Age: Old enough to know better than to answer. Do you seriously think you should ask the women this?
Family: Husband, Jeff; daughters Gentry, Finley and Effie; and son Harris. Children ages 8 – 18.
Pets: Dogs: Sammy, Jake, Jude and CoCo Chanel. Cats: George Dubya Bush, Georgia, Duke and Roscoe P. Coletrain. Australian Bearded Dragons: Mushu and Angelina Ballerina. One male Beta fish named Hercules.
Education: B.A. History, B.A. English, both from Converse College in South Carolina. J.D., Florida Coastal School of Law.
Admitted to the Bar: October 2002
Employed by: The Law Office of F. Susannah Collins (best boss I ever had)
Field of Practice: Family law, estate law.
Professional Organizations: American Bar Association, The Florida Bar, The Jacksonville Bar Association, Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association (board member), Jacksonville Area Legal Aid pro bono attorney
Community Involvement: Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, The JBA “Ask-A-Lawyer” program. Former soccer coach, softball coach, Girl Scout leader and current mom on the sidelines.
How did you get involved?
I got involved with legal aid by simply making a call to the great Kathy Para and letting her know I wanted to help. I take as many pro bono cases as I can handle. I started coaching kids sports because I played every sport available to me from the time I was 4 until the time my knees started to fail me due to the age I didn’t mention above. I wanted to help my children and their friends learn the same life lessons that I learned from coaches and involved parents along the way. I wanted to help instill the values of sportsmanship, respect, teamwork, dedication and motivation. I wanted them to learn to succeed and learn to strive to be better and work harder, and mostly I wanted to be involved in my children’s lives as much as possible. Participation in sports is invaluable and can make the difference in the life of every child, and in the adult that child will become. I have four children and together they participate in soccer, softball, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, sailing, cheerleading, acrobatics, tap dance, tumbling, gymnastics, cub scouts, art, choir and piano. I am not currently coaching, but I have the greatest respect for the men and women who do.
How can someone else get involved?
Contact Kathy Para, Pro Bono Development Coordinator for JALA, at 356-8371, ext. 363, or [email protected]
What have you learned/achieved through the experience?
Being able to help people is personally rewarding, and sharing knowledge with people in an attempt to understand and navigate the law to their advantage is critical as an attorney. But honestly, I also learn a lot of law myself at these events by listening to other attorneys explain their own areas of practice in layman’s terms to the people seeking their advice. So often the legal arenas of practice intertwine and learning from our colleagues is beneficial to all attorneys and ultimately to the people who seek our help.
What was the last book you read or are reading?
My own book, “Identity” – I’m in the process of editing.