“We have been in our current location for more than 30 years and the new location will provide us with equally high visibility and a central location to serve our clients,” said managing partner Mike Crary.

The new office will be designed to meet the law firm’s current and future space and technology needs, Crary said.

Crary Buchanan will stay open during the relocation, which is scheduled for August, Crary said. The law firm’s phone lines, whose numbers will remain the same, and e-mail will operate as usual. The Port St. Lucie office will be unaffected.

Crary Buchanan will occupy one-half of the first floor of the Royal Palm Financial Center Building III building at 759 U.S. 1 South, with offices for all attorneys, work areas for staff and five conference rooms.

The new space, which is one-half mile away from the current office, will also accommodate the law firm’s recent growth. Scott Turnbull joined Crary Buchanan as a partner in February. Elysse A. Elder and Karen Dobbins joined the firm as of counsel during 2009.

Turnbull is a business, securities, and trust litigator who advocates land conservation and preservation of South Florida’s history.

“We are excited to bring Scott on board, said Chuck Barrowclough, executive director of Treasured Lands Foundation. “The combination of his legal background and environmental interest brings something new to the Foundation that I think will be highly beneficial”.

Turnbull takes much of his conservation ethic from President Roosevelt’s efforts to protect and preserve America’s natural resources such as the national wildlife refuges in Florida at Pelican Island, Passage Key, and Island Bay. Like these refuges, Martin County has lands for continued conservation and wildlife protection.

Appreciating nature through hiking, kayaking, camping, birding and hunting, Turnbull sees continued opportunities to preserve South Florida’s history while conserving Martin County’s natural resources.

“We have a lot of exciting opportunities ahead of us at Treasured Lands and we know Scott will be a great asset”, said Barrowclough.

Drawing on community involvement and partnerships, Treasured Lands Foundation helps preserve Martin County’s natural resources, protect its wildlife habitats and encourage passive and active outdoor recreation by supporting public land conservation efforts and contributing to the creation of additional diverse and vibrant parks programming. To learn more visit treasuredlands.org.

Board member Larry Crary, student liaison Sarah Woods, and Evans Crary Jr., a founding board member and revered, retired firm partner, participated in the awards ceremony. Evans Crary, a trustee of the Frances Langford Foundation, announced a $100,000 grant to Nina Haven for scholarships in the arts.

Firm partner Larry Crary helped award Nina Haven Charitable Foundation scholarships to 33 Martin County high school students in May. Crary is a board member of the foundation.

At a ceremony that month, Crary and other board members, including retired partner Evans Crary Jr., officially welcomed the students into the Nina Haven Circle of Scholars. They joined the 1,000 former recipients of Nina Haven scholarships inducted since the fund was established in 1961.

The average GPA of this year’s scholarship recipients is 3.7 on a four-point scale, with four of the students receiving AA degrees at the same time that they receive their high school diplomas this spring. Members of the Circle of Scholars will serve as mentors as the students begin college in the fall.

“One of the hallmarks of a Nina Haven scholarship,” says Judith Weber, President of the Nina Haven Charitable Foundation, “is the personal interest we take in our scholarship recipients. We provide mentors, guide them through the early days of the college experience, and help open doors to them when they graduate.”

Nina Haven scholarships, heavily based on financial need, grant up to $2,500 a year to students graduating from a Martin County high school and entering a two or four year college program. This year marks the 49th year of the program, and its prior recipients include many current community leaders.

“As a Nina Haven scholar myself,” says Weber, “I can attest to the power of these scholarships. They open doors to college, and they assure young people that an entire community of individuals is behind them, believing in them, and ready to assist if needed.”

The Nina Haven Foundation has established “Sector Scholarships” for next year in addition to current academic scholarships.  Sector scholarships in alternative energy, life sciences and health, information technology and digital media, environmental studies, education and the arts will help students take up professions that will enable them to return to the Treasure Coast and contribute to the local economy and quality of life.

In the opinion piece, Crary criticized the Florida legislature for failure to act on a bill that would ban texting while driving. Crary pointed out that “texting while driving results in impairment double that of drunken driving. And, according to a study by AAA Auto Club South, texting while driving delays reaction time by 35 percent and steering control by 91 percent.”

