During last month’s annual convention of The Florida Bar, I was privileged to be sworn in to my fifth year as a member of the board of governors of the Young Lawyers’ Division.
My tenure on the board has been extremely rewarding as it has allowed me to work with bright and talented attorneys from Key West to Pensacola for the betterment of our legal community and the state.
There are two questions I’ve often been asked as my involvement with the YLD has continued:
• What does the YLD do?
• How long are you going to call yourself a young lawyer, you silver-haired geezer?
I’ll answer the first question now and reserve answering the second question for a later date.
In the words of Bill Schifino, president of The Florida Bar, “The YLD represents the future of our profession. Without their drive, energy and innovative ideas it would be impossible to accomplish all we do for the members of The Florida Bar and for Floridians in communities throughout the state.”
The division is an important engine of the state association in that, among other things, it produces top-notch programs, provides support for attorneys beginning their careers and stimulates involvement and interest among the more than 26,000 members of The Florida Bar under 36 or who have been practicing for five years or less.
Another role is assisting its members in the transition from law school to law practice.
Historically, this responsibility has included administering the Practicing with Professionalism seminars that are required for all first-year attorneys, as well as the Basic Skills CLE courses that must be completed within the first three years of practice.
While the YLD continues to produce these programs, it also has begun to provide other resources to help new attorneys succeed in today’s challenging legal marketplace.
For instance, the YLD recently launched a comprehensive website about how to start a Florida law firm: startmyfloridalawfirm.com.
The division is building a library of videos and webinars that provides instruction and advice on how to accomplish various legal tasks.
The library of how-to videos and “Mentoring with the Masters” is becoming one of the most extensive collections in the nation.
The YLD is in the forefront of effectuating change in our profession.
The division’s diversity efforts earned national recognition when its Pipeline Initiative Diversity Symposium — which seeks to motivate, encourage, and help high school, college and law students enter our profession — received an award from the American Bar Association.
The results of a poll conducted by the YLD’s Women in the Profession Committee, which revealed 43 percent of female lawyer respondents had experienced gender bias, also garnered national attention and fueled a YLD effort to support and recognize the achievements of women in the profession.
That effort will continue to lead to positive changes for women in the legal field.
The division also remains on the cutting edge of technology, the rapid growth of which necessitates the need for attorneys to stay up to date.
The Florida Bar looks to the YLD to be in front of the changing technology affecting our profession to help attorneys be more aware of changes. We have proven to be up to the challenge and we’re dedicated to this cause.
I encourage YLD members to reach out to 4th Judicial Circuit representatives Michael Lockamy ([email protected]), Lindsay Tygart ([email protected]) or me ([email protected]) for more information and for opportunities to get involved.
The YLD truly is a great organization doing hard work for the good of The Florida Bar.
Christian George is a partner at Akerman and was re-elected to a third term as representative of the 4th Judicial Circuit’s Young Lawyers’ Division board of governors.