The conversation revolves around the “Local Counsel Guide” and the “CBL” (Complex Business Litigation) Section. The Local Counsel Guide is a resource created by Etan, Yaniv, and Maia at Mark Migdal and Hayden, intended to assist out-of-state lawyers in understanding the essential aspects of litigation in Florida. The guide covers both state and federal court procedures, emphasizing the unique intricacies and details required for successful litigation in the state of Florida.

Yaniv and Maia highlight the differences between litigation practices in various parts of the country, using the example of the Herbalife case in California versus Florida. They explain that Florida’s litigation landscape is vast, with different rules and procedures in state and federal courts, even varying within counties. Maia delves into the specifics of the Complex Business Litigation section, which operates in Miami Dade and Broward, comprising judges dedicated to handling intricate business cases. These judges’ expertise expedites the litigation process and ensures a better understanding of complex commercial litigation nuances.

The discussion further elaborates on the distinct rules governing CBL cases, the higher pace of proceedings, and the alignment of CBL procedures with federal court practices. The conversation underscores the value of this CBL division, catering to significant cases and providing a more predictable environment for litigating attorneys not accustomed to Florida’s state court system.

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Transcript :

Yaniv Adar | 00:00:29:04 – 00:00:49:04
All right, Local Counsel Guide.

Maia Aron | 00:00:49:04 – 00:01:06:03
Etan, Yaniv and I drafted Mark Migdal and Hayden’s local counsel guide. It’s a guide for out of state lawyers who want to know the basics of litigating in Florida. It has a section on state courts. It has a section on federal courts. And it has really wonderful information. You can find it on our website.

Yaniv Adar | 00:01:06:04 – 00:02:06:03|
We practice differently here than in other parts of the country. And we have certain nuances. The attention to detail of which is important to successfully litigate down here. For example, Etan and I learned in the Herbalife case that California is extremely different from Florida.

When there’s a discovery dispute, there’s a thick procedure of how you’re supposed to act before even involving the court. And there’s rules and procedures that are fundamentally different here in Florida. Florida is large state. We have different districts. We discovery disputes are handled differently in Federal courts throughout the state, and they’re also handled very differently in state court. And they’re also handled differently within a county, depending on whether you’re in the complex business litigation section or in regular circuit court. And Maia, if you want to touch briefly on the CBL section.

Maia Aron | 00:02:06:03 – 00:02:32:16
Sure. So in Miami Dade, Broward, we have what’s called the complex business litigation section. In Miami-Dade, it’s a section made up of two judges who only hear complex business cases. There there are requirements for a case to get into complex the benefit of having a case and the complex business section is that it will move faster. The judges have experience, a lot of experience with commercial litigation and they have smaller docket. So they are able to have more time to move the case forward.

Yaniv Adar | 00:02:32:16 – 00:03:14:25
And, you know, one of the things Maia and I were discussing earlier was that having familiarity with the judges is very important. Our firm knows the complex business litigation judges very well. Someone from our firm is in front of them weekly. They know us. They’ve seen our arguments. And we’ve done well. We’ve been successful in front of them. And I think, the fact that we regularly participate and litigate in the CBL divisions in Miami-Dade and Broward and in Orange County really makes us a value add for out-of-state attorneys looking to retain local counsel here in Florida.

Maia Aron | 00:03:15:19 – 00:03:43:15
The CBL divisions, they have their own set of rules. It’s more like Federal court. There are more deadlines, there are more procedures. There are monthly case management conferences. So the judge can understand where your case is and help the parties move the case forward. It’s very different from non complex, regular circuit court.

Yaniv Adar | 00:03:43:15 – 00:04:17:27
A little over ten years ago, the Florida Supreme Court recognized that the regular rules of civil procedure don’t really fit nicely in complex cases. So they passed rule 1.201. Rule 1.2. A is the rule that governs general litigation and rule 1.201 governs complex commercial litigation, and that allows individual circuits to designate judges and divisions to be complex business litigation sections. Different circuits have different requirements about what is designated complex. In Dade County there is a specific administrative order that provides requirements about the two types of cases that can go to the civil division. One set is going to be mandatory cases, things that if they fall under those types of cases, they have to be litigated in the civil division. And then those that are discretionary.

Maia Aron | 00:03:15:19 – 00:03:43:15
There’s also a dollar threshold, right?

Yaniv Adar | 00:03:43:15 – 00:04:17:27
Yes, I think in Miami-Dade, it’s $750,000. So they’re not dealing with relatively small disputes. In the regular circuit court general division it is, $31,000 would be the minimum amount for a dispute.

Yaniv Adar | 00:04:51:12 – 00:05:18:10
All disputes are important, but some are more monetarily significant than others, and they take up more resources from the court. So that’s why it’s important to get those big cases in the complex business division.

Maia Aron| 00:04:51:12 – 00:05:18:10
The judge will have more time for your case. Another important variable with the CBL division is that when federal courts throughout the country are generally consistent in terms of what you can expect, there are some deviations.

Yaniv Adar | 00:04:51:12 – 00:05:18:10
For example, in the northern district of Illinois where they hold motion calendar. In the central district of California, judges will hear hearings every Monday. And there’s variance about how certain jurisdictions operate. But for the most part, you know what you’re getting in Federal court. One of the uncertainties associated with litigating in the United States is that state courts are of varying quality and complexity throughout the country.

So one of the concerns that attorneys from New York and California and Illinois have coming to Florida is they don’t know what they’re going to get appearing in front of a state court judge in Florida, because they know that we have elected officials, they know that the rules aren’t as structured as they are in federal court. So one of the benefits of being in complex business litigation is that it’s a lot more analogous to a Federal court, and it provides attorneys that are litigating in Florida that are not from this jurisdiction to be a little bit more comfortable because they know that this is going to be a lot more like what we see in Federal court.
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