by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Rick Mullaney, the City’s general counsel, was named the Daily Record’s Lawyer of the Year at Thursday’s Jacksonville Bar Association Law Day luncheon.
The award is given annually by the Daily Record.
“I had no idea,” said Mullaney of receiving the award. “I’m surrounded by people who know how to keep a secret.”
Mullaney, who was raised in Jacksonville and attended Forrest High School, was appointed general counsel in 1997 after practicing civil litigation in the General Counsel’s Office for five years. He served as Mayor John Delaney’s chief of staff in 1996.
The University of Florida graduate has served on the Florida Commission on Aging, the Coalition for a Drug Free Jacksonville and San Jose Episcopal Day School’s board. He created the first Jacksonville Bar Association Technology and the Law Seminar.
Mullaney has also served as chair of the Telecommunications Master Plan Task Force since its inception last year. The task force was formed to look at the feasibility and affordability of wiring the city for the future. The group has been working with Black & Veatch, a Kansas City-based technology consulting firm to determine the best way to connect the city through fiber optic cables.
The consulting group reported a preliminary list of recommendations at the City’s Technology Summit April 3, and Mullaney expects a final report soon.
“By May 20 we expect to get a final report from Black & Veatch,” said Mullaney. “Then we’ll be making a joint presentation to the City Council and the City’s administration.”
He said his work with the City has been extremely rewarding.
“On June 30, the [former mayor Ed] Austin/Delaney years will come to an end,” he said. “During these years we’ve seen the Jaguars come to town, we’ve seen the creation of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and we’ve seen the Better Jacksonville Plan, which includes the new courthouse. It’s a huge honor to have been a part of that.”
Mullaney and his wife Lynn have two daughters, Taylor and Katie, and a son, Richie.
Other Law Week events included a Naturalization Ceremony, an elementary school art contest, and high school presentations and mock trials, which provided students a taste of the practice of law.