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
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 …
Start Me Up
How to help your internet startup dodge litigation landminesThinking of starting an online business? Although you may avoid some of the challenges of a traditional brick-and-mortar business, setting up an internet entity carries many of the same considerations—along with its own special set of litigation concerns. “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 Weston technology transactions lawyer Bradley Gross. “People forget that they need to …
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 …
From Way Downtown
That’s how Sacramento attorney Shaye Diveley helped deliver an arena for the Kings—and just before the buzzerIt was a slam dunk. The fight to build a new arena for the Sacramento Kings brought accusations against the city of violating state regulations, as well as two appellate court battles and a first-ever state-mandated race against the clock to complete all legal challenges. It resulted in a landmark decision on the constitutionality of a law that revamped the state’s sweeping environmental protection statute—and just nine days before the deadline under the new, expedited judicial-review …
Visionary Man
Eugene Pettis’ plan to lift others up the ladderThrough his office window, Eugene Pettis looks out over a changing downtown Fort Lauderdale skyline. There’s a metaphor in that evolving view. Pettis grew up not too far from where his office is now, in what he remembers was then called the “colored” part of town. Black attorneys were a rarity at that time. No African-American had served on the board of the South Florida Water Management District, or in the University of Florida’s student government, and none had been president of the …
Can You Get Sued for Reposting Content Online?
You can get sued for reposting content online without permission if it violates social media terms of service or the owner's intellectual property rights. The unauthorized use of online content can constitute copyright infringement, and the copyright holder can seek statutory damages in a federal lawsuit. If the content creator sends a DMCA takedown notice, you may be able to avoid civil liability for accidental infringement if you remove it immediately. You can avoid financial penalties with a …
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