by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Odds are there aren’t many accomplished ballroom dancers who have argued, and won, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
But there’s been at least one.
Sarah Bohr, who now works out of her Atlantic Beach home, took the 5-4 decision in a 2000 Social Security case from Mississippi.
“Actually, the case was my partner’s, Chantal Harrington’s,” said Bohr. “But I ended up arguing it. And we did have other people working on it: Chantal, a law professor and I were the primary people. You don’t go up there by yourself.”
For 21 of her 25 years as an attorney, Bohr worked for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
“I loved it,” she said. “At Legal Aid you got to do really interesting cases. And you could look at a case and value whether it had merit, not whether a client could afford to pay you.”
While at Legal Aid, Bohr developed a speciality in Social Security law and started a small business on the side, a way to make some extra money.
“Legal Aid was having some funding problems, and the director was encouraging us to go on part-time status,” she said. “In 1996, I agreed to go on four days a week at Legal Aid and work one day a week on the appeals. The business really picked up. It kept growing to the point I couldn’t do both.
“Now, the two of us, Chantal and I, work just on appeals. And I have a paralegal who works basically full-time for me.”
A publisher persuaded Bohr to write a book for him, a survey of all the Social Security law in the country. With the publication of “Bohr’s Social Security Issues Annotated,” and the distribution of flyers encouraging attorneys to call, the two women eliminated the need to advertise. They aren’t even listed in the yellow pages.
“We have a real niche business in the field,” said Bohr. “There are lawyers who do Social Security law, but there’s an even smaller group that does the appeals.
“Lawyers hire us to write the federal court appeals for cases they’ve lost. All we do is write the briefs. We don’t represent the client; we never see the client.”
Bohr is admitted to the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th and 11th Circuit . . . and the Supreme Court.
As a high school student, Bohr participated in track and field and took up Tae Qwan Do.
“I’ve done all kinds of jazzercize and aerobics, and I like the competition part of the martial art,” she said. “Ballroom dancing is extremely athletic, very physical. It’s a very challenging sport. And I like doing physical exercise in a social setting.”
Bohr first signed up with Kaluby’s Dance Studio for a lesson a week in March 2001. She soon added to the schedule and may now be found in a stretching, jazz or dancing class six days out of the week.
The owner of the studio sponsors a major competition, the First Coast Classic, each year in Jacksonville. Bohr first entered two years ago. She also participated in the Classic held two weeks ago at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, where she was one of the top 20 students.
She regularly takes part in local mini-matches, held every four months, in which dancers compete for a certain score.
In December, she joined hundreds of other students for a four-day event in Las Vegas and won an award for best performance by a female newcomer. Of the 22 couples in the final, Bohr came in fifth.
She’ll take part in a one-day event in December and in the studio’s Christmas show, in which the dancers will perform choreographed routines.
The skill levels are newcomer, bronze, silver and gold. Bohr has now reached the bronze level.
“There’s a lot to ballroom dancing,” she said. “First you learn the steps. Then you have to learn the arm movements. You have to learn the connection with your partner, and how to follow as a woman. A man has to learn how to lead.
“The more you dance with the same partner the better you’ll get. That’s why you see people who have been married for a number of years dance so well together.”
All four of the Kaluby’s Dance Studios come together for a party every Friday night. The studio offers a free lesson so that newcomers can see if they like it.
“It really is a lot of fun,” Bohr said. “There’s always something to learn. You’ve always got goals.
“And, like anything else in life, the more you know, the more realize you don’t know. “