by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
The Criminal Law Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association serves to assist members who practice criminal law at the state or federal level and JBA attorneys who may be curious to learn more about criminal law.
“The Bar is made up of a lot of attorneys with divergent practices,” said Section co-chair Kathleen O’Malley, assistant U.S. Attorney and senior litigation counsel. “We put practitioners together to share information.”
Having a balanced perspective on leadership is important to the group. O’Malley represents the prosecution interests of the membership,while co-chair Bill Sheppard of Sheppard, White & Thomas is best versed in criminal defense. The two lawyers have argued trials on opposing sides for many years.
“Some committees have a single chair,” said O’Malley. “The idea [behind the shared chair position] was to have two people from two different sides.”
High on the list of priorities for the section is a continuing legal education seminar scheduled for June 13. The training session is open to all JBA members but will be geared towards criminal law practitioners. Attorney Ed Garland is scheduled to speak at the event.
“He’s a prominent lawyer in Atlanta,” said O’Malley. “He’s an experienced and well-known personality.”
The seminar is an endeavor O’Malley and Sheppard have been vying to put together for two years but because of the amount of effort required to stage such a function, the event did not get off the ground until lately. The session will follow the JBA’s regular luncheon that month.
No stranger to leadership positions, O’Malley has chaired different sections of the Bar since 1991. This is her third consecutive year heading the Criminal Law Section. In years past, the group met often to discuss subjects of general interest to this specialty of the legal profession. But O’Malley maintains the section has been “very quiet” as of late and intimated that meetings are not that necessary. The section does make an ongoing effort to expand the members’ knowledge base and socializing, though.
“It’s a good way to access the legal minds practicing in the field,” she said. “There’s a short list of contacts if you want to pick someone’s brains. Plus, it’s a good way to network. Criminal law happens at a rapid speed. This is an area of the law where change could happen very quickly. The CLE will be geared to address that.”