Kelly Overstreet Johnson of Tallahassee becomes The Florida Bar’s 56th president when she takes the oath of office Friday during the Bar’s annual meeting at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Johnson is the third female Florida Bar president in the organization’s 55-year history, and the first Tallahassee lawyer to become Florida Bar president since 1965.
During her presidency, Johnson says she wants to continue efforts to defend judicial independence through improving the functioning of Florida’s 26 Judicial Nominating Commissions (JNC) and working to make sure that the courts are adequately funded.
“The JNC process is critically important and must function correctly to ensure the public benefits from the process by having judges who are fair and well qualified sitting on the bench,” she said.
Johnson will also seek to take another look at Bar advertising rules. Many lawyers still dislike or oppose lawyer advertising and believe it is the largest cause of public discontent with the profession. But the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that lawyer advertising cannot be banned. Johnson said she wants to make sure the Bar’s rules are as consistent and simple as possible, and that they are enforced.
“There are three initiatives that I would like to see accomplished during my term as President: a review of our lawyer advertising rules; increased funding for children in the legal system; and a commitment to encouraging increased involvement of all of our Bar members, regardless of practice areas, gender or ethnicity.”
Seeking the Bar presidency seemed like a logical step for Johnson, who has an extensive resume of local, state, and national bar participation. Johnson was elected without opposition in December 2002.
“I have been involved in Bar work for most of my career and I’ve always enjoyed it,” she said. “I have loved my work on The Florida Bar Board of Governors and its executive committee. After serving with other presidents, I realized I also had a desire to serve and thought I could do a good job.”
Johnson was born May 3, 1958, in Tallahassee. She received a bachelor’s degree in real estate and pre-law from Florida State University in 1979 and a law degree, with honors, from Florida State University College of Law in 1982.
She became a civil litigator with the Florida Department of Legal Affairs from 1983-85, and then went to work for Ervin, Varn, Jacobs, Odom & Kitchen from 1985-88. From 1988-90, Johnson opened her own law office, and in 1990 she joined Broad and Cassel. Johnson, is a partner in the Tallahassee office of Broad and Cassel. In addition to its Tallahassee location, the law firm has offices in Boca Raton, Destin, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
As a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution, and Labor and Employment practice groups, she concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, employment law, and class action litigation.
Johnson has been active in local and state bar leadership roles since 1982 and has been a member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors since 1997. She was also a member of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors from 1986-90. She was the first woman elected president of the Tallahassee Bar Association, a position she held from 1990-91. Johnson’s other numerous leadership positions include serving on the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates.
She and her husband, Hal, have been married for 24 years. Hal Johnson is the General Counsel for the Florida Police Benevolent Association. The Johnsons have three-year-old twin daughters.
Alan B. Bookman of Pensacola, becomes The Florida Bar’s president-elect when he takes the oath of office Friday. Bookman will become president of The Florida Bar in June 2005.