| Overhaul to Banking Laws
On July 21, 2010 President Obama signed a sweeping new consumer financial protection law which seeks to end some of the banking practices that resulted in the current condition of our economy. The legislation gives the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy, puts more light on the financial markets that escaped the oversight of regulators and creates a new agency to guard consumers in their financial transactions
The law is entitled the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The new law creates new federal agencies including: Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Office of Financial Research, and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The Council is charged with maintaining the country's financial stability.
Large, failing financial institutions would be liquidated and the costs assessed on their surviving peers. Borrowers will be protected from hidden fees and abusive terms, but also will have to provide evidence that they can repay their loans. The Federal Reserve will get new powers while at the same time coming under expanded congressional oversight.
The package is expected to cost $19 billion, and it would include $3 billion in new funds to help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure and $1 billion to enable local governments to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned properties and sell them to low and moderate-income buyers.
Some of the broad based consumer protections include:
� Overdraft Protections
� Credit Card Swipe Fee Limits
� Limitations on Broker Commissions
� Practical Mortgage Underwriting Standards
� Regulation of Credit Rating Services
� Fiduciary Duty Protections for Consumers
� Predatory Lending Penalties
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Internet Marketing Tips
With consumers becoming increasingly internet savvy, nearly all businesses have to establish a web presence in order to compete in the marketplace. These ten tips will help your web presence.
Tip 1
Claim your business online. Many websites and directories such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Linked In, Mapquest all have business listings. To claim you own you need only fill out a simple form.
Tip 2
Update your business information on all local business directories and search engines. Make sure your address, phone, email and website are listed.
Tip 3
When claiming your business, you may pick the appropriate catagory: i.e. accountant, IT services, contractor. Put your business in the right categories to ensure that those searching for services you offer can find you easily.
Tip 4
Include product/service keywords in your local business listing title, such as Tampa Bay Accountant or St. Petersburg Dentist.
Tip 5
Add or verify your business listing with data providers for search engines such as (e.g. InfoUSA, Localeze, Acxiom, etc.).
Tip 6
Get your customers/clients to write online reviews about your business. You can post them on your website for consumers to review.
Tip 7
Engage your customers and clients online on user review sites such as Yelp.
Tip 8
Use social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with current clients and prospective clients.
Tip 9
Advertise online with either a per click campaign of set cap on advertising expenses.
Tip 10
Create a clean, coherent website with content that targets your keywords and clients.
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| Candidate Profile: Keith Meyer
By Alison Parker
Keith Meyer is running for Sixth Judicial Circuit, Group 27. He has a deep and diverse background, both professionally and personally. He and his wife and daughter live in St. Petersburg.
A graduate of Clearwater High School, Keith has a longtime understanding of the community, its residents, and their needs. Not surprisingly, Keith chose to get his B.A. in history, which he received with honors.
This Tampa Bay native certainly has experience in the courtroom. Not only has he served as both a prosecutor and defense attorney in the criminal law courts, he has also worked in private practice where he conducted jury trials in the civil courts.
Mr. Meyer believes that it is extremely important that people in public service have a record of civil involvement in the community. As for his own strong community service, he has been a Board of Directors Member of the Rotary Club of Clearwater, Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the Skip Cline Leadership Society, Board Member of the Clearwater Bar Association, Past President of the Barney Masterson Inn of Court, and Member of the Criminal Justice Day Planning Committee - these are just a few of his many past and present positions of service.
In his limited spare time (he and his wife are the proud parents of a 2-year-old little girl), Keith enjoys fishing, travelling, and visiting the park or beach. His vast diversity in both his professional and volunteer spheres mark him as a solid candidate for the Sixth Circuit, Group 27.
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Candidate Profile Michael Andrews
By: Alison Parker
Judge Michael Andrews is running for re-election in Circuit 6, Group 29. His diverse experience as a sitting judge speaks for itself; he has served on civil, family, traffic, appellate and criminal courts. When he was first appointed to the bench in 1997, he was Florida's youngest judge.
He cannot overstate how essential community service has been in his professional and personal development. This former Assistant State Attorney was honored in 2008 with the Distinguished Judicial Service Award. Recently, he won the Unsung Heroes Award for his more than 18 years of service as a mentor and volunteer in Pinellas Schools. To date, he estimates he has mentored at least 50 boys.
