by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
A revitalized committee of the Jacksonville Bar Association is helping lawyers and judges bridge the communication gap.
One of the priorities for 2007 JBA President Caroline Emery was to jumpstart some of the committees that had become dormant and one of those was the Judicial Relations Committee.
“We felt like it needed to be re-energized and we needed to carefully pick a chair who was willing and able to work with it and take it to new levels,” said Emery. “I felt Alan (Rosner) would be able to do that.”
Rosner, 53, approached Emery when the JBA’s Board of Governors began discussing the Judicial Relations Committee and expressed interest in it. Prior to that, Rosner hadn’t been too active in the local bar beyond being a member until recently.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” said Emery. “I was glad to see him take the ball and run with it.”
Rosner specializes in criminal and family law for Harris Guidi and chairs a committee of about 15 people to develop ways to improve communications between judges and lawyers. The committee first met in October and ideas started flowing. The first success was “Sidebar Lunches.”
The program provided a casual atmosphere for judges and lawyers to discuss courtroom issues. Judges are able to express how they expect attorneys to execute their duties in the courtroom and attorneys are able to discuss problems and concerns they experience.
The first lunch was Jan. 25 and the largest turnout occurred during the lunch with federal magistrates June 18. The next lunch is Sept. 6 with civil court judges.
Another program the committee has developed includes an article in the Jacksonville Bar newsletter detailing “Tips from the Bench,” unsolicited tips on what judges would like to see happen in their courtrooms.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from judges,” said Rosner. “They are excited about having a venue to discuss courtroom procedure.”
The committee is also working on a process to collect feedback that allows a lawyer to inform a judge about something that happened during a case that the court should be alerted to.
“Sometimes it’s not always appropriate in a formal courtroom to talk about procedure,” said Rosner. “We are always looking for suggestions on how we can improve the relationship between bench and bar.”
All of this activism was sparked by Rosner’s urge to give back to a community that has given him so much.
“This organization just does so much for the law community and Jacksonville,” said Rosner. “You come to a point in your career where you want to give something back and that’s what happened to me.”
He acknowledged that all these programs wouldn’t have happened without the help of the entire committee and the direction of Presidents Caroline Emery and Joe Camerlengo.
“Hugh Cotney has helped get CLE (continuing legal education) credit for meetings and is a leader in every respect,” said Rosner. “It’s not any one person making this happen, it’s us working together.”
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