At the beginning of the year, the Florida legislature passed a bill amending Florida Statutes § 689.01 which eliminated the requirement of having two witnesses for the execution of a lease on real property.

On June 27, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 469 into effect, and it became law on July 1, 2020. The Bill amends Florida Statute §689.01 by removing the requirement that two witnesses must be present for a commercial or residential property lease to be valid. Prior to the amendment of the Statute, each of the parties were required to have two witnesses present when signing a lease for a term of more than one year. The House Bill provides that subscribing witnesses are no longer required to validate instruments conveying or pertaining to a lease of real property.

Under the new amended law, which is now in effect, no subscribing witnesses will be required for leases of real property in Florida.

While this change in the law is small, it is widely welcomed. The removal of the witness requirement improves the speed and efficiency of transactions by making electronic lease signatures much more easily obtainable. This not only has the potential to save time in the execution of leases by allowing a lease to be signed by just the two parties, it also removes one potential pitfall to invalidating a lease.

Caserta & Spiriti Law Firm Summer Internship 2020

The Caserta & Spiriti Summer Internship program welcomed its new interns for the Summer term of 2020. It is a 12-week program that allows students to earn experience in the workforce, as well as valuable training. The program focuses internships in business/legal, accounting, and social media. Attorney Joseph Spiriti, who is one of the main directors of the program says, “The internship program is something I am very proud of. The interns are a legacy of skill, knowledge, and experience, that gets past down from intern to intern.” Spiriti believes in the importance of gaining real world experience and how the overachieving culture that has developed between the interns has thus far been amazing.

Alongside Spiriti, attorney David Caserta also encourages gaining experience in the work field. Caserta says, “For 20 years, through my Young Professional Career Network, I have had the opportunity to share with college students across the Country the value of acquiring as many virtues of great character, as a foundation for a successful life both personal and in a career of choice.”  The team decided to create the internship program that would cater to students from respected colleges and universities across South Florida.

This year the internship program focuses on a group of distinguished students with different educational backgrounds who all share an interest for the field of law.

Ruby Pendas is a junior at the Nova Southeastern University majoring in Paralegal Studies minoring in Writing. Pendas has learned how to deal with clients and how to understand the steps taken regarding potential clients. She believes that this internship will put her a step ahead when looking for a job after law school.

Ashley Marrero is a rising junior high school student, who attends the Hialeah Gardens High School. Some of the tasks she does on a daily basis include clerical work, as well as filing, and reaching out to clients. Marrero says that one of her favorite things about the program is that the hands-on activities she does now, will help later in the real world. She aspires to become a criminal defense lawyer once she graduates from college.

Yunyun Tang is a student obtaining her masters degree in Finance, at the University of Miami. She decided to participate in the Internship Program in order to get some exposure in the field of Accounting. As an Accounting Interns some of the tasks she focuses on are processing payments, collecting payments-account receivable, account payable, and reconciliation.

Claudia Baez-Sola is a rising senior at the University of Miami majoring in Public Relations and Media Management. As a Social Media Intern, she works on ensuring reliability of published data on companies, communicates with firm associates about marketing goals, and maintaining the firm’s social media presence. Baez-Sola decided to participate in the Internship Program because it aligns perfectly with both of her passions for the field of communications and law.

The Caserta & Spiriti Law Firm Internship Program is looking forward to continuing working with new students who are interested in gaining real world experience. For information about the application processes we invite you to visit our website for additional details.