by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
As Jacksonville criminal defense attorney Hank Coxe prepares to assume the Florida Bar’s presidency, other area lawyers who have done the job agree that Coxe faces a busy but rewarding year ahead.
Coxe will add to Jacksonville’s fraternity of practicing lawyers with the Bar’s top job on their resumes. The list includes Jim Rinaman of Rinaman & Associates; Mark Hulsey of Smith, Hulsey & Busey; Howard Coker of Coker, Schickel, Sorenson & Daniel; Rutledge Liles of Liles, Gavin, Constantino & George; and John DeVault of Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe.
Once Coxe takes office, Jacksonville will have produced since 1950 as many Florida Bar presidents (nine) as Tampa and Orlando combined. Since 1980, a Jacksonville lawyer has filled the post on average every five years.
Jacksonville wouldn’t have so many lawyers climbing the Florida Bar’s ladder without a strong foundation at home, said Rinaman.
“I think what it indicates is that we have a very stable and capable and active (Jacksonville) Bar Association,” he said. “We have people who realize they have obligations to advance the profession.”
That obligation comes with a cost, said Rinaman. The president’s duties include expansive administrative tasks, political obligations and extensive travel. Rinaman estimates his term as president in 1982 forced him to shelve about two-thirds of his case load.
The job can present some unusual time demands. Rinaman oversaw the development of the Bar’s board certification program. Wanting to put his money where his mouth was, Rinaman refused requests to exempt the Bar leadership from having to take the certification exams. Six months later, a note from his secretary had Rinaman wondering if he’d made the right decision.
“She told me I had to be in Tampa tomorrow to take the exam,” said Rinaman. “I grabbed my books and tried to study as much as I could. Finally I just gave up and went to bed. The exam turned out all right, but there were some notable trial attorneys that failed.”
Much of Rutledge Liles’ term in 1988 was spent fighting off what the Bar viewed as legislative attacks on judicial independence. Eighteen years later, he expects that task will still be high on Coxe’s to-do list.
“There are always the matters of preserving ethics and professionalism, but there are certain things that require constant attention and judicial independence is certainly one of them,” said Liles. “The Legislature seems to want to create a two-branch government rather than three.”
In 1988, the Bar’s chief antagonist was Amendment 10, an unsuccessful ballot initiative that sought to cap noneconomic damages at $100,000. Liles helped defeat the measure, but similar challenges remain.
Florida voters approved tort reform initiatives in 2004 that are still being sorted out by Florida’s Supreme Court, and conservative legislators have attempted to blame the Bar for everything from high insurance rates to Terri Schiavo’s death.
It will be essential for Coxe to build relationships with Florida’s next governor and attorney general, said Liles. Both offices are up for election this fall. That could steer the Bar’s relationship with the governor’s office in a less antagonistic direction than was often the case with current Gov. Jeb Bush.
“It’s no secret that Jeb Bush and his brother are business-oriented and sometimes lawyers can be a thorn in the side of business and rightfully so,” said Liles. “I would agree that there are too many class actions, but is the tort system broken? No it is not.”