Bruce Berman and Peter Webster Co-Author New Edition of “Berman’s Florida Civil Procedure”

5/12/17

Bruce J. Berman and Peter D. Webster

Carlton Fields Miami Shareholder Bruce J. Berman and Tallahassee Shareholder Peter D. Webster recently published a new edition of the book,Berman’s Florida Civil Procedure, 2017 ed. (Vol. 4., Florida Practice Series™) (Thomson Reuters). This is a leading treatise on Florida state practice and procedure, published annually since 1998.

This latest edition was published in April 2017.

The book is considered one of the most authoritative treatises on procedure in the Florida courts. It addresses civil procedure on a rule-by-rule basis, with all the rules cross-referenced to modern case law. There is extensive coverage on class actions, offers of judgment, the forum non conveniens rule, and expanding discovery provisions. The text includes the latest procedural issues, rule amendments, and thousands of citations to the most recent cases. The work also compares Florida and federal practice, including references to the local rules of each of the three federal districts in the state.

In this new edition, the most significant changes include hundreds of new cases, among them, several decisions of the Florida Supreme Court in 2016. Two of those focus on construing Rule 1.442 (Proposals for Settlement) and another resolving intra-district conflicts under Rule 1.610 (Injunctions). It also includes commentaries comparing state and federal procedure and others concerning Rules 1.110 (General Rules of Pleading), 1.420 (Dismissal of Actions), and 1.442. There are also significant updates to sections addressing mediation to reflect major changes adopted by the Supreme Court to Part III of the Rules for Certified and Court-appointed Mediators.

This edition is updated through December 31, 2016.

Berman focuses his nationwide practice on large and complex commercial disputes in federal and state trial and appellate courts, and in domestic and international arbitration tribunals. He represents U.S. and international clients in cases spanning a wide range of substantive law including securities, aviation, health, intellectual property (copyright, trademark and unfair competition), corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and commercial lending (real estate, asset-based and lease financing), among others. He chairs the firm’s Aviation industry group.

Berman has been recognized as a leading lawyer internationally, nationally and locally by, among others, Chambers USA (for commercial litigation since first issuing Florida rankings), the National Corporate Counsel Edition of Super Lawyers (for Florida Business Litigation),Florida Trend’s Legal Elite and Florida Super Lawyers, in addition to being selected for biographical reference in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law. He received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law, his M.B.A. from Columbia University and his B.A. from Williams College.

Webster has had a distinguished career in judicial service, spanning more than 25 years. He served as a circuit judge in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit from 1986 until his appointment to the Florida First District Court of Appeal in 1991. He remained on that court until his retirement in 2011, authoring hundreds of opinions. He also earned numerous honors, including three nominations to the Florida Supreme Court and a nomination to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Since joining Carlton Fields in 2011, he has focused principally on appellate practice, as well as handling significant legal issues at the trial level.

Webster has served on numerous bar and court committees, including as a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and a Trustee of the American Inns of Court Foundation. He was an adjunct professor at Florida Coastal School of Law for nine years. He received his LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law, his J.D. with distinction from Duke University School of Law, and his B.S.F.S., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

About Carlton Fields:Carlton Fields has approximately 350 attorneys and government and financial services consultants serving clients from offices in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New York, and Washington, D.C. The firm is known for its national litigation practice, including class action defense, trial practice, white-collar representation, and high-stakes appeals; its regulatory practice; and its handling of sophisticated business transactions and corporate counseling for domestic and international clients. For additional information, visit www.carltonfields.com. (Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A. practices law in California through Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, LLP.)

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