In case you don’t scour the Internet looking for my name everyday (I don’t think my mother does either, so don’t feel bad), you probably noticed that the blog was quiet this summer. I took a long vacation. In fact, this summer was the first time in forever that I took two weeks away from the office. It was strange.

I came back to work invigorated and looking forward to the second half of the year. In late August, my friend and tennis partner, Cantor Bruce Benson (founder of the Institute for Jewish Living), was sued by my former synagogue (and his former employer) for an alleged violation of the restrictive covenant in his contract. While the contract attached to the complaint had a section entitled “Non-Compete” it was really a restriction on employment.

Anyway…the temple sought an injunction to prevent Cantor Bruce from, among several things, holding High Holiday services. There was a hearing on the injunction two days before Rosh Hashanah started. The court did not stop Rosh Hashanah services and ordered the parties immediately to mediation. A confidential settlement was reached at mediation, so I can’t discuss the terms.

But if you want to read about two of the most interesting days of my professional life, you can look here, here, and here.

Jane Musgrave at The Palm Beach Post did a great job covering the story. I don’t know if I’m going to add a practice area
of representing clergy members, but it sure was interesting.

That’s the New Year’s view of one lawyer from Jupiter, Palm Beach County, Florida.