by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Let the juggling act begin.
When Hank Coxe takes the oath of office Friday and becomes the 58th president of The Florida Bar, one of the state’s busiest attorneys will add to an already crammed schedule.
Coxe, a trial lawyer with the Bedell Ditmar DeVault Pillans & Coxe firm in Jacksonville, says he’ll be able to handle the demands of being a trial attorney and the duties of serving Florida’s nearly 80,000 attorneys.
“It will be dependent upon the cooperation of a lot of judges and attorneys coupled with great support from my office,” said Coxe, who is 58 years old. “If I had been president of The Florida Bar before joining the Bedell firm, this would be impossible. When you are with your own firm and there are only one or two lawyers, it’s out of the question.
“I have great support here (at Bedell) and great commitment from my family. Plus, the firm has such a great history in the Bar. There’s a phenomenal work ethic around here. Whatever it takes to get the job done, everyone does it.”
Most in Jacksonville know Coxe, they just may not realize it. He’s the one in the still photos that accompany high-profile criminal stories. He’s the one in the background of a story on the 6 o’clock news. He’s the one many Downtown workers see literally beating a path between his office and the county courthouse — head down, on the phone and a bit rumpled.
His firm is one of the oldest in Jacksonville and in one of the city’s more historic buildings. In fact, many still refer to the Bedell firm’s building as the Carnegie Library — the original Downtown library location which has since moved twice. It was built between 1903-05 and designed by Henry Klutho, the architect many hold responsible for rebuilding Downtown Jacksonville after the Great Fire of 1901. In 1965, the library relocated to the new Haydon Burns library across the street and the Bedell firm moved in shortly thereafter.
Coxe went to law school at Washington & Lee and began his career in 1973 with the State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville. From 1981-96, he was a sole practitioner before joining the Bedell firm in 1996. And, he’s not the only attorney in the family. His wife Mary — they have three kids — is a graduate of Duke Law School.
As president of the Bar, technology will help Coxe even if high-speed transportation can’t. Eleven years ago, when partner John DeVault was Bar president, technology was just becoming mainstream. Today, laptop computers, cell phones and videoconferencing capabilities can allow virtually anyone — especially attorneys — to conduct business from outside the office.
“You can accomplish so much more now,” he said.
However, getting from point A to point B still requires time and transportation and Coxe says fulfilling every volunteer Bar association breakfast, luncheon or dinner request will be close to impossible.
“I visited five volunteer Bars in four days and five cities in early May as part of Law Week,” said Coxe, admitting that current Bar president Alan Bookman did a yeoman’s job in meeting with volunteer Bars statewide. “Whatever I did, Alan did tenfold. I am coming in on the heels of someone who visited more volunteer Bars than anyone in the past. He created expectations.”
Coxe said he’d need — but certainly won’t get — a private jet to fulfill all the requests.
He described a day in September that simply can’t happen: a Jacksonville Bar Association luncheon, a dinner in Pensacola and an evening event in Broward County.
“I’m not sure a private jet would make that day,” he said.
He will travel a lot, though, and said the upside is meeting peers and traveling the state.
“You find (legal) organizations that you never knew existed,” said Coxe.
Coxe clearly realizes his long hours will get pared back for a year but not at the expense of his clients who, as he put it, “don’t schedule when they get arrested.” Regardless of the demands on his time, the needs of the firm’s clients will be met.
“Does it mean there will be a fair number of instances where someone else in the firm handles something? Sure,” explained Coxe.
Outside of meeting with volunteer Bar associations and advocating the profession, Coxe doesn’t have an agenda or a must-do list for the next year. Similar to his job as a criminal defense attorney, Coxe will address issues as they arise.
“Two of the biggest issues (Alan Bookman) faced were not on his agenda the day he took office: civics education in schools and legislation that was passed that created a law regulating paralegals. Issues will spring up,” said Coxe, explaining that much of his tenure may be dictated by the amount of political turnover that occurs this fall. The state is assured of having a new governor and attorney general and may have a new U.S. senator.
It’ll be a busy year, no question. But if you go looking for Coxe and can’t find him, don’t check his office or the courthouse. Try a bulkhead on the St. Johns River.
“To get everything out of my mind, there’s only one thing and that’s with a fishing rod in my hand,” he said. “I sneak out sometimes for an hour-and-a-half. I also have a friend that lives on the river and I have a small boat. I never go offshore for six hours, but when I do go fishing, the world is gone.”