Rothstein Hires Two Defeated Judges, But One Got Away
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The Rothstein, Rosenfeldt Adler law firm has added two more former judges to its growing roster of attorneys.
But one ex-judge the firm was courting got away.
That’s the word from Scott Rothstein, the firm’s pooh-bah. He managing shareholder, president, CEO and the public face of the firm.
rothstein
He told Browardbeat.com that he has hired two of the three Broward judges defeated for election in August — former County Court Judge Julio Gonzalez Jr. and Circuit Judge Pedro Dijols
Rothstein’s romance of former County Judge Catalina Avalos failed.
Avalos
Avalos told me last month she had gotten a “very generous offer from Rothstein.
Rothstein said she rejected the offer.
The rumor in legal circles say Avalos, also defeated in August, will instead be working at the Tripp Scott law firm.
Avalos and no one from the Tripp Scott could be reached over the weekend.
Broward’s first Dominican-American judge, Gonzalez was a New York City and Miami-Dade County prosecutor. He also was in private practice for five years before Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him in 2006.
Broward’s first Columbian-American judge, Avalos was appointed by Bush in 2005. She has experience as a Broward prosecutor and a private attorney.
Born in New York City, Dijols was appointed by Bush in 2005. He was a statewide prosecutor, a Broward prosecutor and in private practice.
Dijols, along with Gonzalez and Avalos, were targeted for defeat solely because they had Hispanic names.
It was a cynical ploy because they were fine jurists.
Rothstein, the CEO and president of his firm, sums up my feelings exactly:
“The County’s loss is our (firm’s) gain.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Way to go, Scott.
I’ve watched your admirable climb to success and I’m envious.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Mister Rothstein has been very good at buying his way into the political and court system. It is a smart business move. To be honest, he has lived up to what he promised all these new attorneys. I’ve never seen Mister Rothstein in the courthouse. I see people from his firm all the time and they deliver for their clients with good legal work.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
And you know for a fact that these former judges were chosen because they were Hispanic. How do you know that, Buddy, isn’t that just your conjecture? Well, Dijols was beaten by an Hispanic. So then your propsition makes no sense. Also, Dijols and Avalos seemed to have had poor reputations as judges. Long live democracy, that is, if you are not performing up to par the electorate can boot you out.
FROM BUDDY: Peter Bober, who won the seat formally held by Dijols, does not have a Hispanic-sounding name. The three who lost did.
The only judges challenged who lost had Hispanic-sounding names. Other judges, who had poor records on the Broward Bar poll and were disliked by the trial Bar, were not even challenged. It is not hard for someone who has been around politics to figure out what was at work here.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:54 am
A fine jurist??? Obviously you haven’t interviewed a single attorney who appeared before Avalos out in West Satellite. In her short time on the bench she had a reputation for nonsensical rulings and an extremely arrogant demeanor. Pound the pavement next time, Buddy.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I agree they were voted out because they were Hispanic. I know every one of them and they are held in high esteem, in my opinion. Especially Avalos….
January 5th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I practiced in Avalos’ courtroom and had no problem with her at all. Actually, I rather be in front of her than other judges. She is smart and was always polite to me. I don’t know where these others are coming from. This is not the Catalina Avalos I met.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Of the three, Gonzalez was a really good judge. He had a good demeanor and made fair rulings. Dijols could be surly and vindictive in demeanor to lawyers, depending on his mood. Avalos was a nice judge but was an intellectual lightweight.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Peter Bober? He is the mayor of Hollywood. Wow, it looks like the mayor’s big brother, Bernard, really did run on his brother’s name…. even Buddy doesn’t know the winner of the Dijols/Bober race. He thinks it’s Peter Bober. And that is with years of political experience in Broward.
FROM BUDDY: Absolutely true, Jane. My mistake. It was Bernie Bober, not Peter Bober. Thanks for pointing it out.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Scott,
I’m not a lawyer, but I can play one on TV. Can I come and work for you?