WHAT IS ABOTA?
“The purpose is to preserve the civil jury trial system,” said Evan Yegelwel, president of the local ABOTA chapter. “Each year, potential legislation is proposed to restrict the right of courts. Access to the courts is founded on the seventh amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees a trial by jury. We are a non-profit dedicated to defend the American civil justice system and promote professionalism in the civil trial bar.”
WHEN WAS IT FORMED?
The national organization was created in 1958. The local chapter was chartered in 1988 with 16 members. Their tag line is “To promote the art of advocacy and the efficient administration of justice.” More succinctly, they function to preserve the right of trial by jury as guaranteed by the Constitution.
HOW IS THE FLORIDA ABOTA DIFFERENT?
“FLABOTA is the statewide group,” said Yegelwel. “The representative from our chapter is Robert Cole, a former president of the Jacksonville chapter. FLABOTA is responsible for all the Florida chapters and legislation on behalf of the chapters. In addition to the administrative part, they also lobby in Tallahassee. Wayne Hogan [of Brown, Terrell, Hogan] and Joe Milton [of Milton, Leach, Whitman, D’Andrea, Charek & Milton] are our national representatives.”
WHAT IS MEANT BY ABOTA’S TAG LINE?
“Advocacy is an art, not a science, because it requires a lot of creative input. We are dealing with members of the community that have to come to a consensus after hearing a well-presented case.”
DOES HE BELIEVE OUR COURTS ADMINISTER JUSTICE EFFICIENTLY?
“The 4th Circuit is blessed with an efficient court system, unlike other jurisdictions. When a litigant files a suit, they can be granted a court date in short order, as little as six months after the filing. What we hear is that this is not universal. Chief Judge Donald Moran keeps trial dockets moving.”
WHO RUNS THE JACKSONVILLE CHAPTER?
This year’s officers are Yegelwel, president; Joshua Whitman, vice president; Jeptha Barbour, treasurer; and Thomas S. Edwards Jr., secretary. They were sworn in at the group’s annual meeting in December.
WHAT is THE PURPOSE OF AN ANNUAL MEETING?
Inaugurating officers is one facet of the yearly gathering. It also serves as a platform to award individuals for achievements within the profession and to showcase above-average speakers. “The National ABOTA held their meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach where our dinner was, so they were in attendance at our meeting. We try to have really good keynote speakers.” Judge Brian Davis was recognized as Jurist of the Year, attorney Gerald Weedon was the Lawyer of the Year and publisher James Bailey Jr. was honored with the ABOTA Presidential Award for community service.
HOW OFTEN DOES THE GROUP MEET?
Luncheons are held quarterly with the executive committee meeting more frequently.
“The speaker at our first luncheon was Cindy Laquidara, the deputy general counsel for Jacksonville,” said Yegelwel. “She is representing the family of POW [prisoner of war] Scott Speicher pro bono. She relayed what she was doing legally to extract his release from Iraq, to get the government focused on ascertaining whether he’s alive or dead and to bring exposure to the case so he can be returned to this country.”
THEIR NEXT SPEAKER?
“In May, Judge [Harvey] Schlesinger will give us a tour of the new federal courthouse, and over the summer we will have a legislative update luncheon regarding the law and trial work. Our judicial luncheon is in the fall for the local judiciary to discuss how we, as advocates, can help the courts to facilitate the pretrial and trial processes.”
WHAT OTHER ACTIVITIES DO THEY HAVE?
“Our members volunteer at the pre-law program at Wolfson High School to demonstrate all aspects of a trial, from filing to a verdict,” said Yegelwel. “We present videos to the courthouse to prepare jurors for service and distribute packets to elementary schools on the jury system.” The group will be hosting a one-day seminar, pooling the resources of top trial attorneys throughout the nation. A judge from the 4th Circuit will preside over the trial demonstrations.
WHO MAKES UP THEIR MEMBERSHIP?
“We have the most senior [experienced] attorneys because the requirements are steep,” said Yegelwel. “You have to have tried, as lead counsel, 20 civil trials to verdict [completion]. Today, young lawyers don’t get the opportunity to try many suits since such a high number settle beforehand. With the advent of mediation, more cases are being resolved successfully prior to trial. We are comprised of around 50 members with our membership equally balanced between personal injury plaintiffs and defense attorneys.”
WHY JUST PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS?
“Personal injury attorneys are the ones who do the most jury trials.”
HOW MANY ARE WOMEN?
Mary Bland Love is the only active female attorney. Kitty Phillips is inactive and attorney Diane Weaver will be transferring here [from South Florida].
WHY ONLY ONE
MEMBER FEMALE?
“Some of it is demographics,” he said. “There are not as many women that have been practicing in Jacksonville as long as their male counterparts. We’ve aggressively sought making the group more diverse but only time will heal this problem.”
— by Monica Chamness