ZP&W Continues Firm Expansion

The Coral Gables Gazette today published an article on the expansion of Zumpano Patricios & Winker, P.A. into Chile. The article stated that "the law firm of Zumpano Patricios & Winker, P.A. is continuing its successful 'new globalism' approach to expansion". Citing ZP&W's growth, the article states that "with this office opening, the firm has catapulted to more than 40 members in fewer than three years, placing the firm among one of Coral Gables largest and fastest growing firms." Joseph Zumpano was quoted in the article as stating "with our latest representative Office opening in Santiago, we have grown the firm past the 40 member mark and further expanded our international reach. The fully integrated concept of 'new globalism' has taken off and resulted in our firm growing exponentially over the last three years while maintaining the quality of work that is the hallmark of ZP&W." The firm's Representative Office is located within the law firm of Betancourt Escarate & Concha y Cia. ZP&W has hired three attorney coordinators to oversee operations at the firm Marcelo Betancourt Merino, Pablo Concha Hermosilla and Angela Munoz Salazar. "Our newest Representative Office in Santiago strengthens our South American presence, especially since Santiago is the most important industrial and financial center of Chile," added Zumpano "Many multinational companies have their South American regional headquarters in Santiago, which opens up new avenues for business development and growth."

Employers Brace For Boycotts

Leon Patricios was quoted in the National Law Journal's article on employment attorneys "getting swamped with calls from businesses that are unclear on how to discipline workers who skip or boycott work to attend immigration rallies popping up across the United States." The article outlined a number of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints that have been filed by workers who were fired for missing work to attend protests for immigrant rights. Mr. Patricios was quoted as saying that employers "be careful to apply workplace rules uniformly." Patricios noted that "a company runs the risk of getting hit with a discrimination lawsuit if employees are allowed to skip work in one situation, but not another."

Desnick Weighs in on Stark Advisory Opinions

The Florida Medical Business published Lori C. Desnick's article on the Stark Law advisory opinion process in the August focus issue on Anti-Kickback and Stark Laws. In the article, Ms. Desnick discussed the types of requests that will be considered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the type of information that must be submitted with a request, and the costs to be incurred by the requestor. In the article, Ms. Desnick recommended that health care providers seeking to establish a relationship or enter into a transaction that may implicate the Stark Law consider engaging legal counsel to guide them through the advisory opinion process. According to Ms. Desnick, "[i]t would be difficult to overstate the importance of obtaining clarity regarding the government's position in a highly regulated environment.