Annual reports of sections and divisions of The Florida Bar.

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Administrative Law

The Administrative Law Section started the year with a bang sponsoring the annual Practicing Before the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) CLE Seminar. The full-day event hosted at DOAH was preceded by an Administrative Law Section meeting and reception the day before, which was held in the new home of the First District Court of Appeal. The CLE program was standing room only and provided a unique and informative program for administrative practitioners. This program was followed with a December CLE program titled, "New Directions for Energy, Telecommunications and Administrative Practice."

The section newsletter continues to provide members with informative articles, legal updates, and agency snapshots. In addition, the section continues to provide the Steering Committee for the newly revised and updated Florida Administrative Practice Manual published by The Florida Bar and currently available in the ninth edition, incorporating changes in statute up to 2011. Several very experienced and outstanding speakers were provided by the section in February for the Young Lawyers Division's CLE presentation on Basic Administrative Practice for 2012.

At the same time, the section, with the able assistance of retired Administrative Law Judge Linda Rigot, carefully and actively monitored legislative proposals aimed at doing everything from tweaking subtle aspects to significantly revising various aspects of the Administrative Procedures Act (F.S. Ch. 120). Although at the time of writing this annual report, we are still waiting for the dust to settle, it does not appear that there were any major changes legislated with regard to the fundamental purpose and principles of F.S. Ch. 120 during the 2012 session.

During the legislative session, in addition to making legislators aware of the section's availability to address the likely impact of proposed legislative changes, the section also initiated a new Administrative Law Section e-news reporter published by the section's Membership Committee for the purpose of providing timely updates to section members with regard to activities of The Florida Bar, the Administrative Law Section, CLE programming, and other matters of interest to administrative law practitioners.

As the year began to wind to an end, the section held a Long Range Planning Retreat at Wakulla Springs for the purpose of addressing on-going programs, such as next year's biennial Pat Dore Administrative Law Conference, and setting the course for new directions for the section.

Along those lines, in preparation for the annual meeting of the section at The Florida Bar Annual Convention, the section's Nominating Committee announced the slate of officers for election to Chair-elect Scott Boyd's Executive Council for 2012-13. They are chair-elect, Amy Schrader; secretary, Daniel Nordby; and treasurer, Richard Shoop. The nominating committee has also recommended the election of Gar Chisenhall, Stephen Emmanuel, Fred Dudley, Brian Newman, and Patricia Nelson, to fill upcoming member-at-large vacancies on the section's Executive Council. I want to express my appreciation to our section administrator, Jackie Werndli, for yet another great year for the Administrative Law Section and wish the best of luck to the incoming officers of the section. Special thanks go to former chair, Cathy Sellers, and to Deborah Kearney, James Peterson III, Wellington Meffert, and Shaw Stiller, whose terms on the section's Executive Council are concluding this year.

Finally, I encourage everyone with an interest or a practice in administrative law to join the section and contribute to the efforts to keep members abreast of new developments and armed with the resources necessary to assist a successful practice. Thanks to all for a great year and a bright future. Allen R. Grossman, Chair

Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section was approved in July 2010 and officially launched in August 2010. The ADR Section's second year has been an interesting and exciting one. Approaching its two-year anniversary, the section is more than 800 members strong. The section's newsletter, ADR News & Tips, has published two informative issues full of interesting articles and important links. Each issue of ADR News & Tips can be read on the ADR Section's page on The Florida Bar's website.

The ADR Section's Executive Council meets frequently to keep abreast of relevant activities. The section was not formally involved in the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Program issues and order of the Florida Supreme Court, nor the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure change regarding authority at mediations. Both of these proposals and involvement were either done before the section was created or considered outside the section's purview. The section's legislative subcommittee, led by Manny Farach, had a very active year reviewing proposed new arbitration legislation.

The ADR Section hosted a seminar during The Florida Bar's 2011 midyear meeting titled, "ADR and the Bar: Introduction to Grievance Mediation and Fee Arbitration." This informative CLE seminar, which provides 4.5 CLE credits, including 3.5 ethics credits, is available for purchase on the Bar's website. The ADR Section is looking forward to coordinating with other sections in the upcoming year to offer more CLE programs.

The section works closely with the Supreme Court's Committee on ADR Rules and Policy. In fact, several of the ADR Section's Executive Council members serve on the Supreme Court's committee. The ADR Section is gaining interest among its current and new members and welcomes any suggestions and/or collaborations. Jake Schickel, Chair

Appellate Practice

The Appellate Practice Section remains an active section of The Florida Bar. Our Executive Council met at the 2011 annual Bar convention as well as at the September Bar meetings. In January 2012, the Executive Council met by video conference. Through their respective judicial representatives on the Executive Council, all five of Florida's district courts of appeal volunteered to host the meeting and to provide the conferencing facilities. Executive Council members from Tallahassee (1st DCA), Tampa (2d DCA), Miami (3d DCA), West Palm Beach (4th DCA), and Daytona Beach (5th DCA) attended the meeting. We thank the district courts, especially the marshals and section representatives, for coordinating this effort.

At the 2011 annual Bar convention, the section continued its tradition of hosting a discussion with the justices of the Florida Supreme Court. Under a format revised a few years ago, the discussion takes place immediately after the Robert Orseck Moot Court Competition concludes, but before the winners are announced. This format provides law students with greater incentives to attend and participate in the discussion. The section also hosted its ever-popular dessert reception on Thursday night at the annual convention, at which Harvey Sepler received the section's James Adkins Award for appellate excellence and Wendy Loquasto received the section's Pro Bono Award for her selfless dedication to pro bono services.

This past fall, the section embarked on an exciting new venture. For the first time, the Florida Conference of District Court of Appeal Judges --an annual conference of all appellate judges in the state--allowed the section to attend and participate in the conference's 2011 program. It took place in September at Amelia Island. The section hosted a reception, sponsored a speaker from Tulane Law School who gave a presentation on comparative appellate law, and participated in a mock argument session. Over 40 section members attended, and the program's educational portion earned attendees 11.5 hours of appellate certification CLE credit, as well as one hour of ethics credit. Section attendees found the opportunity to interact with the judges to be extremely valuable. The section thanks the conference and looks forward to further participation in the future.

One lesson learned from the 2011 DCA judges conference was that it came too close in time to the Bar's midyear meeting, when the section's Executive Council traditionally meets. In the future, when the section is invited to participate in the conference, the section intends to move its Executive Council meeting for that time period to the conference's location. Doing so will cut down on the costs associated with attending both meetings.

One of the section's signature projects is the publication of our flagship newsletter, The Record, and the regular publication of articles in editions of The Florida Bar Journal. Once again, the section's Publications Committee has had a busy and productive year. The section has submitted a column for each edition of The Florida Bar Journal published this year, each covering a large variety of topics related to appellate practice and of general interest to the Bar.

The section's CLE Committee has also remained busy. The section has sponsored numerous live seminars, including an appellate certification review course, a seminar focused on practice before the First District Court of Appeal, and a multi-day workshop on appellate practice hosted in conjunction with Stetson Law School. The section has also continued its monthly teleconference CLE series, which consists of 10 lunchtime teleconference seminars--one each month except June and December. Most months, the seminar qualifies not only for CLE credit, but appellate certification credit, and the informal program inevitably focuses on some interesting aspect of appellate practice and typically features highly regarded speakers, including appellate practitioners, clerks, and judges. The section remains sincerely appreciative to the many persons who generously give their time to make these presentations possible.

This past year, the section recreated and revamped a committee focused on legislative matters, naming...