- May 2, 2019
John Sefton
Alexander Travis
Kayla Haines
Kevin Blodgett
Brandon Cook
The Supreme Court of Florida approved creating Chapter 21 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and also a new Rule of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar. The changes allow the lawyer spouses of military personnel, if they meet several conditions, to practice in Florida for up to five years without taking the Bar exam.
To be eligible for the program, lawyers must be married to a service member and be enrolled in the Department of Defense’s “Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System”; be a law school graduate and hold an active, valid law license in another U.S. jurisdiction.
They also must be a member in good standing in every jurisdiction to which they are admitted; not be subject to any discipline or pending disciplinary investigation in any other jurisdiction; reside in Florida or plan to reside in the state in the next six months; not have failed the Florida Bar exam within the past five years; pass a character and fitness review by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners; pay a $1,000 application fee to the FBBE; and read the Rules of Discipline, the Rules of Professional Conduct and agree to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction for disciplinary purposes.
Those certified must pay annual Bar membership fees equal to those of active Bar members.
When Chapter 21 becomes effective Sept. 17, Florida will be the 30th state, plus the Virgin Islands, to have a military spouse rule.
Rogers Towers added two attorneys to the staff in its Jacksonville office.
John Sefton specializes in real estate and general corporate law with regulatory experience including project finance.
He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Alexander Travis specializes in business entity formation, mergers and acquisitions and commercial finance as well as estate planning.
He received three degrees from the University of Florida: a bachelor’s in 2012, a J.D. in 2016 and an LLM in taxation in 2017.
Kayla Haines, Kevin Blodgett and Brandon Cook accepted offers to join Smith Hulsey & Busey’s litigation department.
Before joining Smith Hulsey, Haines served as business and commercial litigation associate for Jimerson & Cobb.
She also served as a judicial intern for U.S. District Judge Harvey Schlesinger.
Haines is a member of the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association and the Young Lawyers Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association.
Blodgett most recently served as counsel at Carr, Allison, Oliver & Sisson in Tallahassee, where he represented clients in business disputes.
Cook graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law where he was president of the Florida Court Moot Team. He previously served as a summer associate at the firm.
