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
Continued from page 8
bring about change in Tampa’s legal profession, and the
community as a whole.
To celebrate these legal trailblazers, a committee from
the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
— in partnership with the Tampa Bay Chapter of the
Federal Bar Association and other local voluntary bar
groups — organized the “Hidden Figures: Honoring
Trailblazers in Tampa Bay” luncheon, held in February.
It featured a panel discussion about the barriers they
each encountered early in their legal careers, as well as
their legacies.
Judge Anthony Porcelli and Judge Julie Sneed, both
from the Middle District, helped organize the luncheon,
and they moderated the panel discussion.
Porcelli told me it was important for the legal
community to recognize leaders who helped pave the way
for others because it can “set a tone” in the community.
“When you have women and minority leaders in the
Bar, that can help cultivate leaders in other parts of the
community,” Porcelli said.
“The legacies of the honorees cannot be overstated,”
said Porcelli. “There are still many barriers to be broken,
and hopefully this will help inspire the next generation
of lawyers.”
One panelist, retired appellate judge E.J. Salcines,
who in 1968 became the first Hispanic elected as a
state prosecutor in Florida, recalled what it was like
when he first started practicing law in the Tampa
in 1963.
“It was a lily white society,” Salcines told the audience.
“There was no diversity.”
Salcines recounted a private meeting with a senior
circuit judge in 1969 who issued a profanity-laced
warning when word got out that Salcines was thinking
about hiring George Edgecomb, an up-and-coming
African-American attorney, as an assistant prosecutor.
Salcines said he disregarded the judge’s warning and
hired Edgecomb anyway.
Edgecomb later became a top prosecutor in the
office, and, in 1973, Gov. Reuben Askew appointed
Edgecomb as the first African-American county judge
in Hillsborough County.
Another panelist, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth
Kovachevich, aka “Judge K,” talked about the
difficulties she had with being one of just a handful
of women attending law school in the late 1950s at
Stetson University.
Kovachevich also discussed the strong opposition she
encountered from male colleagues in the legal community
when she later decided to run for judge.
But, in 1972, Kovachevich prevailed and she became
the first woman elected to the Circuit Court in Pinellas
County. She was appointed to the federal bench by
President Ronald Reagan in 1982.
Continued on page 10
Left: Local trailblazers Hon. Mary Scriven, Delano Stewart, Arthenia J