by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
To avoid any television blackouts in the future, maybe the Jaguars should take some notes from the Jacksonville Bar Association.
In an unprecedented event for the association, 340 members attended last week’s luncheon at the Omni, a crowd that packed the hotel’s banquet room to maximum capacity.
JBA president Alan Pickert said he even had to turn away about 35 members because there simply weren’t any seats available.
“It looks like the Jacksonville Bar Association luncheons are the new hot ticket in town,” he said with a grin.
While having Jaguars owner and CEO Wayne Weaver as the keynote speaker last week probably helped with the attendance record, Pickert said attendance in the organization is growing faster than ever.
When Pickert came into the top seat for the Jacksonville Bar in June, he had three main goals — start and finish meetings on time, boost membership and get more judiciary involvement. If last week’s luncheon is any indication, Pickert has already achieved all of those goals.
Though new members are accepted into the organization at every meeting, it seems like the list of newcomers grows longer and longer at each luncheon. That might have something to do with Pickert’s recent canvassing tour of the local law firms. Over the past few months, he has been visiting law firms around Jacksonville and the Florida Coastal School of Law’s campus to herald the benefits of being a Jacksonville Bar member.
“Through the last seven years on (JBA’s) board of governors, I have watched each president do a variety of things to increase membership and they have all done an excellent job doing so,” Pickert said. “I just thought that I would just try to contribute to that process to keep it going.”
Besides several new faces in Thursday’s capacity crowd, there also were multiple members of the local judiciary as well as four judges from the First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee. Though he has met with Chief Judge Donald Moran to discuss getting more involvement from the judiciary, Pickert said the judges are coming to the luncheons on their own.
“I think our judiciary is the finest there is,” Pickert said. “They, with their busy schedules, are making sure that they make time out in their schedules to come down and be a part of these luncheons and participate. We had 31 judges today. That is fantastic.”
There also are more of Jacksonville’s high-profile attorneys attending the meetings. Though all attorneys are busy, Pickert said having some of the biggest and busiest take the time to attend the luncheons will also help to build membership and event attendance.
“Look over there,” he said, pointing across the room to a group of lawyers chatting after the meeting ended. “There is Hank (Coxe) and Wayne (Hogan). If they can make it, then that sets an example for everybody else.
“Today we had David Wells from McGuire Woods,” Pickert said. “He hasn’t been to a bar meeting in eight years. He came, he liked it and he said he would come back. That is just great.”
The bottom line — JBA membership is up and Pickert couldn’t be happier.
But he isn’t taking any credit for it.
“I am really pleased,” he said. “I think the board of governors is doing a great job. But I am not doing anything. I am just kind of standing in the boat. I think it is really the membership that is doing these great things.”