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
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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.