When any of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson's 110 attorneys file a case in Miami-Dade Circuit Court's complex business litigation section, it is immediately moved from the section's main judge.

That's because Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Thornton Jr.'s son, Ryan Thornton, is a Stearns Weaver associate in the litigation department.

The judge decided to move any cases involving his son's firm to the complex business litigation section's backup judge, Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey, opting to go beyond what the state judicial conduct rules expressly require to avoid the appearance of conflict.