The ruling upholds the validity of municipal red light camera programs against a uniformity challenge under Chapter 316, which affects all local governments statewide operating red light camera programs and allows them to move forward with the prosecution of red light signal infractions in their jurisdictions.

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Read the full article by the Daily Business Review, here.

Read the full article by Law360, here.

Read the full article by the Miami Herald, here.

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Chanae is a part of the firm’s Land Use and Zoning Group and Sam is a Partner in the firm’s Litigation Division.

The post Firm Attorneys Speak with Law Students at St. Thomas University’s School of Law Career & Informational Fair appeared first on Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman.

The Firm was proud to sponsor and attend the Palm Beach Sports Commission’s “2019 Governor’s Baseball Dinner.”  The Dinner was held in West Palm Beach on February 17th at the Kravis Center.  In attendance was Governor Desantis, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, and a host of baseball players.  Attendees from the firm included: Palm Beach Managing Director Brett Schneider,  Chair of Sports and Entertainment Law Group Alan Fertel, Partners Marc Solomon, Anthony Soroka, Sam Zeskind and attorney Alen Hsu.

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On Wednesday, February 7, 2018, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral argument in Jimenez v. City of Aventura, an appeal raising broad constitutional challenges to the red light camera program of Firm client, the City of Aventura. Firm Member and chair of the Appellate Practice Group, Edward Guedes, and firm partner, Samuel Zeskind, had teamed up to obtain a very favorable decision for the City from Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal, having convinced the intermediate appellate court to depart from an existing precedent from a sister district court of appeal. When the ticketed defendant sought review at the Florida Supreme Court, the court accepted jurisdiction.

 The defendant argued to the Florida Supreme Court that the City’s operation of the program, which involved the assistance of the City’s private camera vendor pursuant to City determined guidelines, was preempted by Florida law and in conflict with the uniformity requirements of Florida’s traffic laws. He also contended that the use of the guidelines constituted an unlawful delegation of police authority.

Guedes and Zeskind argued in response that the City’s guidelines were merely administrative tools that facilitated City officers’ performance of their police enforcement duties by having the vendor review and organize captured events before police review and determination of whether a citation should issue. They further argued that the Florida Legislature specifically contemplated this kind of review by a municipal agent when it enacted the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act.

Guedes presented oral argument on behalf of the City, alongside Florida’s Solicitor General Amit Agarwal, pointing out that the City’s use of the guidelines fell well within the scope of the review contemplated by the Legislature in the governing statute. The guidelines, Guedes contended, merely represented the City’s determination of how to allocate enforcement resources while simultaneously retaining ultimate control of (i) whether a citation would issue in any given case, and (ii) how many of the events categorized by the camera vendor would be reviewed for possible violations. The arguments seemed to gain traction with various of the Justices, who vigorously questioned the defendant’s counsel regarding his client’s apparent lack of harm resulting from the City’s method of operation, as well as the plain meaning of the Legislature’s acknowledgement of an agent’s ability to review captured events.

Guedes anticipates that the Court’s decision should issue within the next six to eight months.

The post Firm Defends Red Light Camera Programs Statewide At Florida Supreme Court appeared first on Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman.

It is with great pride that we announce that the Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman Softball Team, for the third year in a row won the annual Dade County Bar Association Softball Tournament. This is now our fourth title in the past 7 years (we also first won the tournament in 2011).

Our team consisted of the following Firm employees:
Sam Zeskind
Matt Mandel
David Williams (our MVP)
Alicia Gonzalez
Adam Hapner
Chris Saunders
Sara Zavala’s husband, Larry, and brother-in-law, Roque
Iliana Munoz’s son-in-law, Frank
Susan Trevarthen’s husband, Camilo
Gigi Soliman

The post Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman Softball Team Wins Third DCBA Softball Championship in a Row appeared first on Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman.

We are very proud to announce that 14 attorneys from our Firm were named to the 2017 List of Super Lawyers:

Richard Jay Weiss

Joseph H. Serota

Stephen J. Helfman

Jamie A. Cole

Mitchell A. Bierman

Mitchell J. Burnstein

Susan L. Trevarthen

Edward G. Guedes

Matthew H. Mandel

Clifford A. Schulman

Michael J. Kurzman

Alan K. Fertel

Roger S.Kobert

Peter D. Waldman

We are equally as proud to announce that 5 attorneys from our Firm were named to the 2017 List of Rising Stars:

Chad S. Friedman

John J. Quick

Alison F. Smith

Samuel I. Zeskind

Justin D. Luger

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Congratulations to our firm’s softball team for winning the annual Dade County Bar Association Softball Tournament. 

We proudly defended our title from last year, and this is now our third title in the past 6 years (we also first won the tournament in 2011).  

Our team consisted of the following WSH employees:

Sam Zeskind

Matt Mandel

David Williams (our MVP)

Alex Uribe and his girlfriend, Katrina

Roger Kobert

Jesse Goldblum

Sara Zavala’s husband, Larry, and brother-in-law, Roque

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