SCBA PAST PRESIDENTS
Michele Boardman Grimes , SCBA President
By : EDWIN FORD , Esq . Edwin L . Ford , P . A .
Michele Grimes is a wife ( she
met her husband , Caleb , in law school ); they have been married now for forty-one years . She is a mother of four ( three daughters : Morgan , an engineer , Rachel , a physician , Caitlin , a dentist , and a son , her “ baby ” Kyle , a lawyer with the premier Bradenton law firm of Grimes Galvano who will be married at the end of this month at Bok Tower .) She is a partner in the law firm of Williams Parker ( she will retire on June 30 of this year ), a board-certified real estate attorney , and in addition to being a woman in the first co-ed graduating class from Lafayette College in Easton , Pennsylvania she was the first woman president of the Sarasota County Bar Association ( her term of office straddled the 1994-1995 calendar years ).
A genuinely modest list of her accomplishments can be found on The Florida Bar ’ s website . Even among the many preeminent lawyers at Williams Parker Michele Grimes stands out . All of which leads me to question why it has taken me so long to interview her for The Docket .
During her year as president , Michele could recall only a single quasi-controversial occurrence . She rescinded the automatic seat on the Board of Directors for FAWL because in her view women lawyers needed no special treatment to succeed . Her considerable powers of persuasion thwarted any significant opposition .
Michele is also credited with creating the Barristers Ball . First , Michele visited Kathy and John Dent to encourage them to serve as organizers and they agreed . The first Barristers Ball was held at the Hyatt hotel in November of 1994 . Michele attended in a strapless gown with bandages on her shoulder , the result of riding in a pack of bike riders and when her husband braked unexpectedly , she collided with his bike and suffered a case of road rash . Michele was and is passionate about providing legal representation to those who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer . She has raised a great deal of money for the various local legal aid organizations . She served
Michele Boardman Grimes , then and now .
on the board of Gulf Coast Legal Services and hired John Cunningham to be the Executive Director , a post which he held for over thirty years . Along with former SCBA president , John Patterson , she founded Bar Association Legal Services ( BALS ).
When asked to identify the characters in the SCBA she graciously spoke of former SCBA president Art Ginsburg , who after asking her to be on the nominating
MEMBERSHIP
Welcome , new members !
committee then proposed that she be president of the SCBA . She agreed and recused herself from the vote . She also noted Charlie Bartlett and Jim Burgess .
She described her approach to practicing law as being a problem solver , a finder of solutions . She encourages her clients not “ to dig in ” as she counsels them . And , above all , she just hates it when clients tell her , “ It ’ s the principal of the thing .” Perhaps the wisest comment offered by Michele Grimes was that membership in the Sarasota County Bar Association is an opportunity to get together with colleagues in a non-adversarial setting . Cordiality is the key , she said , noting that it is just easier to get along with other lawyers when you have a personal relationship with them . For that reason , she singled out the late Jim Ritchie as encouraging Williams Parker lawyers to attend bar functions .
The following represents each new member ’ s name , law school , year of admission to The Florida Bar , and law firm association .
n Michael Alfono , Jr .: Barry University ; 2020 ; Kate Smith Law n Patrick Barnes : Florida Coastal ; 2018 ; Spinner Law Firm , P . A .
n Conrado Gomez , Jr .: Florida State University ; 2018 ; Berlin Patten Ebling PLLC
n Luca Hickman : Ave Maria ; 2015 ; Henderson , Franklin , Starnes & Holt , P . A .
n Nicole Peet : Florida State University ; 2020 ; Farr Law Firm n Kimbrell Hines : University of Florida ; 2020 ; Williams Parker n Alena Miles : Western Michigan ; Expected Graduation 2023
n Teresa Monfils : Stetson University ; 2020 ; The Payne Law Group , PLLC
n Anissa Morris : Chase School of Law ; 2005 ; Spinner Law Firm , P . A .
n Charles Spinner , Jr .: University of Dayton ; 1999 ; Spinner Law Firm , P . A .
Affiliate Members n Salli Struble : Kanetsky , Moore & DeBoer n Kaleta Arase : Law Office of Harry W . Haskins , P . A . n Heather Zangara : Shumaker , Loop & Kendrick , LLP
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