PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
Julia Wyda 2021-22 PBCBA President
The Palm Beach County Bar Association (“ PBCBA ”) invites you to our LIVE Bench Bar Conference on March 11 , 2022 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center .
This year ’ s Bench Bar Conference Co-Chairs are Andrew Kwan and Kelly Schulz . We thank them for their tremendous efforts to make this Bench Bar Conference possible for all of us . Andrew Kwan practices probate and business litigation at Pankauski Hauser Lazarus . He has chaired the Lawyers for Literacy Committee and the Law Related Education Committee for many years . He also co-hosted our Youth Law Day program for more than five years , turning it into a very successful program . Kelly Schulz is the Director of Legal Affairs for MAPEI Corporation . She has long been an active PBCBA member , currently serving as the Secretary of our Young Lawyers Section .
Andrew , Kelly , and their hard-working subcommittee have planned an outstanding program of practice-based sessions that will be informative and useful for all attendees .
This year , Judge James Nutt has taken an active role in organizing a special combined session for circuit civil practitioners , combining the second hour of the commercial litigation and personal injury sessions into one circuit civil session . Judge Nutt has been working to create writing samples that will guide practitioners in more efficiently presenting their cases so that the bench and bar can work together to move through the backlog of cases that has resulted from the ongoing COVID pandemic . Attendees will receive writing samples , as well as a summary of the results of a questionnaire addressing the circuit judges ’ preferences in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit . We thank Judge Nutt for spearheading this effort .
We look forward to once again honoring the recipients of the PBCBA ’ s annual Judge Edward Rogers Diversity Award , the Sidney A . Stubbs Professionalism Award , and our recently created Honorable Meenu Sasser Mentorship Award .
Our lunchtime keynote speaker will be fellow attorney and Boca Raton City Councilman , Andy Thomson . Andy ’ s recent # RunTheCity initiative has gained attention and become a community movement . He began # RunTheCity in January 2021 with a goal of running , cleaning , and improving all 475 miles of Boca Raton ’ s streets in the course of the year . In that time , he picked up over 1,275 pounds of trash and identified 329 safety improvements that have been or are being repaired . Almost 500 volunteers joined Andy in the initiative to help keep community streets clean and safe . He will share some of the history and details with us , which will inspire us as we continue to contemplate our theme for the 2021-2022 bar year , We Rise by Lifting Others .
We will once again end the Bench Bar Conference with a networking reception , during which Jean Marie Middleton and Hershley Oge , our Law Student Coordinators , will introduce law students to our attorneys and judges to welcome them to our local legal community .
Please join me in thanking all of the PBCBA members who have given their time to serve as session chairs for the Bench Bar Conference this year :
Alternative Dispute Resolution : Rodney Romano and Lawrence Gordon Commercial Litigation : Megan McNamara , EJ Cox , and Megan Wegerif Construction : Craig Distel and Jason Handin County Civil : Genevieve Bonan and Christopher Kellam Criminal / Juvenile : Cyrus Toufanian and Patrick Quinlan Family / Dependency : William “ Trace ” Norvell , Jennifer E . Reisler , and Anastasia Mahone Immigration : Zorelly Torres-Sanchez , Miriam Acosta Castriz , and Lourdes Casanova Paralegals / Judicial Assistants / Staff : Olga Patterson and Aracely Felix- Mayorga Personal Injury : Jennifer Lipinski and Andrea Amigo Probate / Estate : Kathryn Lewis , Duane Pinnock , and Allison Sabocik All Things Clerk : Amy Borman Transactional / Real Estate : Kristin Vara and Melva Rozier Young Lawyers Session : Agnieszka Chiapperini and Gabriel Isasi
We look forward to seeing you at the Bench Bar Conference !
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3