• The Jacksonville Bar Association is holding its inaugural low country boil Saturday at the Fraternal Order of Police lodge on Sawgrass Road. The party runs from 5-9 p.m. and includes a bluegrass band. We hear Circuit Court Judge Peter Fryefield is bringing his acoustic guitar and will play a little country music while the band is on break. The low country boil is $30 for members and $12 for children under 13.
• Jacksonville law firm of Smith Hulsey & Busey has been named a “Go-To Law Firm” in a national magazine annual survey. Each year, Corporate Counsel magazine asks Fortune 500 general counsels what outside law firms they rely upon in seven practice areas. The Pantry Inc., which operates the Kangaroo Express brand convenience stores, named Smith Hulsey & Busey as one of its 2008 “Go-To Law Firms” in two categories: litigation and corporate transactions; and mergers and acquisitions. Less than half a percent of law firms in the U.S. and abroad were recognized in the survey, which is in its 50th year.
• There’s a large pro bono opportunity in Jacksonville, as the Guardian ad Litem Program urgently needs volunteer guardians. In Jacksonville, there are approximately 3,300 children in the dependency system at any given time. Of these, the Guardian ad Litem Program represents about 2,200, leaving 1,100 local children without a voice in court. Volunteer guardians advocate for individual dependent children and help protect the community’s abused and neglected children. New 2008 Advocacy Academy Training classes are now forming. To schedule an interview, get an online application or for more information, call 630-1200 or visit www.guardianadlitem.org.
• Gray Robinson attorney Terry Moore has resigned from both the Jacksonville Housing Commission and the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority, effective April 1. Moore has agreed to serve a few extra months in an effort to assure there’s someone on both boards while the mayor’s office looks for a replacement.