About Carlos Harrison
Carlos Harrison is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, two-time Emmy nominee, and author of 16 books ranging from biographies to legal issues (e.g., The Ghosts of Hero Street, Trained to Kill, and The Memorandum). A graduate of the University of South Florida, his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Miami Herald, People, and other publications. Several of his articles for Super Lawyers have won awards from the Society for Professional Journalists.
Articles written by Carlos Harrison
The Dealmaker
Lobbyist Mark Vane shines at persuading lawmakers to change things. Or, sometimes, keep them the sameMark Vane knows how to get it done. So says Daniel Morales, director of public affairs for Walmart in Texas, who should know. Vane, a lobbyist at Husch Blackwell in Austin, represented Morales’ company, part of a group of retailers that persuaded state lawmakers in 2011 to level the playing field by taxing internet sales just as they taxed brick-and-mortar stores. Vane’s client list also includes The Accountants Coalition, Caterpillar Inc. and Ticketmaster. “He’s got all the bases …
Everything Yvette Ostolaza Needed to Know She Learned at Sears
The Dallas litigator says the pathway to relationship-building is through customer serviceYvette Ostolaza taught herself English as a young child by watching Sesame Street. A daughter of Cuban immigrants, she has been overachieving ever since—fudging a bit on her age to get a job at Sears to fund private high school (and making valedictorian, of course), then crying her way into college (sort of). On a full academic scholarship. Now managing partner of Sidley Austin’s Dallas office, Ostolaza sits on the international corporate law firm’s management committee, dealing with …
Uncapping Pain and Suffering
Three cases converged to kill Florida’s limits on med-mal awardsIt was born controversial and it died controversial, and in between it was, well, controversial. Fourteen years after Florida’s Legislature passed a law limiting pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice suits, what was left of that law was brought down by three overlapping appellate decisions. Bringing the final battle to the state Supreme Court in 2017 took a convergence of circumstances—and a lot of tenacity. Three years earlier, in Estate of McCall v. United States—the …
Harley Riedel’s Move
The Tampa attorney is a master at keeping bankrupt companies in the gameHarley Riedel’s brick-lined office sits in the third-floor corner of a historic downtown Tampa building. It is, in many ways, a reflection of the man. Some might have thought to tear down the dilapidated former warehouse and marine-supply business with its century-old roots into Tampa’s past. Instead, when Riedel’s firm purchased it in 1992, he led the effort to do just the opposite—take what was there, strip away what was broken and rebuild what was usable into a showpiece. …
Florida Bankruptcy Filing: When To Seek Solutions
Bankruptcy, says attorney Paul Orshan, “Should be the last option.” When people are dealing with what may seem like insurmountable debt, Orshan advises them to consider their other possibilities first. Those include getting a consolidation loan and calling creditors to try to work out a new payment plan or reduced interest rate. Bankruptcy can involve losing real estate or other assets a person wants to keep. In some forms of bankruptcy, a court-appointed trustee may liquidate a person’s …
Florida Citizenship Process: How An Attorney Can Help
Navigating the complicated maze of U.S. immigration regulations can be an all-or-nothing game. “You either win or you lose. There is no in-between. There is no plea bargaining,” says Anis Saleh, immigration lawyer at Saleh & Associates, and past-president of the South Florida chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). “If you make a mistake, you could screw up the rest of your life.” The Immigration Process Sure, the government offers forms people can fill out …
Three Important Issues in a Florida Divorce
If you are heading toward a divorce in the state of Florida, what legal issues should you be aware of? And perhaps more importantly, whose help will you need to successfully navigate a divorce? Many legal questions can arise in a divorce proceeding. Three of the most common include finances, child custody, and alimony or spousal support. To navigate these and other issues, it’s advisable to seek help from a divorce lawyer as soon as possible. In addition, some couples may need the help of …
Fostering Hope
How Paul Yetter made a federal case out of the state’s foster-care programPaul Yetter was looking to make a difference in his community. Little did he know it would take him 12 years, two battles against class-certification challenges, a pair of clashes over interlocutory appeals, and—after the declaration of a federal judge that Texas’ long-term foster-care system was hopelessly broken—a struggle against yet another appeal by the state to block the appointment of two special masters to oversee reforms. And counting. “I see light at the end of the …
The Balloon Man
Nick Bettinger spends his free time twisting ‘sculptures’ and delivering smilesAs an attorney, Nick Bettinger gets roughly $400 per hour. As a balloon man, it’s slightly better: “50 smiles an hour,” he says. The Fort Worth attorney twists, squeezes and ties his way to every one of those smiles. He’s created balloon sculptures of everything from a 4-foot, flag-waving panda to an American bald eagle with wings that span 6 feet to a car for his daughter, Lauren, on her 16th birthday. Bettinger, who practices personal injury defense law, started his hobby almost a …
Help Your Online Startup Business Dodge Legal Landmines
Thinking of starting an online business? Although you may avoid some of the challenges of a traditional brick-and-mortar business, setting up an Internet-based business entity carries many of the same considerations — along with its own special set of legal issues. “They’re very easy to set up because sometimes it’s just a matter of buying a URL, creating a website, and you’re up and running,” says Bradley Gross, a technology transactions attorney in Weston, Florida. “People …
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