from staff
The Jacksonville Bar Association officially kicked off its 2006-07 year last week. A packed room greeted JBA President Kelly Mathis and guest speaker, Florida Bar President Hank Coxe. Over 350, including several Circuit, County and Federal judges attended the luncheon at the Omni.
State Attorney Harry Shorstein introduced Coxe, a long-time friend and former co-worker. Shorstein said he got nervous and anxious when Mathis asked him to introduce “the president” at Thursday’s luncheon. When he realized Mathis was talking about Coxe and not Pres. Bush, he relaxed.
“The good news,” said Shorstein during the introduction, “is that 50 percent of the cases in the system these days, we get through them, on average, in 46 days. The bad news is, Hank Coxe represents the other 50 percent and they can take decades to get through the system.”
Coxe had a good-natured jab for Shorstein.
“Harry, you’re the reason God made Oklahoma,” he said.
Coxe’s 20-minute speech touched in several things including the growth of The Florida Bar, the strength of the Florida bar in relation to its relatively low disciplinary record, its toughness on attorney advertising and judicial independence.
“The Florida Bar can match any Bar in the world,” said Coxe.