Jim Moseley, a former president of The Jacksonville Bar Association, recently achieved 50 years as a member of The Florida Bar and The JBA. He reflected on his experiences practicing law and as a member of The JBA. He served as president 1975-76. This is the second of several installments of his reflections that will be published in the coming weeks.
I had an opportunity to be a law clerk at my predecessor firm, Ragland, Kurz & Toole, after I graduated from Florida and took the Bar in August 1961.
The rise of the Berlin Wall had an impact on all of our lives and I reported to the U.S. Army in September 1963. I was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., and remained there for the balance of my service. My duties put my law degree to work in what the Army calls a legal MOS, trying cases and board administrative actions.
A few months before my discharge, I was rehired by the firm. Everett Richardson, an associate, who would later become the chief circuit judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, had decided to leave the firm and join the newly created Public Defender’s Office, under the leadership of Ed Austin, who later became State Attorney and mayor of Jacksonville.
Everett left a stack of files, principally maritime and railroad cases, with his handwritten meticulous notes on my desk. I did not lose any time in getting to work on my return from Fort Benning to 704 Florida Theatre Building Sept. 30, 1963.
The Jacksonville Bar Association
The Jacksonville Bar, a voluntary organization then as it is now, had approximately 475 members. We met once a month at various hotels such as the Robert Meyer, the Roosevelt and several others.
The leadership then was different than is presently configured. The officers were president, president-elect, secretary and treasurer. These four officers were supplemented by a board of directors, one of whom would be a lawyer with less than five years of practice. This configuration was subsequently changed in the late 1960s or early 1970s to its present situation.
Committee activity was supported strongly by the membership in probably about 15 units. Legal Aid, which was substantially funded by United Way, had a single executive director. During that time it was housed in a building on East Adams Street. All lawyer participants were volunteers from The JBA.
Another very active project of The JBA was one with which I was heavily involved. Every week there would be a radio program that would be taped at WJXT at its studio on Main Street across from the Cadillac dealer and adjacent to the City of Jacksonville Engineering Office.
Tandy Swink was the moderator of the program that consisted of two lawyers addressing a given subject. This discussion would last 30 minutes and then be aired on the following Monday. During a year or two, almost every lawyer in the association would participate.
The radio program continued but grew into a television program with WJHP-TV, a Rose Craft station. Ray Chumley of the station was the liaison that put the program together. I took over that assignment and for several years, administered both weekly TV and radio programs.
The TV format provided for three lawyers to address various areas of the law as opposed to a single issue in the radio format. It was decided that the moderator should be an in-house counsel attorney.
The late Nate Wilson, who was general counsel for the telephone company, shared the responsibilities with the late Rod Nichol, who was with the predecessor railroads to CSX. Two programs were taped every other Thursday night with one of the moderators attending. Six members of The JBA would attend.
By the time the television program started, The JBA was continuing to grow. Before the program was terminated some 10 years or so later, it was the longest-running public service Bar-sponsored program in the United States. The Law Day ceremonies had begun in the late 1950s and continued growing by leaps and bounds during the ‘60s.
When I was president, I invited Judge Griffin Bell of the Fifth Circuit (this was before the Eleventh Circuit was formed) to speak. He willingly accepted. About a month later, he called me to inform me that the next day he was going to resign his judgeship and he wanted to give me the opportunity to withdraw my invitation. That was the sort of person he was, always thinking of others and his personal commitment to them. I told him we would always be happy to welcome him.
Bill Prichard, who has been my law partner for many years, was chairman of Law Day and later became president. He did a fine job.
Judge Bell came to Jacksonville for several days. He spoke at the noon Bar meeting. He and several of the judges and members played golf at Deerwood on Saturday and finally a service was conducted on Sunday at St. John’s Cathedral, where he spoke during the morning service, together with several other Bar officers who participated in the service.
The Bar meetings were always fun and the elections along with their nominating speeches were a highlight of the year.
One matter that occurred every year during the time Jim Rinaman was moving up in the chairs until he ultimately became president was great fun for everyone except Mattox Hair.
Tommy Tygart would always deliver a well-prepared speech nominating Mattox to run against Jim Rinaman. This would be followed by an embarrassed Mattox seeking equal time to withdraw his name.