Why Tim McDermott is Right
“Over the course of my 34 years practicing law, I have, unfortunately, witnessed a general erosion in the level of camaraderie and professionalism among lawyers. Whether due to ‘increased competition’ or to the stresses engendered by the hectic pace and demands that we all increasingly face in our daily practice, this erosion is real. One of the most important benefits that membership in the Jacksonville Bar Association provides is that it helps to create in its lawyer members a sense of “community.” It also reminds us that, as lawyers practicing together, we are all part of something more important—- a profession, whose goal must include treating each other with respect, decency and good will, regardless of the ‘heat of any particular battle.’”
Timothy J. McDermott
Our colleague is right.
Read it again. A little slower this time. Don’t you agree?
One of the intangible benefits of being a member of The Jacksonville Bar Association (JBA) is being part of that “community” to which Tim refers. Being an active member of that community is critical to being able to maintain the type of legal practice that we can enjoy and that sets the Jacksonville legal community apart from others.
Each of us know, regardless of our area of the law, practicing law is getting tougher. The economy, the competition, the hectic pace to which Tim refers this is clearly not your father’s law practice (I suppose only a few folks can honestly say that: Jim Mosely Jr., Richard Moore Jr., Mike Basford, Jim Rinaman, Mark Hulsey, etc.).
Because of that erosion, it is even more important that we have a common foundation at which we can all occasionally gather. These gatherings may be socially superficial on one level, but they also serve a collateral purpose of keeping us together on an entirely different level.
While I will be the first to concede that I am overly competitive in every facet of my life, especially the law, it is my involvement in the JBA that helps me temper that competitiveness and see the bigger picture.
My membership also helps me maintain the proper perspective regarding the practice of law, which is contained within Tim’s final words.
“It also reminds us that, as lawyers practicing together, we are all part of something more important — a profession, whose goal must include treating each other with respect, decency and good will, regardless of the ‘heat of any particular battle.’”
The bigger picture is that being true to the legal profession as a whole is more important than anything else I do individually. If we each try our best to maintain a similar focus, to try to treat each other with respect, decency and good will, it makes it increasingly more likely that in the process of maintaining our legal profession we will make our own respective practices a little more rewarding.
In the JBA’s ongoing effort to promote the high standards of our legal profession, we have started, with the blessing of the Chief Judge and the federal judiciary, a subcommittee within our Judicial Relations Committee that will be available to field concerns from the Bench and Bar. This “Ombudsman” subcommittee will be chaired by Buddy Schulz, and he will be joined by Charles Pillans, Chris Milton, Craig Gibbs and Alan Rosner.
This Ombudsman subcommittee will be available to listen confidentially to concerns from both the Bar and the Bench about issues regarding each other. While this subcommittee is not intended to circumvent any current mechanisms in place that resolve problems or any other formal grievance procedures, we believe it will provide yet another outlet to resolve issues and keep relationships between the Bench and Bar positive.
This process will be strictly confidential and can be commenced by simply contacting Buddy at [email protected] or 904-798-5462 with the concern.
For example, if a member of the judiciary believes a young litigant might benefit from some mentoring, that particular judge could confidentially contact Buddy. From there Buddy would share it with the other four members of the subcommittee and the subcommittee would subsequently decide how to handle the issue. If a member of the Bar has an issue with a member of the judiciary, that member would contact Buddy, who would in turn communicate with members of the subcommittee and the subcommittee would decide how to handle that issue, to include meeting with the judge. While we hope in all sincerity that the subcommittee never has a problem presented to it, we are pleased to provide yet another outlet for resolving concerns and keeping our legal profession strong.
The creation of this Ombudsman subcommittee is yet another step for us to help maintain our “community” of which Tim so eloquently speaks. Thanks Tim and remember, it’s a great day to be a Jacksonville lawyer.