The Department of Homeland Security will grant temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States prior to January 14, 2010. Those Haitians seeking this status can begin to apply starting January 28, 2010. The United States projects that 200,000 undocumented Haitians will apply for this protected status. The TPS process will also permit those applying to also apply for a work permit.
The Florida Bar started 2010 by issuing guidelines on lawyer and law firm websites requiring compliance with the general lawyer advertising standards set forth in Rule 4.72. However, these websites do not have to be filed with the Florida Bar for review. The Florida Bar will not accept volutnary filings of websites to determine if they comply with the Rule, but instead will respond to speciifc questions. Many websites currently do not comply with the advertising rules in that they contain testimonials and endorsements from satisfied clients, past results and statements characterizing the quality of legal services.
The Standing Committee on Advertising will permit websites to contain a feature allowing the viewer to request specific information from the lawyer or law firm, such as results. This information is not subject to the lawyer advertising rules. A disclaimer page must be provided for the viewer and the requested information can be accessed only after the consumer views the disclaimer page. The Florida Bar has provided a sample disclaimer page at the FLorida Bar's website.
The Florida Bar's Standing Committee on Advertising also voted to treat social networking sites such as Facebook the same as it it were a website.
The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing another Florida Supreme Court decision upholding an ordinance that permits the governement to replenish shorelines without compensating any affected private landowners. Florida's beaches have been replenished with sand for many years without allowing claims requesting compensation for loss of property. In this particular case, the property owners effectively lost 125 yards of beachfront due to the replenishment.
Preceding 15,000 delegates arriving in Copenhagen regarding carbon dioxide emissions and global warming issues, the United States Environmental Protection Agency declares carbon dioxide a pollutant thus subjecting those emitting carbon dioxide to regulation. The EPA also recently agreed to setting water quality standards for nitrogen and phosphorus. The limits are required to be set by October. Initially, the EPA was required to set those standards by 2004. Several groups brought suit against the EPA to require the setting of these limits arguing that the runoff from nitrogen and phosporus cause algae outbreak.
