HCBA Lawyer Magazine No. 33, Issue 2 | Page 7

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Civil Procedure — again

going

from

the

receiving a great deal of information in a practical

practical

to

the

and useful manner . The

biographical ,

I

next

educational portion of

attended a moderated

the day was capped by a

chat

with

Florida

panel

on

ethics

and

Supreme Court Chief

professionalism that was ,

Justice Carlos Muñiz .

again ,

chock

full

of

Judge Thomas Palermo did an admirable job in going over the highlights of the Chief Justice ’ s life and career , from private

Editor Jim Wimsatt attending the Bench Bar Conference with fellow HCBA members .

advice the attorneys in attendance could use in their day-to-day practice .

My day at the Bench

Bar Conference was just a

practice to public service . I certainly learned much I did not know about the 89th Justice of the Florida Supreme Court .

Lunch was accompanied by a fascinating presentation by Fred Hearns , the first Curator of Black History for the Tampa Bay History Center . He spoke at length about the connections between baseball , Tampa history and the Civil rights Movement . Far from a dry history lecture , Mr . Hearns ’ talk was full of rich detail and anecdote .

Following , I attended the judicial roundtable where judges from the civil , criminal , family , dependency , and specialty treatment courts gave us attorneys an opportunity to ask them almost anything that was on our minds . This level of interaction with members of the judiciary is often rare , and I know it is appreciated .

I then attended another procedural session — this one about the proposed changes to the rules of

sampling of the panels that were presented . I was informed by my fellow attendees that the sessions I was not able to attend were also stocked with practical information that practitioners could use in their daily practice . Moreover , in addition to the formal sessions , much of the “ magic ” at the Conference occurred during the interactions with the members of the judiciary and fellow attorneys in the hotel promenades between sessions and during the happy hour . These interactions cannot be replicated outside of an event like this .

This Holiday Season , I will be thinking about how grateful I am to practice in a location where we have such an active and involved Bar Association . I am truly thankful to HCBA and especially to the Bench Bar Committee , and its co-chairs Judge Samantha Ward and Judge Thomas Palermo , for organizing and putting on such a great event .