by Tad Delegal
JBA president
The Jacksonville Bar Association had some great members’ meeting speakers in the past months. The staff and governors have worked hard to bring you some interesting voices.
We have featured National Public Radio personality Al Letson, we had a program on the response to the Pulse Nightclub tragedy, a program about the dark web, a luncheon focused on the Florida Constitution Revision Commission and a presentation by the Jacksonville Jaguars chief legal officer.
We have been working to identify more great speakers, and the day after April Fool’s Day is a great time to showcase some of our possible offerings.
No one has done more to enhance the high-mindedness of our national political debate than entertainer Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels. She is an expert on personal interactions and high level negotiations with difficult people. Many of our members have wanted us to focus on confidentiality issues in litigation settlements, and no more qualified expert than Daniels could speak on the role of discretion and confidentiality.
Former political candidates are always great speakers, and the most recent unsuccessful presidential aspirant, Hillary Clinton, could speak on both computer security and the importance of taking personal responsibility.
We have considered recent unsuccessful Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore as a speaker on judicial adherence to authority, the separation of church and state and admitting when it’s over. At press time, he was checking to see if he could fit us in during his pending recount efforts.
Finally, we can’t ignore the world of sports. A number of speakers have been considered: Tonya Harding on her role in the Melania Trump anti-bullying campaign; Florida State University President John Thrasher could discuss how badly he wants former head football coach Jimbo Fisher to change his mind and return; or LaVar Ball could speak to us about the importance of humility and role models for young athletes.
Of course, we could focus on the most burning question of all: How either the City of Gainesville or the University of Florida might be rebranded to more appropriately honor Steve Spurrier.
In closing, we have considered a luncheon or seminar addressing the historical significance of April Fool’s Day, when people make implausible and outlandish statements with the understanding that the statements are intended only to amuse. A luncheon exploring that historical phenomenon might be very interesting indeed.
Or perhaps the president’s column in the April 2 edition of the Bar Bulletin.