by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
Mamie Davis has a lot of acronyms under her belt: CPA, MBA, JD. Her combined math, business and law education might be a little unusual, but the mix suits the Chapter 13 trustee and president of the D.W. Perkins Bar Association well.
“Math is my first love,” said Davis, who began her career in accounting. “It just made sense to me. It’s the only absolute science.”
Davis didn’t pursue her law degree until 1997. She had served as a bankruptcy trustee for four years already, but Davis said she wanted to learn more.
“Florida Coastal opened in 1996, and I really felt like it was opened for me,” she said.
Davis didn’t want to leave Jacksonville or quit her job to attend law school, so night classes at Florida Coastal were a perfect fit for her. Her schedule was squeezed tight between work and class, but she graduated in 2000.
“That was probably the biggest challenge in my life,” said Davis. “It was very difficult and it was very rewarding.”
She agreed that many people tend to excel in math or writing, but the two strengths don’t often overlap. Davis said she’s always done well with both fields, although she’s shied away from science.
In her current position as trustee, she administers all the local Chapter 13 cases – about 5,600 at any given time – with a department of 30 employees, including two attorneys. Davis said her broad range of studies has given her a unique background for the job.
“All of us are the sum total of our experiences,” she added.
She continues to strive for education in her various bar association activities. Davis is a member of the federal, bankruptcy and Jacksonville bar associations, but she currently holds the most responsibility in her Perkins presidency.
The Perkins Bar was founded when blacks were not allowed to be members of the Jacksonville Bar Association. It is named for Daniel Webster Perkins, a black attorney, community leader and civil rights proponent who practiced in Jacksonville from 1919 until his death in 1972. Davis said the group has about 50 members who educate each other and the community.
“We want to have a positive role as a change agent,” said Davis. “There are still some issues that are unique to us. If you focus on us as lawyers, we probably are not in the community and in the jobs that are representative of the demographic of the area.”
The Perkins Bar aims to “improve the plight of the African-American community and to erase all effects of past and present discrimination,” according to the group’s Web site. Davis said activities range from fund-raising to legal ethics and professionalism seminars to mentoring with the YMCA’s Black Achievers program.
“A lot of these youths don’t see lawyers who look like them,” she said. “We let them know we’re here and that they can achieve, too.”
Davis estimates about 300 of Jacksonville’s roughly 3,000 attorneys are black. She wants to double the Perkins Bar membership to about 100, “not just for expansion’s sake, but so we can be more effective in the community.”
When Davis isn’t working, her family is a big priority. Davis grew up in Jacksonville, but she never planned to return after she left for college and then careers in other cities.
“I didn’t really think I’d come back. It didn’t really feel progressive to me at the time,” she said. “But one day, I decided it was time to come back home.”
Her grandparents, parents and seven siblings all lived here when Davis returned in 1990.
Davis said she still misses some of the events and restaurants she loved in larger cities like Atlanta. She practically lived out of a suitcase in previous jobs, though – so she doesn’t mind staying settled most of the time. Locally, Davis said she still enjoys dining out, theater, concerts and a variety of sports like golf and tennis.
“I sort of love it all,” Davis said with a smile. “And one thing I learned (when traveling): No place is more than a flight away.”
D.W. Perkins Bar Association
Who: A group of about 50 black lawyers (involvement not limited to black lawyers)
What: Meetings, professional seminars and volunteer activities to socialize, educate, mentor and create positive change to erase effects of past and present discrimination
Next big event: Two credit hour CLE professionalism seminar featuring Florida Bar President Hank Coxe and others at Florida Coastal School of Law from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 5.
Contact: President Mamie Davis, Chapter 13 Trustee, at 358-6465 ext. 242. For seminar RSVP, e-mail Craig Gibbs at [email protected] .