• Two attorneys, Tenisia Burke and Elizabeth Bright Wallace, joined the Duval County Office of the Public Defender, both serving as assistant public defenders in the County Court Unit.
• The D.W. Perkins Bar Association Inc. in cooperation with the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and The Florida Bar will sponsor a Diversity Symposium from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse. The theme is “Embracing Diversity and Excellence: Coexistence and Change.” The facilitator is Judge Pauline Drake. Judge Henry Adams Jr. will be available to answer questions about the film, which will be shown, “Conversations on Catfish, Courtrooms and Change: The Life and Times of Henry Lee Adams.” RSVP at www.dwperkinsbar.com by noon Thursday.
• Gov. Rick Scott chose three Florida women for induction into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, including Vicki Bryant Burke of Jacksonville, who founded the PACE Center for Girls, the first and only non-residential program for troubled adolescent females in Florida. It opened Jan. 7, 1985, at Snyder Memorial Methodist Church for 10 young women released from the detention center. Today, PACE has 17 centers throughout Florida and has helped more than 29,000 young women. Scott also chose Ruth Alexander of Gainesville and the late Elizabeth “Budd” Bell, formerly of Tallahassee.
• David Ward has joined the Jacksonville office of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC as an associate. He will represent clients in consumer financial services litigation, real estate litigation, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.
• Two principal attorneys at The Arnold Law Firm have earned recertification from The Florida Bar. Shawn Arnold was recertified in criminal trial law and Melissa Gross-Arnold was recertified in city, county and local government law.
• Community Works, the consulting arm of Jacksonville Community Council Inc., will launch the “Check it out: Independent Library Funding” study to examine whether the Jacksonville Public Library system should be funded independently from the City. It will be co-chaired by Jim Stevenson, vice president of Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Military, Public Safety and Security Division, and Walt Bussells, executive vice president and CFO for GreenPointe Holdings LLC. The study is funded by Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library Inc., the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation and JCCI donors. The study begins March 2 and the committee will meet from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. each Friday through June 1 at the JCCI conference room. For information, visit www.jcci.org.