Despite those dangers, Florida is behind other states that have taken action to make their roads safer. Crary’s advice:

“The next time you want to text and drive, don’t do it. When you’ve safely stopped your car on the side of the road or in a parking lot, send a text message to your state representative or senator to change the law and ban texting while driving.”

To read the complete editorial, visit TCPalm.

Mike Crary, Managing Partner, toured the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, recipient of a donation the spring from Crary Buchanan to honor the Crary Buchanan Primary Care Physician of the Year. He was accompanied by Dr. Howard Voss, the Medical Director of the VIM Clinic, and Dr. Paul Gaeta, the 2010 Primary Care Physician awardee.

Dr. Paul Gaeta, who is in active practice in Stuart, was honored on Doctors’ Day as The 2010 Crary Buchanan Primary Care Physician of the Year.

Gaeta is the first doctor to receive this award, established by the Stuart law firm of Crary Buchanan to honor family practice and internal medicine physicians in the community.

The full-service law firm presented a plaque and gift certificate to Dr. Gaeta at Martin Memorial’s Doctors’ Day celebration. Crary Buchanan also gave Volunteers in Medicine Clinic a check for $2,500 in honor of Dr. Gaeta.

“Our law firm has a long history on the Treasure Coast,” said managing partner Mike Crary. “We understand the critical role that primary care physicians play in the lives of our own families and the health of the community as a whole. Crary Buchanan established this award to call attention to the work of these unsung heroes.”

Dr. Gaeta and 15 other primary care physicians were nominated for the award during February and March. Patients from throughout the community wrote letters in support of their nominees, and an independent panel of community members reviewed them.

Dr. Gaeta was chosen unanimously on the basis of his unfailing commitment to his patients and his extraordinary work with victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

“The nominations made it clear,” Crary said, “that physicians in our community have earned a great deal of affection and respect from their patients. The number of worthy nominees during this first year of the award has convinced us that this award should continue annually.”

From left: Jim Bowdish, Jim Menendez, Rob Elder, Steve Beres, John Loesser of Lyric Theatre, Mike Crary, Jennifer Williamson and Rick Crary

Crary Buchanan and the Lyric Theatre, two of the most respected and longstanding entities on the Treasure Coast, have established a unique collaboration on cultural programs for students and families.

Through a $25,000 grant, the law firm is taking a leadership role in the Lyric’s Arts and Education Program, which includes the presenting company’s Discovery series, artists-in-residence series and family programs.

“Crary Buchanan’s attorneys are committed to the educational and cultural development of children,” said managing partner Mike Crary. “We chose the Lyric because of its shared dedication to quality programming and community service.”

“This partnership between the Lyric and Crary Buchanan makes a positive and important contribution to the quality of arts on the Treasure Coast,” said John Loesser, executive director of the Lyric Theatre. “It is defining the foundation for the exceptional educational programming that our community and its students deserve.”

As a marquee sponsor, Crary Buchanan is underwriting part of the cost of programming that gives Martin County students a superior education, plus performances for family audiences. The program includes:

• Discovery Series for Young Audiences. This mainstay of the Lyric’s educational outreach has provided quality educational programming to the schools of Martin County and the surrounding Treasure Coast for over 12 years. Crary Buchanan’s underwriting will help keep ticket prices very affordable.
• Artist Residency. The program launched last year, takes artists into the schools to provide instruction and opportunities to perform with a professional musician or performer. Nestor Torres was the Lyric’s first artist-in-residence, reaching nearly 1,000 students in a week.
• Master Classes. These “up close and personal” workshops offer students a chance to learn directly from world-renowned musicians and performers.
• Family Shows. The Lyric presents family-friendly theater experiences on weekends and school holidays. Parents and children share in the enjoyment of live performances at the Lyric. Upcoming performances include stage adaptations of the books “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Stories” and “Strega Nona.”

ABOUT THE LYRIC THEATRE

The Lyric Theatre’s mission is to restore and provide a historic theater facility in Downtown Stuart in order to enhance cultural and educational development for Martin County and surrounding communities. The theater remains in operation year-round and draws over 80,000 people to the theater and the surrounding historic Downtown Stuart area. The programming attracts audiences that range in age from students and families to adults and seniors. For more information, visit www.lyrictheatre.com or telephone 772-286-7827.

