Left to right: Jamie Cole, Broward managing director of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman; Broward Chief Judge Jack Tuter; and Becker managing shareholder Gary Rosen.

Troublemakers, beware.

A pilot program using senior law firm partners as professional and civility magistrates will allow Broward Circuit Court judges to swiftly sanction attorneys who misbehave during litigation.

Its creators say the effort presents “an avenue for judges to identify, report and hold accountable attorneys engaged in unprofessional and uncivil behavior.”

“Every morning there is a motion in front of a judge here to sanction a lawyer,” said Broward Circuit Chief Judge Jack Tuter. “We're trying to find a way to get the lawyers more on track, more civil in terms of [working with] each other, and create a more professional environment.”

Instead of waiting months for presiding judges to schedule and conduct hearings on sanction motions, the new program relies on special magistrates for resolutions within weeks, targeting a 45-day turnaround.

Magistrates will hear the cases and then recommend what disciplinary action presiding judges might consider against attorneys for offenses that fall outside the scope of Florida Bar disciplinary proceedings.

“The notion here is that without an effective deterrent to problematic behavior, that behavior won't change,” said Becker managing shareholder Gary Rosen, one of the attorneys spearheading the effort. “The guiding principle … is to determine an effective deterrent.”

The idea came from the large law firm committee of the Broward County Bar Association, which compiled a list of 10 litigators, each with at least 20 years of experience, to serve as professional and civility magistrates. It evolved after judges expressed frustration with persistent rudeness, shouting, interruptions and general misbehavior by attorneys refusing to cooperate on scheduling and discovery.

“There are issues regarding civility that are permeating the practice,” said committee member  Jamie Cole, Broward managing director of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman. “The level of civility in society is declining, and we see that also in the interaction between lawyers in our judicial system.”

The end result was an administrative order issued by Tuter, allowing the bar committee to create a list of veteran litigators willing to intervene in protracted disputes among lawyers. The goal is to free judges from refereeing attorney spats, and instead focus on the merits of the litigation.

The committee will add magistrates if needed, but the initial venture is a collaboration by the circuit court, county bar association and 10 law firms, including Shutts & Bowen and Keller Landsberg.

The venture's architects included Cole, who chairs the Broward County Bar Association's large law firm committee, and members Rosen, Cheryl Wilke of Hinshaw & Culbertson, James Haliczer of Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm and Joseph Goldstein of Shutts & Bowen.

Judges will refer sanction cases to the volunteer magistrates, who will then arrange hearings in their law offices, with flexibility to schedule outside of business hours and without relying on courtroom space and resources.

“A key hallmark of the legal profession is an unwavering dedication to the highest standards of professionalism and decorum in the courtroom and amongst lawyers in litigation,” said Rosen, a board-certified business litigator. “When any attorney's behavior falls below these standards, it taints our profession and diminishes our standing not only in the courtroom, but in the community.”

Meet the Magistrates:

  • Jamie Cole, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman
  • Gary Rosen, Becker
  • Cheryl Wilke, Hinshaw & Culbertson
  • James Haliczer, Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm
  • Joseph Goldstein, Shutts & Bowen
  • David Keller, Keller Landsberg
  • Charles Tatelbaum, Tripp Scott
  • David W. Black, Frank Weinberg Black
  • Ira Libinoff, Ferencik Libanoff Brandt Bustamante & Goldstein
  • Jay Kim, Kim Vaughan Lerner

Read the administrative order: