PBCBA BAR BULLETINS PBCBA Bulletin - February 2020 | Page 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
We’re All One Legal Community
Section and the Palm Beach County
Chapter of the Florida Association
for Women Lawyers (“FAWL”). FAWL’s
mission is to “actively promote
gender equality and the leadership
roles of FAWL’s members in the legal
profession, judiciary and community
at large.”
Jessica Callow
2019-20 PBCBA President
When I began practicing law in 2004,
the first voluntary bar association I
joined was the Palm Beach County Bar
Association (“PBCBA”). As someone
who did not grow up in Palm Beach
County, I was eager to get to know
attorneys in the community and
make new friends. My firm viewed
the PBCBA as an organization all
attorneys should join and encouraged
me to do so. I haven’t regretted that
advice or decision for a single moment
over the last 16 years.
Another decision I don’t regret is
joining special purpose voluntary
bar associations in addition to the
PBCBA. Generally, special purpose
voluntary bar associations focus on
particular practice areas, geographic
communities, or demographics such
as age, gender, race, religion, or
national heritage. In my experience,
joining a voluntary bar association
does not mean choosing between
either the PBCBA or another
voluntary bar, but joining both the
PBCBA and other voluntary bars. Like
me, many members of the PBCBA are
also members and leaders of local,
state and national special purpose
voluntary bar associations.
I found my best girlfriends through
both the PBCBA’s Young Lawyers
Through both the PBCBA’s Profes-
sionalism Committee and Palm
Beach County’s Craig S. Barnard
American Inn of Court (“Inn”), I
found like-minded attorneys eager
to improve our profession by pro-
moting ethics, professionalism and
civility in the practice of law. The
Inn’s mission is to “inspire the legal
community to advance the rule of
law by achieving the highest level
of professionalism through example,
education, and mentoring.”
I found attorneys who value diversity
and inclusion in both our legal
profession and community at large
through the PBCBA’s Committee
for Diversity and Inclusion, FAWL,
the F. Malcom Cunningham, Sr.
Bar
Association
(“Cunningham
Bar”), and the Palm Beach County
Hispanic Bar Association (“HBA”).
The Cunningham Bar’s mission is to
“maintain the honor and dignity of
Blacks within the legal profession”
and “promote diversity within the
Palm Beach County Judiciary.”
The HBA’s mission is “to assist and
support the Hispanic community
in South Florida through volunteer
programs, as well as to stand behind
Hispanics seeking a position in the
judiciary in Palm Beach County.”
While it’s impossible to list all of
the special purpose voluntary bar
associations in Palm Beach County,
the PBCBA organizes joint events
with or has members in leadership
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN
3
roles within the organizations
mentioned above as well as the
Federal Bar Association Palm
Beach Chapter, Palm Beach County
Justice Association, the Palm Beach
Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, Guild of Catholic Lawyers
of the Diocese of Palm Beach,
American Board of Trial Advocates,
Palm Beach County Chapter, and
the South Palm Beach County Bar
Association.
Because we are one legal community
and the PBCBA membership often
overlaps with other voluntary bar
association membership, I’m very
excited that the PBCBA organized a
Family Picnic on Sunday, February
23, 2020 at Okeeheelee Park in
West Palm Beach that will include
multiple voluntary bar associations.
Please join us for lunch to celebrate
our outstanding legal community
together, meet one another’s families
and enjoy a friendly competition for
best side dish among the voluntary
bars participating that day! There
will be plenty of activities that both
kids and adults will appreciate,
including a petting zoo, bungee
trampoline, and face painting. You
can register for the picnic on the
PBCBA website. If you are a member
of a voluntary bar association and
your bar would like to participate,
please contact Lynne Poirier at
[email protected] for more
information.
Please reach out to me and the rest of
the Board with any ideas, comments
or concerns. We can be reached at
[email protected]. PBCBA
member highlight submissions for
yourself or others should be sent to
memberhighlights@palmbeachbar.
org.