After years of legal community leadership locally and statewide, Jacksonville attorney Michael Fox Orr was sworn in as the 78th president of The Florida Bar on June 19 at the organization’s annual meeting in Orlando.
As president, he will lead the more than 115,000 lawyers and judges in Florida.
Orr laid out the priorities he set for his year in office.
“There are so many issues in our court system, and we do not have time to list them all. I cannot say it enough, lots of my friends in the judiciary are overwhelmed,” Orr said.
“It is incumbent upon us as a profession to step up and help make our system as great as it can be. So, I pledge to the Florida Supreme Court, to the district, circuit and county courts, and to our more than 115,000 members, we will work hard to do anything we can to improve our system of justice this year.”
Orr also talked about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and how American freedom helped lead to success for a client and friend, Jacksonville commercial real estate developer Edward Ashourian.
“I can’t help but think of you on this day — as we near the celebration of the semiquincentennial — you are the definition of the American Dream — that anyone, regardless of background or circumstances, can achieve at the highest levels, experiencing success through hard work and determination. Your story, and the extraordinary things you and your family have accomplished are inspiring to me, my family and our firm. And remembering your story reminds us that the American Dream must be protected. As St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us — patriotism — and the love of our country that everyone in this room shares — is a moral virtue,” Orr said.
Managing partner at Orr | Cook, Orr is a board certified civil trial lawyer who focuses his practice on commercial and civil matters involving high-profile litigation and appeals.
His cases involve class actions, professional liability, legal malpractice, shareholder disputes, construction, land development, insurance, wrongful death, serious personal injury, trusts and other business and real estate matters.
Orr has argued cases in all six district courts of appeal in Florida, with successful opinions as both appellant and appellee. He has also argued cases before the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges, who may be invited after certain experience and exhibiting civility, integrity and professionalism.
Orr’s more than 20 years in The Florida Bar and Jacksonville Bar Association leadership positions included his election and appointment to the Executive Committee of The Florida Bar board of governors multiple times, his reelection as one of two elected lawyers representing all lawyers and judges in the 4th Judicial Circuit and his position as president of the JBA, which he completed in June 2022.
On the state level, Orr previously served as chair of The Florida Bar’s Budget Committee, which oversees the fiscal and budgetary policies of the Bar, and as chair of The Florida Bar’s Program Evaluation Committee, which provides the board of governors with guidelines and standards by which Bar programs are reviewed or evaluated.
He has served as co-chair of the Disciplinary Review Committee for The Florida Bar, which oversees the prosecution and appeals for disciplinary violations by Florida lawyers and recommends policy on lawyer regulation and disciplinary matters.
Orr has twice served as chair of the Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics, which reviews advisory ethics opinions issued to Florida lawyers and appealed to the board of governors.
With an undergraduate degree in finance and philosophy, Orr enrolled at Florida Coastal School of Law. He received a J.D. and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2005.