I want to thank you for the privilege and honor of serving as your president over the past year. I will be forever grateful for the friendships gained and the opportunity to see firsthand the commitment to professionalism that runs deep and wide in our Association.
As I prepare to pass on the leadership of the JBA to your next president and board, I would like to leave you with a few thoughts about this past year, next year, and beyond.
First, please do not underestimate the relevance or importance of voluntary bar associations. Things can be accomplished within the local bar that could never be realized individually or at the state level. Just last August, the ABA presented its prestigious E. Smyth Gambrell Professionalism Award to the 4th Judicial Circuit’s Professionalism Committee for its work in creating and implementing a peer review committee, and in March the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court presented the 2002 Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award to the Jacksonville Bar Association in recognition of the legal clinic established at the Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless. Both projects were too large for any one individual to tackle, and too small for The Florida Bar take on. It has been said that all politics are local; the good administration of justice shares the same characteristic.
Next, continue the fight at every level to protect the independence of the judiciary. This was a relatively quiet year in the Legislature in terms of attempts to shift power away from the judiciary to the other branches of government, but next year does not hold the same promise. If lawyers do not rise to the occasion, who will? We can make important contributions at the local level, calling on personal relationships in Tallahassee and speaking publicly at every opportunity about the vital role of an independent judiciary in protecting our freedoms and preserving our constitutional system of government. Stay involved.
Finally, on a personal note, I would like to acknowledge with deep gratitude the loyal support of my family, my law firm, the JBA Board, and the dedicated JBA staff led by Diane Gill. Special thanks also to Don Mairs and Aaron Metcalf for their hard work and tremendous editorial assistance in getting the Bulletin out each week.
In closing, let me thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your president. Because of its members, the Jacksonville Bar Association is one of the best voluntary bar associations in the state, and thus the nation. As I hand the gavel over to my good friend and colleague Bill Joel and wish him luck for a successful year, I know that I will be forever proud to include myself in the ranks of members of the Jacksonville Bar Association.