“The level of professionalism and competence in the Jacksonville legal community is among the highest in the country.”
Most of us who practice in Jacksonville believe this, and we often hear this from lawyers and judges who practice, or sit on benches, elsewhere. Having started my career in the Washington, D.C. office of a New York-based law firm, I can attest to the comparatively higher quality of life for a practicing lawyer in Jacksonville.
A concern is: How do we perpetuate this level of professionalism and competence as our legal community continues to face more of the pressures and challenges that have, particularly in larger cities, contributed to the degeneration of the legal profession? The Raymond Ehrlich Trial Advocacy Seminar is designed to assist in addressing this concern.
Justice Ehrlich, as a practicing lawyer, judge and justice, has epitomized the attributes of quality lawyering and professionalism. And there are numerous others from his generation about whom the same could be said. Unfortunately, there are few from that generation still practicing law. The Ehrlich Seminar is aimed at encouraging succeeding generations to value and perpetuate these attributes.
Each portion of the seminar is designed to illustrate integrity, professionalism, character, consideration, respect and other qualities of positive lawyering. Rather than addressing these topics in the abstract, however, the Ehrlich Seminar illustrates these qualities in the context of practical, substantive presentations on important topics for litigators.
The focus of the seminar this year is on topics that virtually every litigator encounters, but not necessarily on a regular basis. As a result, lawyers often are forced to spend a substantial amount of time refamiliarizing themselves with the applicable substantive and procedural law in order to avoid making mistakes. The presentations this year — on such topics as injunctive relief, punitive damages, liens (of all varieties), and final versus non-final orders — will provide a foundation of information and reference materials to address these issues.
In addition, Professor Charles Ehrhardt, the author of “Florida Evidence,” and Henry Trawick, the author of “Florida Practice and Procedure,” will participate — Ehrhardt on Cutting Edge Issues in Evidence, and Trawick on Sanctions as a Sword and a Shield.
The seminar is designed to provide meaningful information for lawyers at all levels of experience.
It’s scheduled for April 23 at the Radisson. The seminar has been well attended each year. If you have not already registered, a registration form is available in this Bulletin or from The Jacksonville Bar Association office.