2021-2022 ANNUAL REPORTS OF COMMITTEES OF THE FLORIDA BAR.

Adoption Law Certification

We welcomed three new attorneys approved for board certification in adoption law in 2021. In addition, 16 board certified attorneys have been re-certified this year. We now have a total of 28 attorneys board certified in adoption law.

While we had no new applicants approved to sit for the examination in 2022, our committee has not been idle. We have updated our certification exam with new questions and with edits to some older questions and model answers. We have also approved new proposed rule changes to be considered by the Board of Legal Specialization and Education. Among these changes were edits to the Standards for Board Certification and Recertification in Adoption Law, with a view toward broadening the qualifying applicant pool by expanding the criteria for what activities will qualify for substantial involvement in adoption law.

On behalf of the committee, I express our sincere thanks to all the judges and attorneys who have responded this year to requests for peer reviews and evidence of substantial involvement. This feedback is essential for evaluating the qualifications of our candidates. We truly appreciate your time and efforts in this regard.

Thank you also to my fellow committee members for their contributions this year: Vice Chair Susan Levin, Leenetta "Lee" Carden, Amy Hickman, Ellen Kaplan, Stephen Price, Susan Stockham, and Rob Webster III. We are especially grateful to have Paige Dooley-Levy as our staff liaison again this past year. Her support has been invaluable to the committee. We appreciate all her assistance, and we look forward to working with her this coming year. RICHARD S. JACKSON, Chair

Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification

Admiralty and maritime law is the corpus of rules, concepts, and legal practices governing vessels, the shipping industry, the carrying of goods and passengers by water, and related maritime concepts. Admiralty and maritime law includes the substantive law and procedural rules associated with the general maritime law of the United States, admiralty jurisdiction, and procedure. There are only 56(!) of approximately 86,000 practicing Florida Bar attorneys who are certified as specialists in admiralty and maritime law. The Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification Committee is comprised of nine of those specialists who have the responsibility to identify those lawyers who practice admiralty and maritime law and who have demonstrated the special knowledge, skills, and proficiency to be properly identified to the public as board certified in admiralty and maritime law. The committee is responsible for developing and annually updating the 140-question exam used to determine whether an attorney has the sufficient knowledge, skill, and experience of a specialist in admiralty and maritime law.

Additionally, the committee evaluates whether an attorney applicant's conduct, with respect to interaction with peer specialists, other professionals, the court, and in all aspects of the trial process, is consistent not only with the high standards of the profession in general but additionally with the higher standards of conduct, character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism of those certified as specialists. We take our duty very seriously.

This year's certification committee action included four Zoom meetings and out-of-committee individual work effort to:

1) Review, update, and add sample questions on the Bar website, which advise exam applicants of typical questions.

2) Assign the 140 exam questions and their model answers to individual certification committee members for review, update language for readability, update caselaw as required, and revise model answers to assure accuracy and currency.

3) Assign members for initial review and recommendation as to 20 recertification applications and one initial certification application, to determine if certification requirements are met. Have committee discussion on the recommendations and vote for approval or consideration of denial.

4) Approve the final exam scheduled for April 8.

BARBARA A. KREITZ COOK, Chair

Admiralty Law

The Admiralty Law Committee continued to advance its five core goals in the 2021-22 fiscal year, specifically 1) advance the practice of admiralty and maritime law by providing complimentary live seminars about recent trends and developments in maritime law; 2) provide a forum for networking among our admiralty colleagues; 3) foster the advancement of younger attorneys in this area of the law; 4) assist our Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification Committee colleagues in promoting certification in admiralty and maritime law; and 5) assist in the subcommittee in completing the rewrite of the Florida Maritime Law and Practice, 7th Edition update.

These five goals have been met. In meeting the first goal, the committee held a virtual maritime law seminar for three CLE credits on January 28, during the during the Winter Meeting and also held a day-long maritime law seminar for six CLE credits on February 18. The first seminar included presentations on "The Impacts of COVID-19 on Yachting," "Florida Legislative Update 2022," and "The 11th Circuit's Yusko Decision and the Cases That Have Followed." Importantly, after the Winter Meeting, the Admiralty Law Committee held its first-ever networking event with the Florida A&M University School of Law. The second maritime law seminar, "Port Everglades, Florida --Simulated Marine Casualty--Port Closure," included five panels that consisted of maritime attorneys, marine industry professionals, marine insurance professionals, and three U.S. Coast Guard officers. This seminar was planned and conducted jointly with the Federal Bar Association's Admiralty Law Section and, as a result, it received national attention and was attended by attorneys from all over the country. Additionally, the Admiralty Law Committee, for the first time ever, coordinated three one-hour lunch CLEs, which included the following presentations: "Yacht Building Agreements: A Checklist for the Practitioner," "The Jones Act from a Public Policy and Legislative Perspective," and "Training the Future Mariner." The lunch CLEs were well attended and feedback from committee members has been extremely positive.

The second and third goals of networking and development of younger attorneys and law students continued to be hard hit by the on-going pandemic. However, the addition of the lunch CLEs has provided additional opportunities to network and discuss current issues in maritime law. Utilizing the time after the winter meeting to conduct a networking event between the committee members and Florida A&M University College of Law proved that networking goals can still be accomplished. Committee members also held an in-person networking event with students from the University of Miami School of Law on October 18, 2021. The subcommittee in charge of completing the re-write of the Florida Maritime Law and Practice, 7th Edition, update worked tirelessly to complete this task, and I thank all the contributors to this project; and I specifically thank Joanne "Jody" Foster and Ryan Eslinger for their hard work completing the re-write.

The current vice chairs are Joanne "Jody" Foster and Adria Notari, and they helped tremendously in the work of the committee. As I leave as committee chair, I wish the new chair continued success in meeting the challenges of the committee and emulating the work we have accomplished this year. It has been my distinct privilege to chair the committee this year. I cannot think of a finer collection of attorneys with whom to serve, and I thank all of you for your selfless contributions to our goals.

On behalf of the entire committee, I express our collective appreciation for our Bar staff liaison, Stefanie Svisco. She was indispensable to the committee, providing guidance, insight, expertise, and support for each of its meetings, while also providing key advice as to Bar policies and procedures. We appreciate her work ethic and thank her for all her support.

The committee extends an invitation to all eligible admiralty and maritime law attorneys to attend the committee's meetings. The committee meetings are attended by a diverse group of lawyers, and they give us the opportunity to get together and communicate with one another on the key issues in our practice area. The committee preference forms are posted online by The Florida Bar from December 1 to mid-January to begin work on the committee the following July 1 of each year. Please remember to designate this committee as your first choice when you sign up for service. There is no better way for a maritime practitioner to advance his or her skills, professionalism, and ability to network in this practice area. RYON L. LITTLE, Chair

Advertising

The Standing Committee on Advertising is responsible for advising members of The Florida Bar on permissible advertising and marketing practices. The committee, which meets periodically as needed, reviews appeals of opinions issued by staff counsel, offers guidance to staff in evaluating lawyer advertisements, makes recommendations regarding rule changes, and provides guidance to Florida Bar members concerning both the substantive and procedural requirements of the advertising rules.

The committee advises Bar members on the substance of the advertising rules through a variety of different methods. An in-depth analysis of the filing requirements, substantive regulations, and committee interpretations is provided by the committee's Handbook on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation. The Handbook is regularly updated by the committee to reflect important changes that have occurred and is currently available on the website for easy access by Bar members. The Handbook and other information addressed in this report are available on the Bar's website at www.floridabar.org.

Similar to other recent years, 2021-2022 was a busy year for the Standing Committee...