Jacksonville Bar Association

We've got a GREAT Jax Bar CLE on tap today - and it features our Immediate Past JBA President! Effective Preparation for Mediation CLE with Blane McCarthy of Miles Mediation & Arbitration will go down from 12-1 pm today at the JBA. Join us for a 1-hour CLE presentation that offers a comprehensive guide to maximizing success at mediation through intentional and thorough preparation. This CLE is ideal for attorneys looking to improve their outcomes and efficiency at mediation. Approved by The Florida Bar for 1.0 General CLE credit, including 1.0 certification credit in Civil Trial Law. Earn credit while gaining valuable insight from one of Jacksonville’s most seasoned neutrals! Link to register can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eGY8Bd6X

Did you see this? In an unprecedented move in the legal world, a lawyer in New York attempted to use an AI-generated avatar to deliver his arguments during a case in front of the Supreme Court, claiming he was granted permission to play a pre-recorded message. The judge did not approve and said the court had been mislead. What are your thoughts on this? 👀 (Read the full New York Times article on this story here: https://lnkd.in/e5DjBrTQ)

Congrats to ALL our area JBA members who are also Florida Gator fans on last night's EPIC National Championship Game win - especially our Jax Bar President Christian George! Christian was IN San Antonio last night as UF cut down the nets after coming back and beating Houston, 65-63, in the final. What a great season, amazing run and thrilling finish for the Florida Gators! 🐊 🏀 🏆 ****** #Repost @cgeorge_jax It remains great to be a Florida Gator!!! The trip and the game were amazing. Equally, it is a true blessing to run into so many friends - some planned, many not - in San Antonio. Go Gators!

Displaying kindness and courtesy sets a standard for our profession, writes JBA President Christian George in this month's "From The President" column in the Jax Daily Record. Read President George's full commentary at the link below! #myjaxbar

And that's a WRAP on the Elder Law Committee Meeting & CLE today with 4th Circuit Judges Thomas M. Beverly and Kevin A. Blazs! This meeting was both in-person and virtual, and we had an incredible turnout over 60 JBA members! 💪 The seminar was tailored specifically for attorneys specializing in Probate, Guardianship, and Incapacity Proceedings. Stay tuned for a photo gallery and recap soon! #myjaxbar

Shoutout to our friends and sponsor Our Family Wizard for this sweet treat - literally and figuratively - they dropped off at the JBA offices on Friday! These candy-dipped, fresh strawberries came from Shari's Berries, and our staff not only enjoyed them - they crushed 'em! 🍓 Our Family Wizard is an app used by SO many of our family law attorneys, and it's widely considered the leading app for helpful and peaceful co‑parenting. You can streamline your parenting schedule, shared expenses, and communication. It's court-recommended and really useful for those who've never used it. And if you have used it, then you already know all about its convenience! Thanks, Our Family Wizard! 👊 #myjaxbar

Great meeting today by our Appellate Law Committee at JBA Headquarters, and we appreciate all the members who took part both in-person and virtually! This was the Appellate Law Committee's first meeting in over a month, and there was a LOT to discuss. We'll break it all down soon and have more photos and deets from the meeting. And we appreciate the law firm of Creed & Gowdy for sponsoring the gathering and providing lunch! #myjaxbar

The JBA wishes all of our members who celebrate a happy Eid-al-Fitr, which is celebrated in the Muslim culture worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-dusk fasting of (Shawwal) Ramadan. Eid-al-Fitr, which means "festival of breaking the fast," is being observed this year from March 30-April 2, and it's estimated to be celebrated by 2 billion people around the globe. Eid al-Fitr is the first of the two main festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha, which falls on the first day of Shawwal. #myjaxbar

We closed out the third month of 2025 last week with a meeting from our Jacksonville Bar Association Board of Governors at JBA headquarters. Led by President Christian George, we discussed recent award nominations and looked ahead at what the remaining JBA schedule holds as President George winds down his time. Most specifically, they went through the nominations for the Jax Daily Record Lawyer Of The Year and the Liberty Bell Award, which is given annually to one non-lawyer who has made significant contributions to the local legal community. We should have our winners soon and will announce them on social media and our website! This meeting also marked the first for Board member Asghar Syeed, who was just named JBA President-elect Designate last week. Congrats again, Asghar! The board also ran through a number of upcoming events on the schedule, including the exciting conclusion of the Jacksonville Bar Young Lawyers Section Young Lawyers Institute, which now has just ONE session remaining on May 13th - Mediation & Arbitration - now that the 4 previous sessions have concluded. The YLIs gather both young and veteran lawyers with a panel of judges, who speak on a series of different topics. So far, they've covered County Court, Circuit Criminal, Family Law & Circuit/Civil. You can register for the May 13th session on Mediation & Arbitration here: https://lnkd.in/gU_NGzzC Other events the BOG has its eye on in the upcoming months include: ** Effective Preparation for Mediation CLE with Blane McCarthy on April 9th - https://lnkd.in/eGY8Bd6X ** The Erlich Trial Advocacy Seminar on April 16 - https://lnkd.in/eDQV_S-P ** Professionalism Committee CLE on April 22 - https://lnkd.in/eSypFzAR ** Transactional Law Committee Happy Hour on April 22 - https://lnkd.in/e5e8vUGu ** Lunch and Learn with Congressman Aaron Bean on April 23 - https://lnkd.in/e4r76tMW ** Civil Rules Overhaul: Early Impact with Judicial Leaders on April 24 - https://lnkd.in/e9_-Ndwr ** The CME Seminar for Mediators on May 16 - https://lnkd.in/eGsiE98i Thanks to all the BOG members who attended, including those who joined virtually. The JBA board will meet again on April 30th and we'll have more updates for ya then! #myjaxbar

Before we go into detail on the AMAZING Women's History Month CLE we held last week, can we just pause for a second and give a round of applause for the SIX ladies and one female judge who made up our All-Star, all-woman panel??? 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 On Tuesday, March 25th, we gathered at the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse for "Celebrating Women in the Law and Leadership: Onward and Upward with Empowerment and Professionalism," which promised in advance to be a powerful panel discussion exploring leadership and professionalism in the legal profession. And it was all that -- and then some! 💪 Moderated by Chief Judge Marcia Morales Howard, the panel featured the six female members of the JBA Board Of Governors - Adina Pollan, Shannon B. Schott, Amber R. Donley, Esquire, Alexandria Hill, Kathryn E. Stanfill, and Kayla Haines Herrin, who is also our current Jacksonville Bar Young Lawyers Section President. And together they shared their insights on balancing ethical commitments with leadership responsibilities, mentorship, and fostering trust in the justice system. Judge Howard did a great job keeping the conversation flowing among what she called a "very distinguished panel" and volleyed the topics around to each woman, all of whom brought different expertise to the forum. They focused the first part of the panel on client relations and gave anecdotes about cases they'd work on, then touched on topics like dealing with "imposter syndrome" at times in their careers and even talked about balancing busy legal careers with motherhood. After the event was over, we gathered for a reception to network and unwind. And we appreciate everyone who attended both! It was a packed house for this event, and we know our panelists felt the love and support from the crowd! Can't wait to gather these JBA women leaders again for a future panel. What a great day! #myjaxbar