• The Jacksonville Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators was awarded the Silver Presidents’ Award of Excellence by the national Association of Legal Administrators. The award will be presented at the annual conference May 22-25 in Orlando. Elizabeth Locke is past president of the chapter. New president is Leonard Doty Jr.
• Attorney William J. Sheppard of Sheppard, White, Thomas & Kachergus was honored at the 2011 Dunwoody Distinguished Lecture in Law Banquet at the University of Florida sponsored by the University of Florida Law Review. The award was presented to former editors of the Florida Law Review who also are recipients of the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award presented by the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Also honored were Neil Chonin of Southern Legal Counsel and Sandy D’Alemberte, former president of Florida State University. They were recognized for a “lifetime of exceptional pro bono service to the Florida community.”
• Applications are being accepted for the James F. Bailey Scholarship. The Young Lawyers Section of The Jacksonville Bar Association collaborates with Daily Record Publisher Jim Bailey to award a scholarship for law school students who have personal ties to Jacksonville and who intend to return to the Jacksonville area to practice law after graduating from law school. The scholarship fund will award $1,500 to a student. Completed scholarship applications must be postmarked no later than May 19. For more information, contact Elizabeth Howard, president-elect of the YLS board of governors, at [email protected].
• Sheriff John Rutherford announced 13 appointments due to vacancies from planned retirements. They include, effective April 23, the appointments of Dwain Senterfitt as under-sheriff, John Hartley as director of the Department of Investigations and Homeland Security and Michelle Remolde as director of the Department of Personnel and Professional Standards.
• Ed Burr, founder of JaxBiz, the political affiliate of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday that the group would decide by the end of this week whether it will endorse a mayoral candidate in the May 17 general election and, if so, which one. JaxBiz endorsed Audrey Moran in the March 22 first election, but she came in third behind Mike Hogan and Alvin Brown, who are in a runoff.