2015 Annual Florida Bar Convention

by Laurence Colletti and Kelsey Johnson

Florida Bar PodcastWe had the privilege of visiting The Florida Bar at their 2015 Annual Convention. Held at the beautiful Boca Raton Resort, we braved the summer heat and humidity to meet the members of The Florida Bar. What we saw was very impressive. From their leadership of passionate volunteer attorneys, we learned that there are amazing developments on nearly every front of Florida law. Whether it was advice from industry leaders like Mark Britton and Jack Newton or the insightful presentations from Florida Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda and State Senator Maria Sachs, attendees were given a lot to take home.

2015 FloBar AC - Boca Raton ResortAs impressive as the trappings were, the thing we noticed most was how friendly everyone was. Whether it was outgoing president Greg Coleman, incoming president Ray Abadin, or director of the Programs Division Terry Hill, there was always someone to lend help or a friendly word. When we discussed this with Renee Thompson and Melanie Griffin, co-chairs for the annual bar convention, they agreed and furthered by mentioning reunions with colleagues, sold out hotels, and future emphasis on family-friendly venues. Despite over 100 thousand members, The Florida Bar has the camaraderie of a law school class.

This series of podcast interviews taps into developments in Florida law and the elements that make The Florida Bar the institution it is today. We hope you both enjoy and find them informative.

– – – – – Interviews – – – – –

1) President Greg Coleman at The Florida Bar Annual Convention:  The Florida Bar Podcast host Adriana Linares interviews Greg Coleman, president of The Florida Bar about his year as president and his focus on educating Florida lawyers about technology.  Click here to listen.

2) Raising the Bar on Civics Education:  Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti interviews Judge Michelle Sisco, Annette Pitts, and Richard Levenstein about the Constitutional Judiciary Committee and the Benchmark Civics Education Program at the 2015 Florida Bar Annual Convention. Click here to listen.

3) Transforming Practices Through Technology: Adriana Linares discusses Clio’s sold out event titled ‘InSession: Transforming Practices Through Technology’ with presenters Carolyn Elefant, Mark Britton, Jabez LeBret, Jack Newton, Toby Brown, and Ernest Svenson. Click here to listen.

4) Florida Law Update 2015:  Laurence Colletti sits down with Denis de Vlaming, Manny Farach, and Kevin Johnson to talk about their contributions to the ‘Florida Law Update’ seminar. Click here to listen.

5) Brutal Truths About Lawyers and Lawyering:  Author and attorney, Brian Tannebaum, talks about his practice and his new book titled ‘The Practice: Brutal Truths About Lawyers and Lawyering’. Click here to listen.

6) How Technology Will Affect the Future of the Justice System:  Keynote speaker Richard Susskind discusses technology, the future of the justice system, and his new book titled ‘The Future of the Professions’. Click here to listen.

7) Practice Resource Institute:  Jonathan Israel and Rod Bruce, from the Practice Resource Institute (PRI), discuss PRI resources and tools as well as CLEs for technology. Click here to listen.

8) Animal Law in Florida:  In part one of this two part interview series, Laurence Colletti interviews Florida Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, Florida State Senator Maria Sachs, Florida State Director for the Humane Society of the U.S. Kate MacFall, and animal law attorney Diana Ferguson about developments in Florida’s animal law. In part two, the discussion continues with Animal Law Committee Vice-Chair Gil Panzer and animal law lawyer Marcy LaHart. Click here to listen.

9) The Impact of Technology on Employment Law Issues:  Gregory Hearing, Robyn Hankins, and Judge Alan Forst talk about their presentations at the seminar ‘Don’t Crash on the Information Highway: What Every Law Firm Needs to Know About the Impact of Technology on Employment Law Issues’. Click here to listen.

10) Social Media, Expectations of Privacy, and Administration of Justice:  Social media lawyer and professor Ethan Wall discusses social media’s effect on the law including discovery, client expectation to privacy, and pollution to jury pools. In addition he talks about the experiences of Judge Belvin Perry who presided over the Casey Anthony trial. Click here to listen.

11)  Arbitration, Effective Joint Opening Sessions, and Ethical Issues for Mediators and Attorneys:  Bob Hoyle and Meah Tell from the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) section join Legal Talk Network to discuss their presentations during the ‘Arbitration, Effective Joint Opening Sessions, and Ethical Issues for Mediators and Attorneys’ seminar. Click here to listen.

12) Electronic Discovery and Digital Evidence:  In this two part interview series, guests John Jorgensen, Steven Teppler, Christian Dodd, and Larry Kunin join Legal Talk Network to discuss their presentations during the ‘Electronic Discovery and Digital Evidence: Pre Discovery Through Trial’ seminar. Click here to listen.

13) Differences Among the DCAs:  Judge Stephanie Ray, Judge Morris Silberman, Judge Richard Suarez, and appellate attorney Ceci Berman join producer Laurence Colletti for an interview discussing motion practice, decision making, and what lawyers should and shouldn’t do to be successful in court. Click here to listen.

14) Counseling the Provocative Client:  Professor Donald Jones and entertainment lawyer Patricia Graham talk about their seminar titled ‘Counseling the Provocative Client’ with Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti. Together, they discuss representation of controversial clients as well as institutional racism against hip hop artists. Click here to listen.

15) The Florida Bar 2016 Annual Convention:  In a fun interview about next year’s annual convention, Laurence Colletti catches up with The Florida Bar Annual Convention co-chairs Renee Thompson and Melanie Griffin. Together they discuss next year’s highlights, reunions with classmates, and emphasis on family-friendly venues. Tune in to hear why you should attend the 2016 Florida Bar Annual Convention. Click here to listen.

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After receiving his J.D. and MBA, Laurence Colletti went into solo practice with emphasis in general business and commercial real estate. He has always carried a strong passion for web-based media with a particular interest in podcasting and video. Laurence leverages his legal background against that passion to help bring sophisticated, relevant content to Legal Talk Network podcasts. You can follow Laurence on Twitter at @LaurenceEsq.