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. This is the first of several installments of his reflections that will be published in the coming weeks.
In reflecting on what has occurred in Jacksonville in the past 50 years, one cannot help but try to imagine what will also occur in the next 50.
Obviously, there has been a great population expansion; the concept of consolidated government that was only an idea in the minds of some visionaries is now a well-accepted principle.
Many new businesses have arrived and many old businesses have disappeared. However, the legal community has continued to keep pace with the growth and will be the focal point of these comments.
The physical Downtown area has substantially changed. The “new” courthouse of 1957 is now the “old” courthouse and will soon be replaced. Two busy shipyards then located in the Downtown area that had been vital to the efforts during World War II have disappeared.
Numerous roadways have been improved and the expressway system is always expanding, but traffic congestion continues. Medical care facilities have been enhanced and expanded, as have higher education facilities.
In 1961, almost every lawyer was located physically in a Downtown office building.
The Consolidated Building on Bay Street housed many law firms. The Florida Title Building on Forsyth was, likewise, home to numerous law firms. The Lynch Building was also a facility that had many lawyers. These three, along with other buildings, have passed from the legal scene.
In addition, there were smaller buildings scattered throughout the entire community that would be the location for many lawyers, some that still exist.
In the early 1960s, Jacksonville was considering the creation of a Port Authority and until recently, had been a major port for shipping to Cuba. This Cuban trade would soon be a part of the past. Moreover, container ships had not yet made their appearance. New cargo coming from Europe consisted mainly of automobiles.
There were three major banks Downtown and each was doing business within the state of Florida and was headquartered in Jacksonville.
These were the Atlantic National Bank, the Florida National Bank and the Barnett National Bank. Also, there were four major insurance companies that were located in Jacksonville: Independent Life Insurance, Gulf Life Insurance, Peninsula Insurance and Prudential Insurance.
In 1961, the former Municipal Stadium was then called the Gator Bowl. In former days, the field ran east and west, but this had been changed so that it ran north and south and the former sideline stands became the end zone stands.
Most merchants were downtown and large department stores like Furchgott’s, Levy’s and Cohen’s seemed to flourish in the Downtown area. J.C. Penney Co. had just recently moved from Main and Bay to Hemming and Sears had just moved from Forsyth to Bay.
Education of the Bar in 1961
Most lawyers within the Northeast Florida area had been educated at the University of Florida College of Law. I was no exception. However, there was a substantial number who had attended Stetson Law School and to a lesser number law schools outside of the state.
The diploma privilege had just been abolished. This had accounted for many people always going to a law school within the state of Florida. Additionally, for in-state residents, there was no tuition and the only mandatory requirements were to buy your books and your activity ticket.
We were the first class enrolled at Florida that had a requirement to take the LSAT. However, this was not a condition precedent to being accepted. During the first week or so of classes, many law students were discussing their outstanding records on the LSAT. I was certainly glad the scores were not posted and considered myself lucky to be among the group.
Thanks to U.S. District Judge Bryan Simpson, who put in a good word for me and scheduled a meeting with Dean Henry Fenn for an interview along with some of the other professors, I was accepted.
Our classes began in September 1958. We had approximately 120 students that were in two or three sections. Many of the law students had been to undergraduate school at Florida, but for the most part a substantial number were from schools around the country.
From time to time, practicing lawyers would come to the school for various reasons and discuss the state of the law and practice. One of those speakers informed our class that in five or 10 years there would probably be no trials, that the court system would be solely for the criminal cases and that administrative methods of adjudication would be substituted for civil cases. He believed that the system under which he had practiced for almost 50 years, would cease to exist.
While law and concepts of law that existed then, such as contributory negligence being a complete bar in personal injury cases, did end, most of the predictions that I heard in Gainesville have never come to pass.
Many of my classmates have remained my good friends. I was the only one who moved to Jacksonville to practice. Another of my classmates moved here and went into business. Eventually, another of my classmates moved to Jacksonville from Palm Beach when he was appointed U.S. District Judge, John H. Moore II. He is currently a Senior U.S. District Judge. He was an excellent student and was a friend to all of his classmates.
Most of us in the class worked in law firms during the summer. I had the good fortune for one summer to work for the Florida East Coast Railway law department in the Florida Title Building and was able to observe some outstanding trial lawyers, Samuel Kassewitz, Page Haddock, who later became a circuit judge, and Russell Frink, who was the general counsel.
Also in that office as trustees for the railroad were Sen. J. Turner Butler and William Hallowes, the State Attorney.