With great pleasure, I would like to introduce to you the new officers and members of the Young Lawyers Section Board of Governors:
Ray Driver
Camerlengo & Driver
President-elect
Braxton Gillam
Milam & Howard
Secretary
Troy Smith
Rogers, Towers
Treasurer
Geddes Anderson
Liles, Gavin
Kevin Cook
Bedell, Dittmar
B.J. Millis
Smith, Hulsey
Jennifer Millis
Camerlengo & Driver
Tatiana Salvador
Rogers, Towers
Ray Ravis
Dunlap & Russell
For those of you unfamiliar with YLS and its activities, we serve as the community outreach arm of the JBA. Through our numerous projects, we provide opportunities for young lawyers to perform services for the community as well as socialize and network with other young lawyers. You no doubt read last week in JBA president Bill Joel’s, column about the Dignity in Law campaign recently launched by The Florida Bar. The campaign seeks to improve the public’s perception of lawyers by making them aware of the tremendous positive impact lawyers have on their individual communities. Joel encouraged Jacksonville lawyers to generously devote their time and talents to worthy civic and charitable causes. YLS offers many opportunities for lawyers young and old to do just that. One of the following YLS projects just might inspire you to give back to your community.
Teen Court
Teen Court is a program for first-time offenders between the ages of 10-17. The teen must stand before a jury of his/her peers, plead guilty and accept whatever sanctions they impose. The cases are tried by teens acting as the prosecution and defense attorneys with the only adult present serving as the judge. We need volunteers to act as the courtroom judge. After a brief training session, you will be ready to preside over your first trial – complete with robe, gavel and absolute discretion to rule on all objections and evidentiary issues. Talk about power! You can volunteer as a Judge as often as you choose.
Holiday in January
YLS conducts this project in conjunction with the Department of Children & Families (DCAF). We use donated funds to purchase presents for foster children introduced into the foster care system during the holiday season who did not get to experience the fun and excitement of opening presents during that time. As we all know, DCAF is currently plagued with bad press. Unfortunately, it is the children who suffer. We always need volunteers to help purchase the toys and help Santa distribute the gifts at the holiday party.
Back to school
This is another YLS program coordinated with DCAF. Through individual donations, YLS helps to provide hundreds of foster children with new backpacks, school supplies and a new pair of tennis shoes. The event is held at Skate World and we will need volunteers to distribute the goodies, or for the brave hearted, to chaperone the kids on the skating rink.
Habijax
While you are probably familiar with the Habijax program, you might not know that YLS built a house on our own this year. With your support, donations and manual labor, we hope to build a second house next year. I hear you get to play with large electric nail guns and other dangerous equipment –talk about a great time! Be on the look-out for the house building schedule in the near future.
4th Judicial Circuit Mentor Program
Sponsored by the 4th Judicial Circuit and the JBA, the Mentor Program seeks to match new lawyers with more experienced lawyers to promote professionalism and improve service to clients. We need attorneys to serve as mentors. This is an opportunity for seasoned lawyers to share their knowledge, experience, and commitment to our profession with young lawyers. With as little as one or two hours a month, you can have a real impact on a new lawyer, and as advocated by the Dignity in Law campaign, help improve our public image one lawyer at a time.
The above projects are just a sample of activities YLS has to offer. We will be rolling out several new projects this year and we will continue our support of the Special Olympics events, Sports League, breakfasts with local judges and, of course, our YLS happy hours. If you are interested in participating in future YLS activities, feel free to call on any YLS board member for more information.