by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
New Jacksonville Bar Association President Alan Pickert choked up Thursday as he opened his inaugural speech at the monthly meeting. But it was the closing that brought smiles to the faces of Bar members.
Pickert brought his speech, and the meeting, to an end at 1:05 p.m. Pickert, who promised concise meetings as a means to encourage attendance from the judiciary, got off to an auspicious start.
There were some faint murmurs of surprise from the assembled members, when Pickert abruptly closed the meeting at the end of his comments. Many checked their watches.
Pickert said the inspiration for his time-sensitive comments came from a Pensacola monsignor, who was ironically known for his drawn-out sermons. But Pickert remembers one New Year’s Day message that was conspicuous in its conciseness.
“Monsignor Bowles looked out January 1, 7 a.m.. And he could see everybody who had been out tearing it up, including me. And he said simply, ‘You raised it last night, you look like it this morning, and if you don’t change your ways, you’re going to end up there for eternity,” said Pickert.
“If he had taken 30 minutes, he couldn’t have delivered a more effective message. I’m going to try to be equally brief, and I hope you all can try to learn more with less.”
It wasn’t all laughs during Pickert’s speech. He choked up momentarily as he thanked his “best friend,” wife Linda and four children, Rachel, Kaitlyn, Read and Ford.
Pickert credited his success to his family and support from his firm, Terrell, Hogan. Partner Wayne Hogan promised Pickert will continue to recieve the support throughout his one-year term as president.
“It will be a lot of work, for his partners and staff, and for himself,” said Hogan. “But we’re happy to do that for him. It’s a commitment from him and a commitment from the firm to work to support the Bar.”
Pickert will likely need the help. His predecessor, Reginald Luster, said the job required an extra 20 to 30 hours per week on top of his caseload for Luster and Davis, P.A.
Hogan said it shouldn’t be a problem for Pickert.
“Alan has demonstrated the ability to handle a tremendous workload. Believe me,” he said.
It’s because of the tight schedules that often confront lawyers and judges that Pickert has placed such a premium on starting and ending the JBA’s monthly meetings on time.
Concise meetings are a lynchpin in Pickert’s plan to create a closer relationship between Duval County’s judges and the JBA. Judges will attend more meetings, Pickert reasons, if they are assured of returning to their dockets on time.
“Start at noon, end at 1 p.m.,” said Pickert. “I know that it’s easier said than done, but I’m going to ask all of our speakers to honor that.
“Judges are really going beyond the call of duty, making time out of their schedule to attend the meetings. The least we can do is return the courtesy.”
The relationship between judges and lawyers is particularly important to cultivate now because of the challenges facing the legal community, said Pickert. Several local firms have joined Chief Judge Don Moran’s lobbying for the City to continue construction on a new Duval County Courthouse. And the JBA’s annual law Day Luncheon hosted former state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Hatchett, who called for the legal community to rally together against political attacks from state and federal legislatures.
Before he handed the reins over to Pickert, Luster used his final address as president to thank all those who supported him over the past year, giving special thanks to his Board of Gov ernors and JBA executive director Diane Gill.
Luster received a standing ovation as he gave way to Pickert.
“I can’t say anything further about Reggie after your reaction to his speech,” said Pickert.