Tree Law - Fort Lauderdale

Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Emma Lou Olson Civic Center
1801 NE 6th Street
Pompano Beach, FL 33060

CEUs:
Certified Arborist: 6 BCMA 6 -M
FNGLA: 4 LIAF: 4

AGENDA

8:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Registration open - continental breakfast items available

8:30 AM – 9:45 AM
Avoiding Litigation - Why Arborists Get Sued and How to Minimize Your Exposure – Ryan Jones
This session will explain the common mistakes made by arborists and tree companies in their daily practice of conducting business. You will learn what negligence is and how to avoid the problem in the first place. From the moment you answer the telephone until the time you think the assignment has been completed is filled with dangerous probabilities of you being sued for negligence.

9:45 AM – 10:45 AM
Writing the Bullet - Proof Contract – Doug Orr
You have always been warned to read the small print. You have always been taught that the devil is in the details. How old are the contract forms you or your company is using? The forms that you use daily to give estimates are one of the first documents used against you in a lawsuit. This session will enable you to understand and realize the importance of wording in an easily understood contract and estimate forms.

10:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Break with refreshments

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Writing Your Way into Court – Lori Ballard
Without a doubt, the single most important document you will ever write is your report. This session will teach you the professional approach to writing a bulletproof report. Whether your report is a paragraph or multiple pages, it is the one document along with your contract and estimate form that will appear in front of a jury. You must know the do’s and don’ts of writing a report. The best place to learn is at this workshop, the worst place to learn is in court; pick one.

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Lunch provided

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Neighbor Law and Trees – Joe Samnik
In no other corner of our industry are lawsuits more probable to occur then between neighbors and their trees. There is much case law which you need to know before you or your employees start pruning trees where neighbors are part of the assignment. This session will enable you a view from the court and the impact which standing laws have on how you prune or remove trees with neighbors in the equation.

2:30 PM – 2:45 PM
Break with refreshments

2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Pruning Specifications and the Law – Joe Samnik
Every estimate you give, every report that you write and every job you do as an arborist is directly correlated with national standards. This session will explain how the court views and interprets national standards which we take for granted every day. National standards are the benchmark upon which rests the allegations of negligence to you and your company.

4:00 PM
Adjourn and Sign for CEUs

OUR EXPERTS

Lori Ballard
Lori Ballard is the President of the Florida Chapter ISA Board of Directors, is the Chair of the Education Committee and is a member of the Executive and Grant Committees. Her expertise in the fields of neighbor law and eminent domain has been instrumental in the settlement of million dollar and multi-million dollar business damage claims, providing evidence of deception and error that lead to settlements and verdicts in federal and eminent domain courts of law. Lori has been a presenter at the ASLA (Landscape Architect) annual conference, ISA International annual conference and at Trees Florida. She is a Certified Arborist, FNGLA Certified Horticulture Professional and has the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. Ms. Ballard received her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.

Ryan Jones, Esq.
Ryan Jones is a partner in Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP’s Florida office. His practice focuses on insurance defense, including first party property claims, third party liability claims, and coverage actions. Ryan has been involved in all aspects of cases from claims handling up to trial and appeal, but he especially enjoys litigation strategy. Ryan was named a Florida Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in 2012 through 2014. While in law school, Ryan was a member of the Stetson Law Review and Moot Court Board, where his team won first place at an international moot court competition. Ryan often returns to Stetson to assist other moot court teams and has guest lectured on advocacy.

Douglas Orr, Esq.
Douglas Orr received his Law Degree from Rutgers School of Law in Newark, NJ in 1999. Doug’s practice focuses on construction disputes, business & commercial litigation, insurance coverage disputes, real estate litigation & transactions and negligence cases. Representing employers in OSHA citations & penalties and stop-work orders and workers’ compensation premium assessment appeals is also a large part of his practice. He is a member of the Lee County Bar Association, and is admitted to the bar in Florida, New Jersey, the U.S. Southern District of Florida and the U.S. Middle District of Florida. Doug is also an adjunct professor of Business Law and English at Rasmussen College.

Joe Samnik
Joe Samnik is entering his 50th year as a consulting arborist. His practice is limited to arboreal consulting and expert witness testimony. Joe has been named as an expert witness in excess of 800 legal cases and testified in over 50 trials. He has been accepted as an expert in federal, criminal, civil, eminent domain, and small claims courts. He is a current president of the Association of Eminent Domain Professionals and founding president of the Florida Chapter ISA. He authored Rule Chapter 14-40 of the Florida Statutes which provides the formula for appraising roadside vegetation. Joe is the recipient of the Edward Bok Award for lifetime excellence in the field of arboriculture and the 2013 President’s Award. He has presented at over 80 annual, regional, and national conferences.

If not a Florida Chapter member yet, you can click below to join! Then you can select the discounted member rate when you register for this and future Florida ISA seminars!

CLICK HERE to join just the Florida ISA Chapter without joining ISA International for $50/year
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