from staff
The Federal Bar Association, Jacksonville Chapter, is sponsoring the Fourth Annual Honorable Ralph W. “Buddy” Nimmons Jr. Seminar April 25 at the United States Courthouse. The half-day seminar features several guest lecturers who will touch on some of today’s newest issues facing the legal profession.
In addition to providing valuable information, the seminar is worth five hours of Florida Bar continuing legal education credit, which includes two hours of ethics credits. The seminar is from 8 a.m.-1:20 p.m. in the Jury Assembly Room at the federal courthouse.
This year’s seminar promises to be better, more practical, and more entertaining than ever, with nationally-known experts in topics relevant to federal practice and a chance to mingle with federal court practitioners and with local United States District and Magistrate Judges.
The following is the agenda and a brief description of the breakout sessions and guest speaker bios:
• 8-8:20 a.m. — Check in — fresh coffee, juice, muffins, & scones while you mingle with your fellow federal court practitioners
• 8:20-8:35 a.m. — Welcome — Patty Barksdale, Treasurer, Federal Bar Association, Jacksonville Chapter
• Invocation — Bonnie Kay Gilliland, daughter of the late Judge Nimmons
• Pledge of Allegiance — Tysen Duva, President-Elect, Federal Bar Association, Jacksonville Chapter
• The national anthem — Lt. Clay Hahs, JAGC, United States Navy, Special Assistant United States Attorney
• 8:35-9:20 a.m. — The E-discover amendments: first impressions — Eric Bilik, Partner, McGuireWoods; Bilik regularly counsels corporate clients on electronic discovery and preservation issues. In this program, he will briefly summarize the new e-discovery rules and then will discuss how the rules have been interpreted in practice and in the courts.
• 9:20-11:20 a.m. — Litigations ethics, part 1 (communications) — Tom Spahn, Partner, McGuire Woods; Spahn advises a number of Fortune 500 companies on issues involving ethics, conflicts of interest, the attorney-client privilege, and corporate investigations. Since 1988, Spahn has written several editions of a book on the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine and has spoken at over 600 CLE programs throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. This interactive program will use hypotheticals to address topics of interest to litigators (and to transactional lawyers whose clients might face litigation), focusing on lawyers’ communications with others in the litigation context. The topics include: lawyers’ public communications about their cases and about judges; the complex and subtle rules governing ex parte communications with represented adversaries (such as employees of corporate adversaries and government officials); defensive measures that corporations can take if plaintiffs’ lawyers try to contact their employees; threatening adversaries with criminal or disciplinary charges during civil litigation; and dealing with unrepresented adversaries and allies (including ghost written pleadings).
• 11:20-11:30 — Break
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. — Break out sessions I — Federal Court 101 — United States District Judges Virginia Hernandez Covington and Marcia Morales Howard. This program has been designed with our newest federal court practitioners in mind. Come take a tour of the courthouse and then meet in a round table discussion with Judge Covington and Judge Howard to ask questions about federal court practice. Participants will meet outside of the jury assembly room.
• Part II — Hearsay challenge — United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan and Assistant United States Attorney Patty Barksdale. This fun, interactive, and informative program will challenge federal court practitioners to rule on case-specific hearsay problems using personal audience voting buttons. Judge Corrigan will lead discussions on the displayed results. Participants will meet in Judge Corrigan’s courtroom 10-B on the 10th floor.
• Part III — Courtroom technology — Senior United States District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger, Assistant United States Attorney Frank Talbot, Courtroom Deputy Garry Randolph and Data Quality Analyst-Trainer Shannon Shoulders. This program will begin with an overview of federal courthouse technology, continue with questions and answers about issues that arise with CM/ECF filing and a demonstration of how courtroom technology has been used effectively, and conclude with a discussion about the most effective uses of courtroom technology. Participants will meet in Judge Schlesinger’s’ courtroom 10-D on the 10th floor.
• 12:45-1:15 — Sources, Secrets and the press after the Scooter Libby trial: A discussion of whether the First Amendment offers any protections to reporters and their confidential sources — Gregg Thomas, partner at Thomas & LoCicero. Thomas is known throughout the state and nation for his defense of newspapers and television stations in defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy actions. This lunchtime discussion promises to be an interesting and timely one. This program will be held in the Jury Assembly Room with box lunches provided by Chew Restaurant.
• 1:15-1:20 — Adjournment — Martha Bolton, President, Federal Bar Association, Jacksonville Chapter
• Cost (non-refundable; includes breakfast, snack, lunch, materials, and all presentations): FBA Jacksonville chapter members: $25; non-FBA Jacksonville chapter members: $40; government and non-profit attorneys: $15; judicial law clerks: free.