ZP&W Places 'Attorney Coordinators' in Chile

The South Florida Business Journal published an article on ZP&W's continued implementation of "new globalism" and the opening of its representative office in Santiago, Chile. The article described the new globalism approach as "the practice of ensuring that the firm assists with the 'flow of commerce' between countries instead of encroaching on a foreign country's law practice." The article discussed Chile's "steady, well run economy", citing a study by the trade publication Latin Finance which found that "Chile had the least economic, political and social corruption of Latin America's eight largest countries." The article also cited the positive reception of Mr. Zumpano's speech on "new globalism" at the recent American Law Media conference in New York City.

Wall Street Journal Reports on Cuba

The Wall Street Journal today contained a front page article on efforts by the families of Thomas "Pete" Ray and Howard Anderson, who were both brutally murdered by the Cuban government, to collect on judgments under the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. ZP&W represents Janet Weininger, the daughter of CIA pilot Thomas "Pete" Ray, whose plane was shot down during the April 19, 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. After being shot down, Mr. Ray was captured, executed and his body was desecrated while on display for nearly two decades.

Significant Appellate Victory for ZP&W

AMEDNEWS contained an article on ZP&W's appellate victory in the Adventist Health System/ Sunbelt Inc. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield case. The article cited the appellate decision as "the first round in what doctors and hospitals hope to be a larger victory." The article outlines Florida's 5th District Court of Appeal decision that "physicians and hospitals can take their payment disputes to court under a state law that requires HMOs to pay non-contracted health care professionals for emergency treatment they give patients who belong to the network." The article quoted John M. Knight, Esq., General Counsel to the Florida Medical Association, as stating that "this decision finally resolved the biggest question as to whether or not doctors have the right to sue, and it provides a redress for physicians who, in the past, had to basically accept whatever the HMO wanted to pay." Leon Patricios was quoted in the article as stating that Adventist Health System, which operates seven facilities in the Orlando area that are not part of the BCBS network, was not appropriately reimbursed because the BCBS payments "did not reflect the usual and customary charges for comparable services in the geographical area. Usual and customary provider charges means the charges that other health care providers usually and customarily bill for their services." Mr. Patricios further stated that this case should "give providers the certainty to know what they are going to get paid when they treat patients in an emergency situation."