Michael Robert Cavendish
Encyclopedia
Michael Robert Cavendish (b. 1972-) (canonical name Michael Cavendish) is a lawyer and legal writer living in the State of Florida.
Cavendish has published works on substantive law, legal history, legal ethics theory, and microjurisprudence, a concept related to the microlaw concept developed by W. Michael Reisman.
prior to studying law, studying at the University of Florida
from 1993 to 1995 under theorists Marvin Harris
and Paul Magnarella. Cavendish's influence and contributions to the emerging fields of microlaw and microjurisprudence owe a great deal to interests developed during this experience.
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Cavendish thereafter served as the inaugural Chair of the Section of Human Rights Law of the Jacksonville (FL) Bar Association. Cavendish has served as a pro bono assistant public defender to the Jacksonville, Florida public defender’s office. As a practicing legal advocate, he has been reported on by Business Week and Florida Trend.
In 2010, Cavendish joined with former President Jimmy Carter to lead the grassroots campaign to free American teacher Aijalon Gomes from North Korea.
’s lawyering that foreshadowed the conclusions on formal and customary law that would later be postulated by jurisprudentialist Roscoe Pound
and anthropologist Leopold Pospisil.
Cavendish has published works on substantive law, legal history, legal ethics theory, and microjurisprudence, a concept related to the microlaw concept developed by W. Michael Reisman.
Anthropological Influences
Cavendish took two degrees in AnthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
prior to studying law, studying at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
from 1993 to 1995 under theorists Marvin Harris
Marvin Harris
Marvin Harris was an American anthropologist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. A prolific writer, he was highly influential in the development of cultural materialism...
and Paul Magnarella. Cavendish's influence and contributions to the emerging fields of microlaw and microjurisprudence owe a great deal to interests developed during this experience.
Human Rights Law
Cavendish served as lead appellate counsel for the imprisoned petitioner in the widely-reported prisoner rights case of Goebert v. Lee County, Florida, 510 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. 2007), a case assigned to Cavendish by the Hon. Gerald Bard TjoflatGerald Bard Tjoflat
Gerald Bard Tjoflat is an American lawyer and federal judge.Tjoflat was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955, attaining the rank of corporal. Tjoflat earned his LL.B. from Duke University School of Law in 1957...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Cavendish thereafter served as the inaugural Chair of the Section of Human Rights Law of the Jacksonville (FL) Bar Association. Cavendish has served as a pro bono assistant public defender to the Jacksonville, Florida public defender’s office. As a practicing legal advocate, he has been reported on by Business Week and Florida Trend.
In 2010, Cavendish joined with former President Jimmy Carter to lead the grassroots campaign to free American teacher Aijalon Gomes from North Korea.
Books
- Coeur du Feu / Fireheart (Aventine Press 2008)(ISBN 1-59330-511-7)
- Orange Blossom Jurisprudence (Dragon Pub. 2007)(ISBN 978-0978966-355)
Key Concepts
Cavendish is recognized for advocating the examination of the un-labeled components or sub-parts of existing legal concepts. Examples of this are found in Coeur du Feu / Fireheart in the essay The Astronomers, which advocates a shift in focus in general jurisprudential analysis toward smaller portions of concepts like reasonableness, in Orange Blossom Jurisprudence, a book concerned with Florida law, in the essay Renovating Azam, which advocates the wholesale replacement of the Florida common law test for the concept of real estate fraud with a new set of criteria focused on smaller, more refined the sub-parts of concepts such as knowledge, intent, and leverage, and in the legal historical essay The Ius and the Lex, which argues there were components of Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
’s lawyering that foreshadowed the conclusions on formal and customary law that would later be postulated by jurisprudentialist Roscoe Pound
Roscoe Pound
Nathan Roscoe Pound was a distinguished American legal scholar and educator. He was Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936...
and anthropologist Leopold Pospisil.
