Business Law Section News

Business Law Section Newsletter

February 2024

Dear BLS Member:

As we are about to begin March, the section is completing its planning for the Executive Council Retreat in Scotland from April 3-12 and the IP Symposium from April 11-12 in Tampa. Please be on the lookout for one (1) hour long CLEs which every substantive committee will be creating over the next few months. If you have an idea for a one (1) hour CLE, please contact either Luis Rivera, the Chair of the CLE Committee or the chair of the appropriate substantive committee to assist you with planning and creating the CLE.

Thank you again for your membership in the BLS. If there is any BLS matter you wish to discuss, please feel free to contact me anytime. Wishing you all a great spring.

Mark Stein, BLS Chair

Pro Bono Stories: Carlos Sardi

This is the second in our series on Pro Bono Stories. We would love to hear about YOUR Pro Bono Story. Carlos Sardi of Sardi Law PLLC, has been a pro bono champion his entire professional career. Carlos is a former chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Business Law Section and currently serves as President of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida. In recognition of his many contributions to pro bono, Carlos was awarded the Chief Judge’s Pro Bono Award by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

During the pandemic, Dade Legal Aid’s Put Something Back Program referred a client to Carlos. The client was disabled – she was unable to walk without a cane as a result of physical injuries and her disabilities. The client’s only source of income was the meager disability check she got from the government due plus whatever her estranged husband would give her month to month. The client made less than the poverty median level for Miami-Dade County.

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BLS Blog: All That Glitters is Not Gold: Private Cause of Action for Violation of the National Stamping Act

By Matthew Akiba

If you have ever bought jewelry, invested in a silver or gold bar, or inherited a family heirloom, you may have noticed that the precious metal is often stamped with intricate hallmarks. These hallmarks may indicate the purity of the precious metal, convey the year the article was manufactured, identify the maker of the article, identify the city where the article was manufactured, or identify the assay office where the article was tested for its purity and marked.

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