PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_Sept. 2019 | Page 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Our Hardworking YLS Lawyers Section’s award-winning Sidebar Series, which educates young lawyers on various aspects of both litigation and trial practices. In recent years, Judge Sasser devoted valuable time addressing juror engagement and participation challenges, including organizing a forum to discuss these challenges that included judges, attorneys and former jurors. Judge Sasser was a skilled and always prepared jurist with an outstanding judicial demeanor and impressive knowledge of the law. She will be deeply missed by her PBCBA family. Jessica Callow 2019-20 PBCBA President Like so many of my fellow Palm Beach County Bar Association members, I was taken aback to learn of Judge Meenu Sasser’s recent passing. Judge Sasser was a skilled and formidable attorney during her years at Gunster and an even more impressive judge. It is her advocacy for diversity, education of young lawyers and zealous desire to improve our court system that will be her lasting legacy within our legal community and beyond. Proof of this legacy presented itself in the numerous social media posts by attorneys that considered her a friend, worked with her in various capacities, appeared before her in Court or simply received her encouragement to advance their legal careers through board certification and bar leadership. I am fortunate that she encouraged me to run for the PBCBA Board of Directors. The PBCBA and its members benefited from Judge Sasser’s innovation and leadership when she served on our Board of Directors from 2004-2009 and as President from 2007-2008. Judge Sasser chaired the Bar’s Minority Initiative Program in 2005, which program provided an opportunity for minority second and third-year law students to obtain legal work experience in Palm Beach County. That program ultimately evolved into the Bar’s successful Diversity Internship Program, which continues today. Judge Sasser actively encouraged female and diverse attorneys to take on leadership roles in this Bar and others. Additionally, she created and championed the Young In honor of Judge Sasser’s frequent collaboration with the Young Lawyers Section, I am dedicating the rest of this message to the YLS and its members. YLS, for which there is no age limit to join, offers numerous opportunities to participate in activities to meet other lawyers and provide services for the community. Activities include the aforementioned Sidebar Series, monthly networking happy hours, Adopt-a- School and Habitat for Humanity projects, serving lunches at a local homeless shelter, an annual fishing tournament, a 5K race, and a holiday party for foster children. YLS leaders frequently continue their involvement in the PBCBA by running for a seat on our Board of Directors. Some of the YLS Past Presidents that became Presidents of the PBCBA include Jerry Beer, Jay White, Mike Kranz, Ed Downey, Scott Hawkins, Judge Amy Smith, Greg Coleman, Judge Lisa Small, Theo Kypreos, Grier Pressley, and John Whittles. Our current Board of Directors includes the following YLS Past Presidents: Lindsey Demmery, Andrea Lewis, Lee McElroy, Jack Rice and Julia Wyda. This is a distinguished bunch that exemplify what a love of bar service looks like. The current YLS leadership is also an impressive group of volunteers. Scott Perry is their fearless leader having been recently installed as YLS President. Scott’s practice with Murray Guari focuses on personal injury and wrongful death matters. Scott is an avid golfer and was instrumental in the creation and success of the annual YLS golf tournament. With Scott’s leadership, we can all expect great things from YLS in the coming months. Abigail McCall serves on the YLS Board and is best known for the many hours she put in chairing the annual Scales of Justice KWD PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3 Fishing Tournament for the last three years. Her defense practice with Gunther McIntosh focuses on trucking and motor vehicle litigation. Abigail is a native of Tequesta and a Florida girl at heart. She enjoys fishing and boating with her family and has a health and wellness mindset that she shares with her fellow YLS members. Thank you, Abigail, for making the fishing tournament such a success! Finally, Lauren Johnson, the current YLS Secretary, is a business litigation attorney with McCabe Rabin. She started her career in public service, having clerked for Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman. Her friends from YLS call her “LJ” and say she is funny, humble and the first to volunteer for anything YLS needs help with. As a former competitive cheerleader, Lauren’s enthusiasm for bar service shines through in everything she does. While there simply isn’t enough space to highlight all of the YLS Executive Board and at large Board members, suffice it to say they are a dedicated group of attorneys. In closing, YLS is an instrumental part of the PBCBA’s overall success. Without the networking and charitable opportunities offered by YLS to all lawyers, as well as being a valuable pipeline of leadership, the PBCBA would surely suffer. No matter what age you are or level of practice you are at, I hope to see you at a future YLS event. And as Judge Sasser always did, please join us in supporting our YLS members in any way possible, whether through mentorship, attending their volunteer projects or networking events, or volunteering to serve a role in the Sidebar Series. Judge Sasser knew that our newest members would soon be our brightest if we helped them along the way. 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]. Also, don’t forget to submit PBCBA member highlights for yourself or others at memberhighlights@ palmbeachbar.org. Highlights submitted may be featured in future issues of the Bulletin, e-newsletters and social media pages.