American Inns of Court
Cavendish is also known for his affiliation with the American Inns of Court Foundation. Cavendish's essays on Ethics and Legal Professionalism, published in The Bencher (the magazine published for the membership of American Inns of Court), remain strong topical interest points, adding to his popularity as an Ethics writer and theorist, as well as being influential attractors for a growing readership. Cavendish remains an active member and contributor in the American Inns of Court Foundation.Contracts
- (Book Chapter)“Parol Evidence,” in Evidence in Florida, 7th ed. (LEXIS Publishing/The Florida Bar)(2008)
- (Journal Essay) “Foundations of the Procuring Cause Doctrine”, The Florida Bar Journal, May 2007
- (Law Review Essay) “The College Point Principle,” Florida Coastal Law Review, October 2006
- (Journal Essay) “Avoiding Illegal Trademark Transfers: Introducing the Assignment-in-Gross,” The Florida Bar Journal, vol. 74, no. 3, March 2000
- (Journal Article) “Policing Terminal Illness Investing: How Florida Regulates Viatical Settlement Contracts,” The Florida Bar Journal, vol. 74, no. 2, February 2000
- (Book Review) “International Payments,” The Florida Bar Journal, vol. 73, no. 10, October 1999
- (Book Review) “Drafting the International Sales Contract,” The Florida Bar Journal, vol. 73, no. 7, July/August 1992
Procedure
- (Book Chapter)“Orders and Judgments,” Florida Civil Trial Practice, __ ed. (LEXIS Publishing/The Florida Bar)(2010)(with Michael W. Marcil)
- (Book Chapter)“Statutes of Limitations,” Florida Civil Practice Before Trial, 7th ed.(ISBN 9780820586564) (LEXIS Publishing/The Florida Bar)(2009)(with Kacie L. Kelly)
- (Journal Article) “The Concept of Arbitrability Under the Florida Arbitration Code, The Florida Bar Journal, vol. 82, no. 10, November 20083
- (Journal Article) “Fortress Arbitration: An Exposition of Functus Officio,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 80, no. 2, February 20064
- (Journal Article)“Understanding the First-To-File Rule and Its Anticipatory Suit Exception,” The Florida Bar Journal, vol. 75, no. 7, July/August 20015
Florida Jurisprudence
- (Journal Article) “Florida Common Law Jurisprudence,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 81, no. 1, January 2007 (with Blake J. Hood)6
- (Law Review Essay) “Diagonal Authority,” Florida Coastal Law Review, Spring 2007
Ethics and Professionalism
- (Journal Essay) “Against All Flags,” The Bencher, September/October 2009
- (Journal Essay) “The Ius and the Lex,” The Bencher, January/February 2009
- (Journal Essay) “Chaining Bellerophon,” The Federal Lawyer, June 2007
- (Op-Ed) “Ducks and Drakes,” National Law Journal, Opinion, March 23, 2007
- (Journal Essay) “Ethics in Briefs,” The Nebraska Lawyer, October 2006
- (Journal Essay) “Ad Fontes, Ad Astra, Ad Clementia,” The Bencher, July/August 2006
- (Journal Essay) “Civility in Written Advocacy,” The Bencher, July/August 20057
Torts
- (Book Chapter)“Punitive and Lost Profits Damages in Commercial Tort Cases,” Business Litigation in Florida, 6th ed. (LEXIS Publishing/The Florida Bar)(2010)(with Michael W. Marcil)
- (Journal Article)“Renovating Azam: A Proposal for Rebuilding the Reliance Test in Real Estate Torts,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 79, no. 11, December 2005
- (Journal Article)“Case of the Year: Strasser v. Yalamanchi,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 76, no. 1, January 2002
Legal Journalism
- (News Feature) “Corporate warfare has to make business sense these days,”National Law Journal, July 7, 2009
- (News Feature) “Toward a ‘zero litigation’ theory,” National Law Journal, July 7, 2008
Monographs and Symposia Papers
- (Symposia Paper) “Conflict-Centered Evolution of Urban Play Groups,” presented to the Southern Anthropological Society, 1994
Education
- J.D., 1998 University of Florida College of Law
- M.A. in Anthropology, 1995 University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, The Graduate School - B.Sci. in Anthropology, 1993 Florida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...