Sniffen & Spellman, P.A. represents its clients in several diverse practice areas, including labor and employment law, civil rights litigation, local government law, commercial litigation and commercial transactions, administrative law and administrative litigation, legal issues that affect water and wastewater utilities, school law, property taxation issues, and election law and voting rights issues. The Firm’s mission is to provide innovative, creative and cost-effective solutions with respect to the issues facing our clients.
Happy New Year! The attorneys and staff of Sniffen & Spellman, P.A. wish you and yours a happy, safe and prosperous 2012! WFSU - Record Breaking Donations!
Friend of the Series Sponsor Sniffen & Spellman, P.A. is a Friend of the Series Sponsor for the Jim Moran Institute's Advice Straight Up Speaker Series. The speakers for the Advice Straight Up speaker event on October 20th were Chris Brogan the President/CEO of Human Business Works; and guest speaker, Rami Jabaji, Senior Marketing Manager, PepsiCo, who is currently the Brand Manager for SoBe brand drinks. Robert J. Sniffen, managing partner, spoke at the Straight Up Follow Up event on Thursday October 27 on “Growing Your Business Using Social Media” along with Heidi Otway, APR, Vice President of Public Relations and Social Media at Salter>Mitchell. His presentation focused on the legal implications of social media in the workplace. Chambers USA RankingsChambers USA ranks the leading firms and lawyers in an extensive range of practice areas throughout America. The research is in-depth and client focused and the guide is read by industry-leading companies and organizations throughout the US and worldwide. It is also widely used by firms in all states for referral purposes. Robert J. Sniffen was ranked in the 2011 Edition of the Client’s Guide under Labor & Employment (Band 4) Other Notable Practitioners. Robert Sniffen, founder and managing partner of Sniffen & Spellman, P.A., has built an active practice representing employers in court proceedings and administrative tribunals. He joins the rankings this year on the back of high praise from market commentators. “He is the go-to management employment person in Tallahassee,” sources say. Congratulations!Robert J. Sniffen and Michael P. Spellman have again been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the practice areas of Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor & Employment. Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey (comprising more than 3.9 million confidential evaluations by fellow top attorneys). Managing partner Robert J. Sniffen was unanimously elected as the State of Florida Commission on Ethics Chairman for 2011-2012 term, beginning July 1st. Sniffen was appointed to the Ethics Commission in 2008 by Senate President Ken Pruitt and reappointed by Senate President Jeff Atwater in 2010. Board Members for the Center for Human Resource Management
Michael Spellman and board members of the Center for Human Resource Management (HR Center) in the College of Business at Florida State University at the Fall Board Meeting held at Kaplan University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The HR Center is an excellent example of effective collaboration between HR professionals in business and academia. The mission of the HR Center is to facilitate networking among HR professionals, FSU faculty and students, to establish and transfer current best practices that support the advancement of HR as a business discipline in member organizations. Super Lawyers 2011 Rankings Super Lawyers magazine names attorneys in each state who received the highest ranking through peer nominations, evaluations and third party research. Only five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers. Robert J. Sniffen and Michael P. Spellman were both selected again in 2011 by Super Lawyers Magazine as top attorneys in Employment & Labor Law. This marks the fifth consecutive year that each lawyer has been named to this impressive list of state-wide lawyers. Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” Robert J. Sniffen and Michael P. Spellman have again been named to Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” in Labor and Employment Law. Florida Trend's Florida Legal Elite 2011 recognizes the top tier of attorneys practicing in Florida as chosen by their colleagues. Appellate Victory for Sniffen & Spellman, P.A.On July 27, 2011, the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned a $1,010,000.00 jury verdict awarded to a Plaintiff on her claims of being subjected to racial and religious discrimination and a hostile work environment, and retaliation for engaging in activity protected by Florida’s Public Whistle-blower’s statute. The case was briefed and argued by Todd D. Engelhardt on behalf of Florida’s Department of Children and Families. In addition to erasing the jury’s award, the Court directed that judgment be entered in favor of the Department.Sniffen & Spellman, P.A. Earns Defense VerdictOn May 11, 2011, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the City of Tallahassee and one of its police officers in a civil rights lawsuit alleging racial profiling which stemmed from a traffic stop and automobile search. The trial team of Michael Spellman and Brett Waronicki were counsel of record for Tallahassee Police Department Officer Evan Alwine in the two-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. In the case, a motorist alleged that his constitutional rights were violated when Officer Alwine stopped him for an obstructed license plate, and then allegedly detained him longer than necessary and unlawfully searched his car. The jury found that Officer Alwine had probable cause to initiate the traffic stop, that Officer Alwine did not detain the motorist any longer than necessary, and that the motorist voluntarily consented to the search of his automobile.
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Todd D. Engelhardt of Sniffen & Spellman, P.A. spoke at the 37th Annual Public Employment Labor Relations Forum in Orlando on September 22, 2011. Mr. Engelhardt presented an update on Federal Eleventh Circuit Employment Law. Michael P. Spellman recently co-authored an article entitled “Inequitable Offers of Judgment” which was published in the Trial Advocate Quarterly Spring 2011 edition. Michael Spellman spoke about the “Pitfalls of Dealing with Problem Employees” in a webinar for the Florida Police Chiefs Association. See Publications for previously published Alerts and Archives for previously published News items.
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