Dr. Paul Gaeta, the Crary Buchanan Primary Care Physician of 2010, tours the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic with CEO/President, Dr. Howard Voss and Mike Crary, managing partner of Crary Buchanan.

“I will work to find ways that members can use ALA to enhance their performance,” said Menendez, who manages an office of more than 30 people. “I want to make the chapter more valuable with speakers and programming that help members be better leaders and communicators.”

The Palm Beach chapter serves administrators of law firms from Palm Beach County through Indian River County. Menendez has been an ALA member for more than 20 years.

“I cannot imagine doing my job without ALA,” he said. “I can call or e-mail members when I have a question about anything, from running operations to choosing vendors.”

“I see a real need on the Treasure Coast for these services,” said Turnbull, a Stuart resident who has practiced law for 12 years. “Too many people have suffered improper financial losses that need to be redressed.”

Turnbull began at Crary Buchanan in February. He was previously a partner of Miller Canfield, an Am Law 200 firm, where he specialized in securities litigation, trust litigation, and general business litigation.

“I had an opportunity to work for myself, but I preferred to join a law firm that enjoys the highest level of respect from the local and legal communities,” Turnbull said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues at Crary Buchanan in growing a successful practice.”

Turnbull represents individuals who have suffered investment losses due to the improper conduct of their brokers or financial advisors. He works to recover funds placed in unsuitable investments or mishandled through a breach of fiduciary duty.

Turnbull also represents estates, beneficiaries and trustees in trust-related matters. He helps clients when they discover that the trustees or financial advisors of their trusts have failed in their duties or abused their positions of responsibility.

“Scott’s devotion to helping people meshes with our ‘clients, not cases’ philosophy,” said managing partner Mike Crary. “With Scott on board, our law firm can better serve the Treasure Coast.”

Turnbull was graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and from Mercy School of Law at the University of Detroit. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Grand Valley State University.

Turnbull is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Michigan. He is admitted to U.S. District Courts in Florida, to the federal bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Florida, and to the Federal Appeals Courts for the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits.

Turnbull is a member of the bar associations in Martin and Palm Beach counties, and The Federal Bar Association. He serves on the international litigation and arbitration committees of The Florida Bar and American Bar Association.

Introduction

Litigation, or dispute resolution, is the process by which lawsuits are handled. At Crary, Buchanan, Bowdish, Bovie, Beres, Elder & Thomas, Chartered, we refer to the entire litigation process as a process of dispute resolution. Resolution can involve a variety of different strategies and techniques. Quite often, disputed matters are resolved through negotiation, in which people settle their differences. Sometimes, however, the matters are only resolved through aggressive, vigorous representation all the way through trial. It is important to most clients, as well as the firm, to evaluate matters, cases, and claims with both a legal and economic view towards the best solution for the client under the circumstances. Because of the high cost of litigation, economic considerations are important for clients in making decisions as to whether to pursue certain claims and in evaluating the strategy to defend claims. To most clients, litigation is a new experience, or it has never been explained fully to them in past matters. The purpose of this article is to generally describe the litigation process, and provide some insight to you, as a client or potential client, so that our attorney/client relationship will be more fully understood and the dispute resolution process, of which you are a vital part, will not be such a mystery.

Nature of the Forum

In most cases locally, litigation occurs in state trial courts. There are, however, federal courts in Miami and West Palm Beach that are appropriate for some dispute resolution. In addition, litigation can arise in matters involving arbitration panels, administrative boards, private referees, or mediation panels. Since, however, most litigation involves the state court, this memorandum emphasizes that forum.

In state court, there are two general kinds of cases: civil and criminal. A civil matter involves a dispute between two or more parties in which a court is being asked to decide and act upon the claims of the parties. Some matters may be determined by a jury, and other matters, such as a divorce, are decided by a judge without a jury. Generally, jury trials are more expensive than non-jury trials. However, in deciding whether to pursue either a jury or non-jury matter, consideration must be given to other intangible factors. Some questions are better decided by a judge, and others are better decided by a jury.

