Sections and divisions of The Florida Bar.

Administrative law

It has been a busy year for the Administrative Law Section and promises to remain that way. One of the section's concerns has been the need for quality training of new lawyers in Florida administrative law. In September, we met with Dean Weidner of the Florida State University College of Law at our long range planning retreat to discuss ways in which the section and the law school could work together to accomplish this goal. We will continue to foster that relationship and are grateful to Dean Weidner for his assistance. We are also delighted that one of our new executive council members, Cathy Sellers, is teaching at both FSU and the University of Florida.

FSU also assisted us in October in hosting the Pat Dore Administrative Law Conference. The conference, held October 24-25 in Tallahassee, was attended by over 170 practitioners and was very well received. The conference featured such speakers as Justice Harry Lee Anstead, Judges Robert Benton and Terry Lewis, and Magistrate William Sherrill, as well as seasoned practitioners Wade Hopping, Larry Sellers, Bill Williams, and others. Mark Seidenfeld, FSU's newly appointed Pat Dore Professor of Administrative Law, was also a featured speaker. Many thanks to Booter Imhof for his superlative effort in putting such a fine program together.

An additional CLE on practice before the Division of Administrative Hearings was scheduled for May. While the seminar will have taken place by the time this issue goes to press, I are confident, based upon the wonderful work of Andy Bertram and Kathy Kasprzak in assembling the program, that it will also be a rousing success.

We are working hard on our publications. We are expanding the reach of our newsletter and working on a Web site that will provide new opportunities to educate practitioners and the public on current events in administrative law. Several changes in administration have delayed implementation of our newsletter column on agency general counsels; this feature, a source of practical information for administrative practitioners, should be underway soon. Many thanks to Elizabeth MacArthur for her untiring efforts on our newsletter, not only this year but for many years. The Administrative Law Manual is being updated as well, and the section continues to work on improving our legal writing contest for law students.

During legislative session, our Legislative Committee has been monitoring any proposed attempts to amend Ch. 120. We are grateful for the untiring efforts of Linda Rigot and Bill Williams, who take on this project for us and are vigilant in adhering to our adopted legislative positions.

Finally, we are happy to be working with the Division of Administrative Hearings to assist in the sponsoring of the national meeting of the National Association of Administrative Law Judges to be held in October in Orlando. We thank the Bar for its assistance in planning this event. Having this national meeting in Florida will enable us to see how Florida's administrative procedures compare to those used in other parts of the country. With that in mind, we also look forward to planning the 2004 Pat Dore Conference, which will celebrate 30 years of experience with Ch. 120. With Donna Blanton taking over as chair of the section this July, the Administrative Law Section will enjoy an immensely capable leadership team.

LISA SHEARER NELSON, Chair

Appellate Practice

This past year the Appellate Practice Section has accomplished a great deal. We have both maintained our long-standing projects and initiated significant new programs.

Throughout this past year, the section has continued to provide instructive and scholarly information to our members through our publications. The section published three issues of The Record under the editorial direction of Siobhan Shea. We will also publish the latest edition of the Florida Appellate Practice Guide, edited by Caryn Bellus. This desk reference book contains information about the section and Florida and federal appellate courts. Well noted for its Inside the Courts portraits, these articles contain historical and administrative information about each court and judicial biographies.

Once again, the section, led by Steve Brannock, has presented a number of excellent CLE opportunities for appellate practitioners. In October 2002, the section presented the ever popular Hot Topics Seminar. The annual Appellate Certification Review Course was offered in January 2003. In the upcoming months, we will present the Inside the 11th Circuit seminar and Practice Before the Florida Supreme Court, co-sponsored with the Government Lawyers Section. The section presents an intense three-day Appellate Practice Workshop in conjunction with Stetson University School of Law every other year. The next workshop will be presented in July 2003.