Judge Andrews also serves as an instructor at SPC, where he gets to interact with those just beginning to learn the complexities and nuances of the law. When not working or giving back to the community that has bestowed so much upon him, Judge Andrews cheers for his children at their multiple extracurricular events.
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Candidate Profile: Susan St. John
By: Alison Parker
Susan St. John has served her country in the United States Army for 6 years, and now she is ready to serve the community as a circuit court judge.
St. John is currently a prosecutor with Pinellas County State Attorney's Office, where she has handled several high-profile cases, including capital murder cases. Currently, her position with the State Attorney's Office focuses on gang suppression and bringing its members to justice.
Ms. St. John is also a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal, which she was awarded for her service as a parachute rigger - someone who drops food, medicine and other necessities into war-ravaged areas and natural disaster zones.
A graduate of the University of Florida and Stetson University College of Law, Ms. St. John enjoys being a mother and running. This local crime fighter succinctly sums up the St. John family motto: "Work hard, study hard, never quit."
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Homeless Man Opens Closed Bar
Erika Mariz In one of the strangest stories of the month, a homeless man in California reopened a bar called the Valencia Club which had shut down. The Valencia Club no longer had a valid liquor license when local transient Travis Lloyd Kevie, 29, allegedly broke into the building on July 16, 2010 and began selling alcohol with a six-pack of beer he bought from a store. After selling the beer he bought, he used to the money he made to buy more alcohol. Apparently, Kevie had some entrepreneurial skills as authorities claim he kept the bar open the entire weekend and was serving 30 customers a day. Kevie even managed to get the attention of a local newspaper.
When the local newspaper heard about the bar's reopening, the newspaper ran a story about it. Unfortunately for Kevie, Placer County Detective Jim Hudson recognized his picture in the newspaper article as a local transient who had prior contact with the Placer County Sheriff's Office. A detective went to the bar to investigate and determined that the Kevie had no connection to the property and did not have a liquor license.
Kevie was arrested and charged with burglary and selling liquor without a license. Cash and alcohol were confiscated from the bar. ___________________________________ |
Tech Corner
Kevin Baker, JDL Technology Services, Inc.
 Managed services are rapidly replacing traditional information technology (IT) management roles. In addition to network hardware, software, remote access, and security services, JDL has recently focused our attention on offsite data backup solutions. The industry spotlight has been pointed at offsite data backup services for some time now. Typically the costs of these services are high and mandate that your company use business-class, high-speed internet access. Without exceptional upload speeds, nightly backup attempts can fail or force customers to repair data backups during critical business hours. At JDL, we have spent hours researching only the leading backup technology and as a result, we have discovered a cost-effective and comprehensive offsite data backup solution. Our offsite data backup services are versatile and can accommodate small to large data sizes. The backup agent can be installed on your desktop pc or on your server(s). Schedules can be customized to backup your entire system (including operating system and critical data) or incremental backups can be run automatically every night. We have incorporated more that just affordability into our managed services. We can easily show you how to validate your own data backups, or if you prefer, JDL can monitor your backup system for you. For more information on how JDL can offer superior protection for your enterprise networks, systems and applications, please contact or email Kevin Baker or Jason Long: Email: Kbaker@jdlcomputersupport.com Jlong@jdlcomputersupport.com Direct: 727-564-2735 Toll Free: 866-374-5873 Web: www.ineedanitguy.NET ___________________________________ |
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At the Movies
By: Alison Parker
This year, Alfred Hitchcock's most nefarious film Psycho turns 50. Recently, Tampa Theatre screened the classic horror film during its Summer Classics series. While most people know Hitch used chocolate syrup as a stand-in for blood in the infamous shower scene, the making of the film is rife with interesting filmmaking tidbits.This year, Alfred Hitchcock's most nefarious film Psycho turns 50. Recently, Tampa Theatre screened the classic horror film during its Summer Classics series. While most people know Hitch used chocolate syrup as a stand-in for blood in the infamous shower scene, the making of the film is rife with interesting filmmaking tidbits.
For instance, Janet Leigh only filmed for 3 weeks, with one whole week devoted to the shower scene, which is only a 45-second sequence in the movie. Originally, Hitch planned the silence for the shower scene, but composer Bernard Hermann composed the notorious string riff anyway and Hitchcock was instantly swayed.
