E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R’ S M E S S A G E J o h n F. K y n e s – H i l l s b o r o u g h C o u n t y B a r A s s o c i a t i o n
130yearsofservice: thehillsborough countyBarassociation, 1896 – 2026
“ Buildings, programsandtraditionsmatter, butultimatelythehcBa’ s 130-yearstoryisaboutpeople— thegenerationsoflawyers, judges, staffmembers, andcommunitypartnerswhohavevolunteeredtheir timeandworkedtogethertostrengthenboththelegalprofessionand thecommunity.”— amandauliano, hcBapresident
In 2026, the Hillsborough County Bar Association marks an extraordinary milestone: 130 years of bringing together lawyers and judges, elevating the legal profession, and serving the Tampa Bay community.
Early Foundations The history of the HCBA begins in a very different Tampa. When James T. Magbee established his law practice here in 1846, Tampa was little more than a frontier settlement near Fort Brooke. Over the next half-century, the local legal profession expanded rapidly alongside the growing region. By the 1890s, the area’ s booming economy and court system created a clear need for an organized Bar.
On May 13, 1896, a group of local attorneys met to form what was then called the Tampa Bar Association. Its primary objectives were straightforward: promote high professional standards, encourage uniformity of practice, and foster collegiality among members. Joseph B. Wall served as the first president, launching a tradition of volunteer leadership that continues 130 years later.
As Hillsborough County grew, so did the association. In 1937, more than 200 lawyers signed the roll as charter members of the newly organized Bar Association of Tampa and Hillsborough
County, led by President W. E. Thompson. In the decades that followed, the organization— eventually renamed the Hillsborough County Bar Association— mirrored the evolving community. Women assumed increasingly prominent leadership roles, racial barriers were broken down, and local attorneys stood at the forefront of major civil rights and civic developments across Florida.
Trailblazers and Traditions
In 1968, E. J. Salcines, born in West Tampa to Spanish immigrants, made history as the first Hispanic elected as a state prosecutor in Florida. Five years later, in 1973, George E. Edgecomb became Hillsborough County’ s first Black judge. Though Judge Edgecomb tragically died of leukemia at age 33, his legacy endures— celebrated today at the downtown courthouse dedicated in his honor in 2004.
Other trailblazing leaders emerged in the decades that followed. In 1982, Elizabeth Kovachevich made history as Tampa’ s first female federal judge, later rising to chief judge of the
Middle District of Florida in 1996. That same year,
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