For the first time in over a decade, the race for Jacksonville Bar Association president-elect has two candidates. Joe Camerlengo — a private practice attorney with his own personal injury firm — and Caroline Emery — a law clerk for United States District Court Judge Harvey Schlesinger — are both seeking the position that will succeed current president-elect Kelly Mathis. The Daily Record posed the same eight questions to both candidates.
Question: For the past year, many of the speakers have been from the non-legal world — such as Jags owner Wayne Weaver and Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley — and this has proven popular. What are your plans for guest speakers at the monthly Bar lunches?
Camerlengo: If elected president-elect, I’ll have about two years to get speakers in place. I plan to pull from local politicians and ask them to address the needs of our membership and I plan to have other non-attorneys as guest speakers. I was an NFL agent at one time, so I can pull from that. Maybe I can get NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to come speak. He’s No. 1 on my list.
Emery: I would like to invite speakers that can cover a variety of topics. I will be seeking input from members to determine the most popular topics.
Q: It’s important for the JBA president to participate in Bar events. How much do you plan on being personally involved?
Camerlengo: As a member of the board of governors, I am expected to attend meetings as much as possible and as president-elect, that’s a priority. Hopefully, I will have 100 percent participation in all Bar-related activities. I want to lead by example.
Emery: My plans are to participate at about 100 percent. My job will lend myself to be available not only to attend events, but I’ll also be accessible to members.
Q: What new programs would you like to see introduced? Are you happy with the Bar status quo or are there things you’d tweak?
Camerlengo: My campaign platform focuses on continuing a couple of things. One, continue the efforts of past presidents on improving the perception of attorneys. Two, I want to increase the awareness of the pro bono projects of the Bar. I also want to continue the county courthouse project and see a united courthouse with both a civil and criminal courthouse (in one location). Things I’d like to add include developing a model disaster management and recovery system for our membership. We need to develop one here in Jacksonville so firms don’t have to hire someone. Unfortunately, we learned through trail by fire in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Florida. Firms need to keep a list of all employees and how to reach them, have back up files and an off-site storage in the event of a natural disaster.
Emery: Part of my goals are to foster the Bench and Bar relationship and continue to limit the luncheons to one hour. I would like to address our budget and give that some attention. I would like to get the professionalism committee to become more active once again.
Q: Fiscal responsibility is a major aspect of being president. How do you intend to stay in the black and not overspend?
Camerlengo: There has been a very good example set by past presidents — including current president Alan Pickert — as to how to be very fiscally responsible. I was his (Pickert’s) president-elect when he was president of the Young Lawyers and learned how to manage a budget. I want to provide the same services while increasing services without dipping into the red.
Emery: I’ve got a lot of experience working on committees and organizations that have very little money and, in addition, I will draw from my own personal experience of living within the budget of a government salary for the past 15 years.
Q: What can you do to continue to increase attendance at the monthly luncheons?
Camerlengo: Most important is to have interesting speakers. Second, continue having one-hour meetings that start and end on time. Our presentation group does a good job of promoting member events and other things going on during the meetings and I think that helps increase attendance at other events.
Emery: I plan to include flyers in the Bar bulletins that will simplify getting feedback from Bar members to determine what their needs are and what changes they’d like to see to improve or increase their involvement.
Q: What will make you a good JBA president?
Camerlengo: I think the fact I’m in private practice and I’m the longest-running Jacksonville Bar Association Board member and that counts my time on the Young Lawyers board, which I joined in 1996. I have been a board member for 10 years now so I have seen 10 JBA presidents and their different leadership styles. All of them did great work in the community. I have a diverse background and am better-suited for the job. I am also co-chair of the HabiJax committee with president-elect Kelly Mathis. We work well together and we’d make a good team.
Emery: I have extensive leadership experience and a lot of experience in working on many Bar and community committees. And, I have learned first-hand how to get things accomplished and get people involved and make sure they are having fun while doing it.
Q: What does being JBA president mean professionally?
Camerlengo: In addition to being a huge personal honor, to your professional career, it’s a tremendous stepping stone. If you have political aspirations — local, state or being a judge — it’s good for you. It shows there are 2,000 to 3,000 attorneys that had the confidence in you to run the Bar and oversee a six-figure budget. It’s a chance to lead and be in charge. I think it’s tremendous for your career. A lot of philanthropic organizations were started by past presidents and it’s an honor if you are elected.
Emery: I have not looked at it as a stepping stone to reach any goals. It’s a natural progression of my involvement with the Bar on the board. But, I have come to discover I am meeting a lot more lawyers and we have a lot of good lawyers in our circuit.
Q: Why should attorneys join the Jacksonville Bar Association?
Camerlengo: The JBA is one of the most successful Bars in the state by percentage of participation. We lead the state in participation and we have fantastic CLE programs and great social programs, whether it’s the monthly luncheons or afternoons at the courthouse. Our large firms in town, for the most part, have a very good participation percentage. If you want to get involved, make a name for yourself and establish yourself in the Jacksonville legal community, joining the Jacksonville Bar Association is the best way to do it.
Emery: It’s good to be involved and get to know other people in the same profession. You make friends and you foster those friendships through being involved in the Bar.