Friday, October 09, 2015

City's law firm ads unethical?

The Gunster law firm -- which successfully defended our City of St. Augustine in the Whetstones' controversial lawsuit claiming title to City Bayfront and bottomlands for a dock, winning the Circuit Court's dismissal of their bottomlands lawsuit -- has an Internet ad that touts former appointed and elected government officials, as well as the current "Vice Chair of the Florida Elections Commission," Brian M. Seymour.

I object. On 10/9, I left a detailed message for Mr. Seymour at his office in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Update: Two days later, no response.  Hence, Mr. Seymour has impliedly endorsed the Gunster law firm's tacky tawdry tendentious advertising, featuring his "service" as Vice Chair of our Florida Elections Commission, which may be unethical.  Perhaps the Florida Bar can rule on the matter.   

(Reminds me of larger, tackier ads at the Nashville Airport, for the law firm of then-Ambassador to Japan Howard Henry Baker, Jr., noting that it got results for Gibson Guitar Co. in Japan.  There's nothing like an oligopolistic corporate law firm's oleaginous advertising to shed a little light on the corruption of capitalism in our supposed "democracy.")

The Gunster ad also includes former Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Bell, former Florida Public Service Commissioner Lila Jaber, former U.S Senator George S. LeMieux (appointed by Governor Charles Crist to complete the term of corrupt former U.S. Senator Melquiades Martinez, who resigned), and Gunster Managing Shareholder H. William Perry, with a recurring slogan of "DEDICATED SERVICE/CONNECTED VISION," touting that "At Gunster, our attorneys are not only dedicated to client service, but also the communities they serve."

The Gunster corporate law firm ad is currently appearing today on selected articles on the website of the Jacksonville Business Journal.  It includes the caption, "Vice Chair of the Florida Elections Commission," over this photo of Brian M. Seymour:

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