The movie is inspired by the real story of Ed Gein. Other movies have been inspired by the real life murderer, including Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hitch bought up copies of Robert Bloch's novel that the movie's script is culled from in order to keep the twist ending a secret as long as possible. In fact, secrecy regarding the movie's ending was kept to tightly under wraps that he did not allow individual theaters to admit patrons into the movie screening after it had started.
And finally: when a father wrote Hitchcock to complain that his daughter no longer took baths after seeing Diabolique and now would no longer shower after seeing Psycho, Hitchcock wrote back: "Send her to the dry cleaners." ________________________________ |
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G&A News & Notes
*Charles Gallagher recently presented a discussion at a
National Business Institute seminar on the Ethical Considerations of Pro Bono Legal Services in your Private Practice.
*On July 29 G&A hosted a Reception and Fundraiser for Jeff Brandes' campaign for the Florida House of Representatives.
*Charles Gallagher was featured on News Channel 8 offering commentary on the tax effects of foreclosure.
*Charles Gallagher was featured on Bay News 9 to discuss Pinellas County's new foreclosure docket and procedures.
*Erika Mariz was featured on Bay News 9 en Espanol to discuss Pinellas County's new foreclosure docket and procedures.
*The St. Petersburg Times quoted Charles Gallagher in connection with the foreclosure statistics. You can view the story here:
*On September 15, Charles Gallagher will speak at the NBI seminar on Bad Faith Insurance Litigation in Florida.
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We are supporting Judge Michael Andrews in his re-election bid for Circuit Judge in Group 29.
His current service and stellar record speak volumes and serve as a testament to why he should remain on the bench.
You may find out more about Judge Andrews on his website below. Andrews Website
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We are supporting Patricia "Trish" Muscarella for Circuit Judge in Group 18.
We believe that Trish would make an excellent judge and would urge you to review her credentials.
You may find out more about Trish on her website below. Muscarella Website
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We are supporting Keith Meyer for Circuit Judge in Group 27.
We believe that Keith would make an excellent judge and would urge you to review his credentials.
You may find out more about Keith on his website below.
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We are supporting Susan St. John for Circuit Judge in Group 30.
We believe that Susan would make an excellent judge and would urge you to review her credentials.
You may find out more about Susan on her website below. St. John Website
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We are supporting Thomas Ramsberger for Circuit Judge in Group 20.
We think he would make an excellent judge and would urge you to review his credentials.
You may find out more about Tom on his website below.
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No doubt you have heard the horrible stories of drivers involved in catastrophic accidents as a result of texting while driving. Given that this is an evolving area of law, its becomes all the more timely to see what states are doing to combat this new and dangerous issue. Presently, only thirteen states have laws which prohibit text messaging. Only ten states prohibit texting by novice drivers and only two states restrict school bus drivers from texting while driving. Recently, New Hampshire's Senate just sent a bill to the governor that bans texting and typing on a laptop while driving. However, the governor has not said he will sign it. Violators would face a $100 fine. What would be allowed is entering a number or name in a cell phone to make a call. Tennessee has a bill pending before its governor that also bans texting while driving. Current laws ban handheld cell phone in five states - California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. These are primary enforcement laws, meaning an officer may write a ticket simply for using a handheld cell phone while driving with the exception of Washington state. To find out the laws of each state click here: Texting Laws |
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G&A is supporting Jeff Brandes in his run for the Florida House of Representatives.
We believe that Jeff would make an excellent representative and would urge you to review his credentials and consider voting for him.
You may find out more about Jeff on his website below:
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Florida Foreclosure Statistics
Recent statistics show that Florida leads the nation in foreclosures in first half of 2010.
Florida led the nation in foreclosures in the first six months of the year, according to new data released in July.
The Miami Fort Lauderdale area received more foreclosure-related warnings in the first half of this year than any other, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said.
Florida accounted for nine of the top 20 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates.
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G&A Email Directory
Erika Mariz
Joseph F. Milligan
Jason A. Cox
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About Our Firm
Gallagher & Associates Law Firm, P.A. accepts cases throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Our main practice areas include: insurance litigation (including toxic mold, sinkholes, hurricane claims and denied insurance claims), real estate & business litigation (including foreclosure defense and lender mortgage fraud), accident & injury litigation, consumer law, and employment litigation.
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The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This email is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.
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