Economic Considerations

Because of the high cost of litigation, both in human and financial terms, economic factors are something every client should consider. In addition to compensation for the professional services rendered by the firm, expenses for court reporters, transcripts, service of papers, and witness fees, including expert witness fees, add to the financial impact to the client. Expert physicians, for example, charge somewhere between $300.00 and $1,000 per hour. Expert

accountants, economists, engineers, and others generally charge between $150.00 and $300.00 per hour. These expert witnesses are quite often important to a case and invariably expensive. A general awareness of these costs and expenses is important when you make strategic decisions concerning your case. Quite often those fees are unavoidable if a matter is going to be successfully litigated.

In addition to the actual financial expense involved, there is often a large human expense involved in litigation. Your time away from your business and focusing on this legal problem is a very real cost. The more hours you spend on resolving a past dispute, the less time (and energy) you will have to concentrate on the present. Nonetheless, because of the nature of a dispute, you may have no alternative but to invest your time, energy, and money in protecting your interests.

Nature of Advocacy

Advocacy is a combination of legal talents and hard work. In litigation, your lawyer is your advocate. To be skilled in advocacy, a lawyer needs not only training and background, but also a full knowledge of the facts and applicable law in your case. At the same time, the advocate needs to understand not only the facts as presented by his or her own client, but also to weigh and evaluate the facts as presented by the other side. It is from the clash of those facts and their interpretation in legal argument that the matter is presented to someone for ultimate decision. It is, therefore, crucial to the concept of advocacy to recognize that the opposing party usually has something to talk about in cases that go to trial. The result, in litigation, is that it is almost always a mistake to quickly conclude that the other side’s position is without any merit whatsoever. Instead, there is no substitute for investigation, review, preparation, and analysis in effectively evaluating a client’s position.

Predictability

Because litigation involves a dispute between two or more sides, a competent ethical lawyer and law firm cannot guarantee the outcome of any given contested matter. It is from a clash of ideas, and disputed facts, as well as differing interpretations of the law, that a court ultimately makes its decision. Indeed, in litigation, it is not only what you say or what your documents show that the court will consider. The court will also consider not only the way in which you and your witnesses have testified, but also how and what the opposition has presented in evidence. In addition, although statutes existing on the books and cases in the past have interpreted similar facts, the law is constantly changing. As a result, interpretations of existing law may change. Some cases are well known to lawyers for their “first case impression.” Other cases are seen as opportunities to change existing law or existing interpretations. Other cases may involve clear guiding law but cloudy facts. Dispute resolution ultimately hinges not only on the facts as they are presented, but also the law as it is being interpreted at the time. In the modern process of litigation, even where historical interpretation of the law may seem clear, rarely will existing law or its application to the facts be sufficiently certain to allow your lawyer to accurately predict the outcome of your case.

Mediation

Currently, in state court cases in this area, courts require parties to attempt to mediate their differences before the case can actually go to trial. A mediation system has been put into place where parties, with their attorneys, attempt to settle the case before it is actually tried. Our experience in mediation is that it is a vehicle that quite often results in the settlement of matters that would not otherwise settle. For mediation to be effective, however, it is probably better if the case has been researched and investigated before the actual mediation session. When the case has been fully prepared, the chances of a mediated settlement are fairly high. When a case goes to mediation too soon, and without sufficient time for the parties to understand the facts on both sides, there is less of a chance for an acceptable settlement. On the other hand, sometimes cases do settle early before all the facts are fully understood, in which case significant savings in legal fees and expenses can occur. You should consult with your lawyer as to when to seek a mediated settlement. The process of mediation involves the appointment of a neutral mediator, with the costs shared equally by each side. The mediator attempts to have the parties resolve their disputes without the need of a trial, if possible.

Final Word about the Process

In today’s world, the assertion and protection of legal rights cannot be a decision made lightly by a client. Economic considerations are paramount. The uncertainties in the process quite often cause lengthy delays before a matter is resolved. Once litigation has started, the parties will not seriously consider settling a dispute until the mediation process, as a last step before trial, is completed. Quite often, results of the process depend not only on your strategy, but also on the strategy, reasonableness, and position of your opponent. For these reasons, litigation is not a process that you should anticipate will result in a quick or easy solution to your problem. History has shown us, however, that the process ultimately works in most cases. As long as you have realistic goals, know the limitations in the process, and recognize its expense, the litigation process will serve your needs.