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45 Fla. B. News 1 (2018)

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Volume 45, Number 1


The Florida Bar Nws


FloridaBarNews.TV


January 1,   2018


Stewart next in line for Bar presidency


Nine contested Board of Governors races will involve 22 candidates


By Gary Blankenship
Senior Editor
   John M. Stewart, veteran Board of Governors member from the 19th Circuit,
has become president-elect designate of The Florida Bar.
   Stewart was unopposed when filing ended December 15. He will be sworn
in as president-elect at the Bar's June Annual Convention whenPresident-elect
Michelle Suskauer takes the oath as Bar president. He will become president
a year later for the 2019-20 Bar year.
   I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with President Michael Higer,
President-elect Michelle Suskauer, Executive Director Josh Doyle, and the
Board of Governors, Stewart said when his election became official.
   The son and grandson of Florida lawyers, Stewart also appreciates his
selection will bring a different kind of diversity to Bar leadership. It's the
first time his father, William, can remember a lawyer from the 19th Circuit
ascending to the Bar's top post. Stewart has practiced with his father his


entire career and the two are partners at Rossway Swan Tierney Barry Lacey
& Oliver, P.L., in Vero Beach.
   Small jurisdictions make up a large segment of our membership and it's
nice to be able to bring a different perspective, Stewart said.
   He is a past president of the Young Lawyers Division and combined with
the automatic seats on the Board of Governors he had as YLD president-elect
and president, Stewart has served on the board for 11 years.
   I never set out to become president of The Florida Bar. I think it was just
a love for the institution that is The Florida Bar, coupled with some good
opportunities particularly in technology's impact on the law  to offer
that experience to the Bar, he said.
   Stewart sees several challenges facing the Bar.
   Obviously, we need to ensure the traditional core values of the profession
are preserved while protecting the public, which is really the core mission of
                                          See Stewart, page 7


FLORIDA   STATE Universi-
ty College of Law Dean Erin
O'Hara O'Connor  rolled a
suitcase to the dance floor
and flew through the air
as a graceful, fleet-footed
flight attendant.uRetired
First District Court of Ap-
peal Judge Nikki Ann Clark
unzipped  her black robe
and stepped out in a stylish
pantsuit to strut her stuff
in high heels. Dean LeB-
ouef, managing partner at
Brooks, LeBoeuf, Bennett,
Foster  & Gwartney   in    x`
Tallahassee, donned a tux
and twirled, dipped, and
lifted his sequined dance
partner over his shoulders
to win the People's Choice
Award. And  Dina Foster,
a family law attorney and
certified family mediator
at the Pennington  Law
Firm, allowed herself to be
swept  off her feet to win#M'
the Judge's Choice Award.k
It was all in good fun at the e
Dancing With the Stars Tal-
lahassee event on Decem-
ber 7 at the DoubleTree by
Hilton that raised $60,000
for Legal Services of North x
Florida.
                                   FSU LAW DEAN ERIN O'HARA O'CONNOR


By Gary Blankenship
Senior Editor
   A private company program that offers
consumers a 15-minute consultation with a
lawyer for $39 is a lawyer referral service
under Bar rules, according to the Board of
Governors.
   At its December 8 meeting in Amelia
Island, the Board of Governors unanimously
approved the recommendation of the Board
Review Committee on Professional Ethics that
the Avvo Advisor online system for connecting


By  Jim Ash
Senior Editor
   The Florida Bar's role in
judicial appointments would
all but disappear under a bill
sponsored by a Northwest
Florida legislator.
   The measure filed by Rep.
Frank White, R-Pensacola,
would eliminate the Bar's
role in selecting members
of the judicial nominating


potential clients with questions to lawyers
meets the Bar's definition of a referral service.
   The action has implications for nonlawyer
companies that are moving from rating lawyers
or providing legal forms to linking lawyers
and potential clients. In addition to this
recommendation, the BRCPE is discussing the
ethical propriety of different ways of charging
for referrals that can range from a fee per
referral to a split of the proceeds in a referred

                    See Awo,  page 5


commissions    the nine-
member   panels that vet
applicants and short-list
nominees when  a judicial
vacancy occurs.
   Instead of The Florida
Bar recommending  to the
governor a slate of three
lawyers for each of four seats
on JNCs, HB  753 would
allow the House speaker
and Senate  president to


each appoint
two  lawyer
members.
T he   b il l
applies
to  all  26
JNCs.
White  said
the measure
wou   dn'pt WHITE

      See  JNCs, page 4


App available for family law assistance

It's  a product of the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice


   For tens of thousands of
Floridians who represent
themselves in family law
            cases, there is
            now an app to
            help navigate
            the state court
            system  and
            resolve legal
            problems
              with  an
            innovative
  LABARGA   solution from
            the Florida
Commission  on Access to
Civil Justice.
   This strikes at the heart
of our efforts on the Access
to Civil Justice Commission,
to not only provide help to
people who  don't have a
lawyer but to make it easier
for more people to know
help is available, said Chief
Justice Jorge Labarga, who
also serves as chair of the
access commission.
   Florida Courts Help
works on Apple and Android
devices. The app offers in one
place information for people


seeking a divorce, adoption,
orders of protection, name
change, and other family law
issues. The Florida Courts
Help app is available now at
the Apple Store, Google Play,
and Amazon's  Appstore.
Links and instructions are


also available at Help.
flcourts.org. The app puts
assistance at the fingertips
with:


   - Links and  contact
information for help centers
across the state.
   -Plain-language


   - 186 Supreme Court-   instructions and descriptions
approved family law forms of first steps and next actions.
that can be filled out on the
device.                           See App, page 3


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Bar tells Avvo Advisor it


is a lawyer referral service


Bill would give the House speaker,

Senate president JNC appointments


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