Schickel re-elected at WorkSource
• Coker, Myers, Schickel, Sorenson and Green partner Jake Schickel has been re-elected as chairman of the board of directors at WorkSource. The publicly funded agency provides job training and consultation to Duval and surrounding counties. This is Schickel’s second term as chairman. Schickel said his chairmanship will focus, in part, on participation in the mayor’s Blueprint for prosperity program to raise Jacksonville’s per capita income. City Council President Kevin Hyde, who has called the program his “number one priority,” said he looks forward to Schickel’s help. “I am certain that Jake will bring his broad professional and civic experience to bear on this critically important issue,” said Hyde.
Open mike day at the Courthouse
• Circuit Court Judge David Gooding is giving foster children a chance to voice their opinions through his “Open Mike Thursdays.” Once a month, Gooding opens his courtroom on a Thursday afternoon to any foster child wishing to make a statement, ask a question or simply talk with Gooding. Gooding was inspired by a similar program in the state’s Sixth Judicial Circuit and by exit interviews with children leaving the state’s foster care. “Their No. 1 comment was that no one listened to them. They had no input on their lives,” he said.
Gooding aims for the third Sunday of each month and plans to open his courtroom once a month until Christmas. The sessions take place in Juvenile Courtroom 2 starting at 1:30 p.m. If the first session was any indication, plan to get there early. The session was so popular, there were about 20 people waiting just to get a seat inside the courtroom.
UF unveils renovated building
• The University of Florida will introduce statewide media members to the renovated Levin College of Law during an August 18 tour. The school just finished a $25 million renovation and expansion project that overhauled classrooms and built the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center. Representatives say to look for an expanded law library, cutting-edge technology in the classrooms and new landscaping at the school’s entrance.
NY Journal: no law without license
• The flood of migrants from New York to Florida got the New York Law Journal’s attention. The Journal ran an article advising New York lawyers to take care not to run afoul of Florida’s unlicensed practice laws when advising clients who have moved to the Sunshine State. The Journal noted that the preparation of wills and prenuptial agreements probably qualifies. According to the article: “Generally, a person is engaged in the practice of law if he or she gives advice and performs services that affect important legal rights of a person.” Out-of-state lawyers need to be particularly careful now that the the Florida Legislature made the unlicensed practice of law a third-degree felony. It used to be a first-degree misdemeanor.