Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaJanuary 3, 2017

Debra Henley left her job as executive director of the Florida Justice Association last month and is temporarily being replaced by her deputy, Paul Jess, according to a Tuesday press release. Jess, who was called a “veteran association executive and attorney,” is now interim executive director, the release said. The news comes just a couple of months after rumblings about […]

Michael MolineDecember 13, 2016

As debate opened Tuesday over Florida’s 14.5 percent increase in workers’ compensation premiums, trial attorneys on the Florida Senate’s Banking and Insurance Committee targeted the group that proposes insurance rates for carriers in the state. Sens. Greg Steube and Gary Farmer Jr., both attorneys, endeavored to shift the focus from attorney fees — widely blamed […]

Peter SchorschDecember 9, 2016

It will come as no surprise that trial lawyers are looking to shoot the moon this Legislative Session. They already made a power play during the 2016 election cycle. The Florida Justice Association, through its political committee Florida Justice PAC, spent $4.5 million since the beginning of 2015, much of which went to candidates or […]

Peter SchorschDecember 1, 2016

This Thanksgiving, a Leon County judge gave trial lawyers one more reason to be thankful. But that may not last long. On Nov. 23 – just one day before Thanksgiving — Circuit Judge Karen Gievers put the brakes on a 14.5 percent workers’ compensation rate increase, scheduled to go into effect Dec. 1. Gievers ruled […]

Staff ReportsOctober 24, 2016

The Florida Justice Association announced Ryan Banfill has joined the civil justice advocacy group as communications director. Banfill, 52, previously served as a Senior Vice President with Sachs Media Group in Tallahassee. “Over the past 25 years, working with the governor’s office, the Florida Legislature and in the private sector, Ryan has been involved in […]

Peter SchorschOctober 5, 2016

Floridians aren’t fans of trial attorneys. A Florida Chamber Political Institute statewide poll released last week found 35 percent of Floridians said they had an unfavorable view of plaintiff trial lawyers. The survey — conducted Sept. 15 through Sept. 20 — found 14 percent had a favorable opinion of trial attorneys, while 24 percent said […]

Peter SchorschAugust 29, 2016

When the dust settled after Florida’s 2014 elections, there was one clear loser: Florida’s trial attorneys. Here’s what I wrote in my column identifying the winners and losers of that election cycle: You know how sometimes there is a really sh*tty movie released that, despite the bad reviews and poor showing at the box office, […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterAugust 25, 2016

Floridians aren’t fond of trial attorneys. Those were among the findings of a new poll released by the Florida Chamber Political Institute on Wednesday. The survey, among other things, tried to gauge public opinion of plaintiff trial lawyers. The response? Not great. The survey found 34 percent of respondents had an unfavorable view of plaintiff […]

Peter SchorschAugust 22, 2016

They say politics makes for strange bedfellows, but it’s difficult to image a stranger pairing than Associated Industries of Florida and the state’s trial lawyers. But that is the suggestion of ace reporter Jason Garcia of Florida Trend. Few political journalists covering Florida politics are better at connecting the well-hidden dots of the state’s byzantine […]

Michael MolineAugust 18, 2016

A public hearing this week represented a major battle in the war over a proposed major increase in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, but the fighting is by no means over. The Office of Insurance Regulation will accept public comments on the proposed 19.6 percent hike until close of business Aug. 23. “While there is no […]

Tag: Florida Justice Association
Image via AP.

Personnel note: Debra Henley out at FJA, Paul Jess in

Trial bar allies turn guns on ratings council in workers’ comp hearing

Trial lawyers must be very happy with Florida Senate committee assignments

Workers comp rate hike ruling gives trial lawyers reason to cheer. But how long will it last?

Ryan Banfill joins Florida Justice Association as communications director

Poll finds more Floridians have unfavorable view of trial attorneys

Trial lawyers with most to gain in Florida’s primary elections

Florida Chamber poll finds 34% of Floridians have unfavorable view of trial attorneys

Associated Industries of Florida, trial lawyers working together? That would make for strange bedfellows

No deadline for decision on big workers’ comp hike