New FBA certifications
Two new practice area standards — Intellectual Property Law and State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice — are pending Florida Supreme Court approval for board certification. If approved, the two new board certifications would bring Florida’s total to 22 legal specialty areas. All certification standards must be approved by the Florida Supreme Court as amendments to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar before implementation and before applications may be made available.
Up in the air, up in the sky it’s...
Jacksonville attorneys Bob Spohrer, Roger Dodd, Howard Coker, Jake Schickel, Charles Sorenson and Jeff Morrow have been named “Super Lawyers,” by Law & Politics magazine. This is the first year the designation has been granted to Florida attorneys. Law and Politics conducts research every year to determine each state’s class of Super Lawyers. According to the magazine, the group represents the top five percent of attorneys practicing in the state. In addition to private practice attorneys, Super Lawyers comprises prosecutors, in-house counsel and public service lawyers. Law & Politics bases its selections largely on peer review. Ballots are sent out to practicing lawyers asking them to nominate the best lawyers they’ve observed in action.
Florida Coastal seeks surrogates
Florida Coastal School of Law professor Rebekah Gleason asked the Jacksonville Bar Association Thursday for help in providing “surrogate parents” to potentially disabled children. A surrogate is appointed by a judge or public school under the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act to help an abused or neglected child who has, or is suspected of having, learning disabilities. The surrogate helps the child get evaluations and services necessary for the child to succeed in school. Too often a a dependent child cannot get evaluations or services because there is no available parent to request them or grant consent, said Gleason. Further, a dependent child is often moved from school to school as his or her residential status changes. This also disrupts the child’s education, she said. FCSL’s dependency court judges need volunteers to serve as surrogate parents for qualified dependent children. Volunteers may be, but do not have to be, attorneys. Surrogates have immunity from lawsuits taken in good faith on behalf of a child in these cases, she said. Contact Gleason at 390-3665 for details.