Photo by Jason Doiy and S. Todd Rogers

An underused Florida statute is in the spotlight amid court bottlenecks, as several South Florida judges hang up their courtroom robes for alternative or voluntary trial resolution services.

Lawyers too are opting for this type of litigation, with one of the latest cases taking place in Palm Beach County.

At least three jurists have resigned to begin the niche practice of "concierge judging," as one former judge coined it, because they saw rising demand.

"Given the backlog of cases in the court system and the need to have things done in certain cases expeditiously, there is a market for this," said Judge Michael A. Hanzman, who retired after 12 years on the Miami-Dade Circuit Court, overseeing some of South Florida's most high-profile legal matters, including presiding over the litigation stemming from the 2021 Surfside condo collapse.

'I Want to Participate in This'

Former Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman. Courtesy photo

"The statute can bring clients tremendous benefits," Hanzman said. "Other forms of alternative dispute resolution have been used: arbitration, mediation and other forms of ADR, but the trial-resolution statute has really been collecting dust. It has not been utilized."

Hanzman reentered private practice as senior counsel at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod in Miami after announcing his retirement from the state court bench last May. He believes clients can realize compelling benefits through application of the statute. He joined the firm not only as a trial attorney, but as a trial-resolution judge.

"I want to participate in this, and try to bring [it] out from the dark," Hanzman said.