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
with Her installation as Bar president,
grace Yang Becomes first Asian American
to Lead the HCBA in its 123-year History
W
“the words [of encouragement] i heard meant a great deal, and
i plan to offer as many words of encouragement as i can as your
Bar president.”
— HCBA president grace Yang
hen she moved to Tampa in
1997 fresh out of law school,
Grace Yang only knew a handful
of attorneys.
But she was encouraged to get involved with the
HCBA and the Tampa community by some senior
partners at Holland & Knight, where she worked at
the time.
The late Chesterfield Smith, the Florida legal icon
and one of H&K’s founders, as well as the late Bill
McBride, a longtime managing partner at the firm
and a former HCBA president, were especially
influential on her career, she says.
“I can still picture Mr. Smith encouraging a
roomful of young lawyers to ‘be somebody’ in their
communities,” Yang said. “I still have the pin from
that meeting.”
Continued on page 11
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Grace H. Yang being sworn in as HCBA’s new president
by Chief Judge Ron Ficarrotta.
SEPT - OCT 2019
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HCBA LAWYER