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36 Fla. B. News 1 (2009)

handle is hein.barjournals/flabn0036 and id is 1 raw text is: Go to www.floridabarorg for Committee Preference Forms Downis named president-elect By Gary.Blankenship Sni1r Editor Mayanne Downs of Orlando has become president-elect designate of The Florida Bar after being elected without opposition. Her election became official December 15 with the close of filing. Downs will be sworn in as president-elect in June 2009, when current President-elect Jesse H. Diner of Ft. Lauderdale becomes president, for the 2009-10 Bar year. Downs will be sworn in as president of the 86,000- member Bar in June 2010. She will be the organization's fourth woman president since its founding in 1950. She has served on the Bar Board of Governors since 2(t02. I'm not sure it has sunk in. It's hard to imagine that any person would have an honor like this. It's an extraordinary opportunity and honor, Downs said of being elected. I'm very proud to be a lawyer and very proud of this profession, and I'm happy for the opportunity to do some things I'm interested in doing. That includes, she said, traveling the state and meeting Bar members, Downs shared her thoughts about her decision to run for president. After spending a couple of years doing thework olthe board, I decided I wanted to be a more meaningful'part of that.... I had been so impressed by this group and the commitment this board has to the profession and.the administration ofjustice. Two years ago, Downs was critically ill with sepsis and she was asked if that near-death.experience made a difterence in her plans. She said it had. because of the support from the board throughout her illness and conversations with board members who had seen similar situations whtch had profoundly influenced their lives and convinced them not to defer their dreams. It was the complete embodiment of that saying, 'that which does not See Downs, page 5 R 7 .est 197-I The Florida Bar News Volume 36, Number 1 FloridaBar.org January 1, 2009 Lawyers sound off on Pro bono goes stagnant impact of budget cuts Report sets goals to revitalize the profession 's 'The public is angry. Very angry' By Kim MacQueen good on the mandatory reporting Associate Editor requirement, either. On starting a new career in To.find out why, the Florida the law, every Florida attorney Supreme Court/The Florida Bar' takes an oath that includes the Standing Committee on Pro Bono PI following: Legal Services commissioned a I will never reject, from any study from Kelly Carmody & consideration personal to myself, . ,AssociateS, a.n..Uona consultant the cause of the'defenseless or ':to civillegal aid fimders paid for oppressed, or delay anyone'scause by a grant from lXhc Flrda Bar for lucre or mnalice, Sohelp me Foundation. God, We had, strong indiations, of 'In keing with that promise, some severe drops in pro bono the Florida Supreme Court has activity in terms of number of hours :.4' set an aspirational goal of having and number ofcases- the statistics 8 every Florida lawyer annually . were a little spotty, but it was pretty contribute either 20 hours of evident, says Paul Doyle, who volunteer legal service to the directs the Foundation's Legal poor or make a $350 donation to Services for the Poor grant funding a legal aid organization. While program. There was a growing performing the work is voluntkry, concern that we were not paying 'R lawyers must report annually on enough attention to the pro bono their fee statements whether they delivery system - that we were met the pro bono goal. failing to keep it vibrant and alive If you're not exactly paid down -just by what I would call benign sh on that commitment, you're not neglect. ex alone. Only 52 percent of Florida Florida was the first state in the a attomeysare, orhavebeen, meeting nation to adopt IOTA and the first pe the aspirational goals since 2000. to adopt mandatory state reporting. During the same time period, The report credits the Florida far Florida's legal services providers Supreme Court, The Florida Bar, en report a 30 percent decline in the the Standing Committee on Pro as numbers of lawyers providing Bono Legal Services, The Florida pr pro bono services through their Bar Foundation, and Florida Legal sta organizations. And an increasing. Services for building a number number of lawyers aren't making of successful pro bono programs, Quince briefs legislators. on thq Florida's court system has already seen its budget reduced by $44 million over the past two years and the elimination of 282 positions. Having to absorb another It percent cut would cost hundreds of more jobs and seriously coMprnise the courts' ability to efficiently carrTy QUNE out its mission. QUINC :fht'ts the niessage (hicf Justice Peyu Quince had for Ileislative leaders in December. as they gathercd in Tallahassee to begin looking for ways to plug a more thatn $2 billion hole in the state's budget and address a projected delicit that Primary reasons awyers give for not providing pro bono: Lack of time Family:obligations Perform( other- cmmunity service B ilabl hour rqulremnents Not~~~o o la~nwehr rovid pobl0C towing strong commitment to xpanding access to the poor, and general participation rate of 50 ,rcent per year. Unfortunately, 50 percent is r below what these institutions avisioned, far 'below the spirational goal of the Florida •o bono rule, below what other. ates have achieved, and far See Pro Bono, page 6 By Mark D. Killian Managing Editor People used to say that justice delayed was justice denied. Now they say that justice delayed is exactly what we expect. That's the message Tanner Andrews of DeLand left on the bulletin board created on the Bar's Web site where Florida lawyers are being asked to leave accounts of how the state court system budget crisis is affecting their ability to have cases heard and disputes resolved. Have you tried to get hearing time recently? Andrews asked. The courts are buried in cases, and while the judges are making valiant efforts to move them, the sheer numbers are overwhelming. Lawmakers slashed court spending by '$44 million in the last two years, resulting in the loss of 280 positions out of the judiciary's 3,100-member workforce. Now faced with an additional $2 billion shortfall, lawmakersre contemplating more cuts to plug that hole in the state budget. Looking for ways to bolster grassroots support for putting the court system on fiscally sound footing, the Bar's Judicial Independence Committee created the online bulletin board to get a feel for how the budget losses are impacting the everyday practice of law. e impact of budget cuts Administrator Lisa Goodner. and Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry. chair of the Trial Court Budget 'Commission. set out the cold, hard numbhcrs the third branch of' government is dealing with. I lere are. thc highlights: Ilaving to ablsorb a 1I0 percent cut il, FY 2008-09 VOtlwold tIlel a reduction of $40.i million resulting in the loss ofl 556 poSlisl1S and iculllI 23 day., (1 Sfurloug[clt I i courit. 'ihe is expected to grow evenlargerncx t off i overtinl t. Quince told ln ber of t j lost woulil year. lawmakers. be'staorine., etaus{ S 7 'The Court systeo budget Appearing before the lousec percent C o . c urt system,.s is nly0 1.7 percent of the state C)riniiial and Civil Justice budgct gocs tosalarics. and MIYA ToNoraEnTalepettOR IAM Ince-SatPCursGEuncpae1 p ra-c tit ione r Dorothy Easley of Miami wrote that staffing shortages are taking a toll on the courts' ability to process cases. For instance, EASLEY she said, some files have gone missing in their entirety because the' trimmed workforce is not available to locate them. The documents, though filed, did not make it into the court file and, were it not for stamped copies and the agreement of opposing counsel, they would be recorded as never having been filed, said Easley, adding information requests are impossible to obtain and the citizens can spend hours making call after call to obtain court information on where to file and how to file documents. In the final analysis, attorneys are resourceful and will find ways to struggle through this quagmire. Florida citizens cannot, Easley said. Stephen Cobb of Crestview put it more bluntly: The public is angry. Very angry. Witnesses, crime victims, law enforcement officers, defendants, See Budget, page 4 DOWNS provision of free services to the poor i\ppropruitions , oninimec, t- i iici JIU56CC QLlillCe, StatC COUrts miugci. a sillaii.amount io oc paici to lionor funaamental expectations See Quince, page 18 1

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