N. Richardson, P.A. C...

Professor Joe Regalia recently joined Robert to discuss how law firms can use generative AI to create and maximize efficiency and what law firms should do to prepare for the future with generative AI. 

Joe is an associate professor of law at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law where he teaches legal writing and the intersection between the law and technology. He also leads the training and development team at Write.Law, an online t...

Co-host Jennifer Opiola joined Robert to review a handful of PIP and insurance opinions issued in December. 

• Advance Mold Servs., Inc. v. Universal N. Am. Ins., Co., 3d DCA (dismissal with prejudice). 
• Universal Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. Sunset 102 Off. Park Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 3d DCA (untimely motion to amend affirmative defenses; sanctions for spoliation; motion for mistrial).
• People’s Tr. Ins. Co. v. Diaz, 5th DCA (policy endorseme...

On April 16, 1963, at just thirty-four years of age and five years before his life was cut short by an assassin, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. penned from a jail cell, the most powerful, persuasive, and poetic message ever written: Letter From Birmingham Jail.

In honor of Dr. King and in celebration of his birthday, this is the audio of the Letter, read by Dr. King. What would have been had he lived?

This is perhaps...

Goodbye 2023. Hello 2024. Robert and Lindsey rundown a handful of opinions and appellate rule changes from December.

D.A.N. v. State, 1st DCA (attorney sanctions).
Lapham v. Walgreens, 11th Cir (retaliation claims under the FMLA and Florida’s private sector whistleblowers act).
Orozco v. Rodriguez, 6th DCA (standing to seek paternity determination). 
Seadler v. Marina Bay Resort Condo. Assoc., Inc., FSC (rel...

In April 2023, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen joined Robert to discuss Imposter Syndrome and how it can negatively affect your mental health. Dr. Hendriksen is back to kick of the new year. She sat down with Robert to talk about how overidentification and perfectionism can diminish your self-worth.

Dr. Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist. She serves on the faculty at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorde...

Happy Holidays!

In March 2022, Judge Adalberto Jordan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and Judge Kevin Emas of Florida's Third District Court of Appeal sat down with Robert to talk about legal writing. They gave their views from the bench on what makes legal writing good (and not so good).

Whether you are new to Summarily or an avid listener, you do not want to miss what the judges have to sa...

Robert and Lindsey play catchup for October and November. 

• Kenney v. State, 2d DCA (preservation; impeachment).
• Baxter v. State, 5th DCA (4th Amendment). See Owens v. State, 317 So. 3d 1218 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021)  (“regardless of whether the smell of marijuana is indistinguishable from that of hemp, the smell . . . from a vehicle continues to provide probable cause for a warrantless search of the vehicle”).
• Freeman v. State, 1st DCA (...

Co-host, Jennifer Opiola, joined Robert to review a handful of opinions from November dealing with a variety of important issues: 

• Homeowners Choice Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., Inc. v. Thompson, 1st DCA (discovery).
• Hughes v. Univ. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 6th DCA (pre-suit notice; substance vs. procedure).
• People’s Tr. Ins. Co. v. Gunsser, 6th DCA (policy exclusions). 

Summarily is sponsored by BetterHelp and The Law Office ...

The 100th Episode

I started this podcast with the goal of providing lawyers with free CLE courses, caselaw updates, and practice tips, and that is what’s in store on this episode. I sat down with Jeffery DeSousa, the Chief Deputy Solicitor General in the Florida Attorney General’s Office to talk about oral Advocacy.

Jeff focuses on criminal appeals and constitutional litigation, primarily in the U.S. and Florida ...

Richard W. Painter joined Robert to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's new code of conduct, which outlines how the justices "should" conduct themselves.

Richard served as chief ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush and as Associate Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office during the Bush administration. He has testified many times before Congress on issues related to ethics in government. His forthcomin...

The data says the average attention span went from two-a-half minutes in 2003 to forty-seconds by 2020. Diminished attention is particular problematic for lawyers who are bombarded with emails, texts, calls, and social media alerts while trying to work. As our attention span diminishes so, too, does productivity and happiness.
 
 Dr. Gloria Mark joined Robert to talk about our cognitive bandwidth, how we get distracted, wha...

Co-host Jennifer Opiola joined Robert to review an important pre-suit demand case, and a cautionary tale about the benefits of motions in limine.

• Citizens Prop. Ins. v. Salazar, 3d DCA (motions in limine).
• Mercury Indem. Co. of Am.  v. Cent. Fla. Med. & Chiropractic Ctr., 5th DCA (pre-suit demand letters; safe harbor).

Summarily is sponsored by BetterHelp and The Law Office of Scott N. Richardson, P.A. Click the BetterHel...

Litigation often involves expert witnesses. Indeed, many cases rise and fall based on expert testimony. So nailing down what an expert will and will not testify about is critical to success. But deposing experts can be challenging.

On this episode, Robert sat down with Sia Baker-Barnes to discuss deposing expert witnesses. Sia shared her advice on how to prepare for expert depositions and how to conduct depositions with an...