PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_Nov. 2019 | Page 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Fostering Collegiality Between the Bench and the Bar Judges, the Judicial Lunch seminar series, and the bi-annual judicial evaluations administered by the PBCBA. Jessica Callow 2019-20 PBCBA President Fall is upon us even if the weather doesn’t quite reflect the season! That means our Committee Chairs were working hard for the first few months of the new bar year to ensure the Palm Beach County Bar Association (“PBCBA”) continues to provide its members with outstanding programs and events. Committee members, under the leadership of the Chairs, create opportunities for networking, continuing legal education, and community involvement. Another opportunity created by the PBCBA and its committees is the ability to meet and informally interact with our local judiciary. The Judicial Relations Committee, which is co-chaired this year by Bridget Berry with Greenberg Traurig and Roger Feicht with Gunster, was formed years ago to serve as a liaison between our attorneys, aka the Bar, and the judiciary, aka the Bench. The goal of the Judicial Relations Committee is to facilitate better relations between the Bench and Bar, and committee events include the annual Bench Bar Conference, UMC Coffee and Bagels with the One of our most successful and well-attended events is the Bench Bar Conference held every year in the Spring. The Bench Bar Conference subcommittee falls under the umbrella of the Judicial Relations Committee and is co- chaired this year by Salesia Smith- Gordon with Salesia Smith-Gordon Law and Michael Pike with Pike & Lustig, LLP. On Friday, March 20, 2020, hundreds of attorneys, state and federal judges and magistrate judges, paralegals and law students will convene at the Palm Beach County Convention Center to learn about legal issues covering a variety of practice areas and earn CLE credit. Attendees break bread together during a luncheon featuring updates from the Chief Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Additionally, the Sidney Stubbs Professionalism Award and the Judge Edward Rodgers Diversity Award are presented to well- deserving recipients. The conference ends with a networking reception that enables attendees to unwind before kicking off their weekend. The Bench Bar Conference is a success, in part, because of the continued and much appreciated participation of our judiciary. Members of our judiciary volunteer to sit on breakout session panels and roundtables where they provide up-to-date insights on PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3 current legal issues and practice pointers that are beneficial to new and seasoned attorneys alike. While I’m sure every county bar association believes their local judiciary is the best in the State, those of us in Palm Beach County know this is true of the judges in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Fourth District Court of Appeal and Southern District of Florida courts. There is rarely a PBCBA event that doesn’t have at least one member of the judiciary in attendance. The collegiality fostered by the judiciary’s participation in our events and community makes Palm Beach County an outstanding place to practice law. If you are interested in joining the Bench Bar Conference subcommittee or simply have exciting ideas for the Conference to share with the co- chairs, please contact Salesia Smith- Gordon at salesia@smithgordonlaw. com or Michael Pike at pike@ pikelustig.com. As always, please reach out to me and the rest of the Board with any ideas, comments or concerns. We can be reached at pbcba- [email protected]. PBCBA member highlight submissions for yourself or others should be sent to memberhighlights@palmbeachbar. org.