Under the guidance of Tom Hall, the section undertook this year to create a handbook designed to explain the basics of the appellate process. The handbook will be made available to pro se litigants and others needing assistance when navigating the appellate system. The committee is composed of appellate practitioners from all areas of practice who are contributing their various talents to the project. This group has worked tirelessly and exceeded expectations in the progress of this enormous task.

As part of our mission to foster education and the exchange of information, the section undertook this year to create a peer-to-peer support system for appellate practitioners. Susan Fox accepted the invitation to chair this valuable program. Her committee has designed a mentor program to assist young lawyers, the occasional practitioner, and experienced appellate lawyers venturing into new practice areas. The committee has developed a proposal that is now in the implementation stages. Attorneys will be able to request assistance through the section's Web site and be referred to an appropriate volunteer mentor.

At this time, the section is preparing for a retreat to be held at the Don CeSar Resort at St. Petersburg Beach in May. This strategic planning meeting will identify goals, set priorities, and elicit commitments to carry the section through the next few years.

ANGELA C. FLOWERS, Chair

Business Law

The Business Law Section enjoyed another successful year. Our efforts were focused on CLE programs, legislation, and communications. We invite business lawyers throughout the state to join our current membership at over 4,000 strong.

Committees: The section has six very active substantive law committees, namely Antitrust, Franchise and Trade (chaired by Ronald Roman), Bankruptcy and Uniform Commercial Code (chaired by Russ Blain), Business Litigation (chaired by Jeffrey Hirsch), Computer Law (chaired by Joel Rothman), Corporations, Securities & Financial Services (chaired by Scott Austin), and Intellectual Property (chaired by Steph Nagin). Each of these committees had an active agenda this year of CLE programs, legislation, and special projects.

The Retreat: We enjoyed record attendance at our members' annual retreat at the Naples Ritz-Carlton in August. Highlights included a very well received luncheon speech by Judge Chris Altenbernd of the Second District Court of Appeal, who spoke on how international business disputes may be handled in the future. Jeff Grossman of CitiBank gave us an update on the financial performance of and business challenges facing law firms. Other highlights included Elizabeth Tarbert (ethics), Kelly Fox of Hildebrandt, anda panel of in-house attorneys who spoke on what they look for in hiring outside counsel. We hope all section members will mark their calendars for this year's retreat at the Palm Beach Ritz-Carlton on August 21-24. The retreat offers a great opportunity to network and socialize with colleagues, attend committee meetings, and get CLE credit in one of the state's finest resort venues. Lexis Nexis was primary sponsor of the retreat in 2002, and will be a lead sponsor again this year.

Legislation: The section drafts and reviews legislation affecting Florida's businesses, including our state's version of the Uniform Commercial Code, the Florida Business Corporation Act and Limited Liability Company Act, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, laws governing franchises, the noncompete statute, Florida's "Blue Sky" securities laws, and Florida's laws governing franchising and antitrust. We spend much effort and our resources drafting legislation, educating our legislators, and shepherding bills through the Florida Legislature.

Through the hard work of legislation chair Mark Wolfson and his committee, and section lobbyist Bill Wiley, the section drafted and successfully gained passage of its legislative agenda for 2002, including amendments to the statutes governing limited liability companies and Article 9.

CLE: Our flagship CLE program, the Annual View From the Bench, continues to be a mainstay for bankruptcy practitioners across the state, again attracting a large turnout. We appreciate the leadership of the Steering Committee and Judge Mike Williamson in organizing this program.

The Business Litigation Committee sponsored a federal court litigation seminar that was highly successful. Panelists included several district court judges. Each attendee received a multivolume West publication on federal trial practice.

Other section-sponsored CLE programs included the fifth annual Internet Law Update.

Web site: The section's Web site can be found at www.flabuslaw.org. It features seminar outlines, sample pleadings, committee developments, links to other useful sites, and chatroom facilities for each committee. Our site results from tireless work of Communications Committee Chair Diane Wells and her committee, and is constantly being updated and improved. Please visit the site to see what is new.

In the coming year, the section will be in the capable hands of Jim Murphy, chair, and Maxine Long, chair-elect, who...