Sections and divisions of The Florida Bar.

Administrative Law

The year 2004 marked the 30th anniversary of the modern version of Florida's Administrative Procedure Act. The Administrative Law Section commemorated the milestone in mid-November by focusing the Pat Dore Administrative Law Conference on the history, current state, and future of administrative law practice. The conference was very well attended and featured a good mix of familiar speakers and new faces. The section especially appreciated the participation of members of the judiciary, including Judge Robert Benton, Judge Gerald Cope, Judge Stevan Northcutt, and Justice Harry Lee Anstead, who gave our luncheon address. Bob Cohen, Director and Chief Judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings, was joined on a panel by former directors Sharyn Smith and Ken Oertel, and we were honored to have them participate, as well. Our CLE Committee of Andy Bertron and Li Nelson did a wonderful job.

In late May 2005 the section held a sequel, of sorts, to the Practice Before DOAH seminar that was so well received last year. The program was a full day, with the morning dedicated to discussion and the afternoon consisting of a mock hearing. We appreciate the participation of all our speakers and Administrative Law Judge Michael Ruff who presided at the hearing. Thanks, again, to the CLE Committee.

The section did something this year it had never done before: went over 50 miles away from Tallahassee for a two-day planning retreat. We did not get too far, but Watercolor Inn in the Florida Panhandle was an extremely conducive atmosphere for constructive discussion. In fact, it was probably one of the few places where we could have successfully tackled the agenda we set, including finishing the proposed rewrite of the Uniform Rules. We also spent some time debating the relative merits of lawyer certification, which is examined in more detail below. Debby Kearney is to be commended for her planning efforts.

Last year, the section was asked to look at the Uniform Rules and recommend suggested changes to the governor's office. That effort continued into this year. Various lawyers in the public and private sector were enlisted to assist us with the rewrite. The primary focus of the revision was to update the Uniform Rules to conform to statutory changes and case law. Thanks to Chris Moore for spear-heading this project, and for her hard work and patience.

With respect to lawyer certification, the section engaged in a vigorous internal debate on the subject this year. Although the matter is not yet settled, the section supports a proposal for a Florida Bar Certification Program in Administrative and Governmental Practice, and the section wants to continue to be a full participant in the process of creating such a certification program. The section has worked with the Government Lawyers Section in crafting a joint proposal, and although key issues remained to be resolved, we are close to an end product. If all has gone according to schedule, at the time of publication of this report a proposal should be ready for submission to the Board of Legal Specialization and Education for formal approval. My personal thanks to Keith Rizzardi, past chair of the Government Lawyers Section, for his tremendous efforts in this endeavor. I also thank all members of our section's executive council who participated in the discussions on this subject. Without the benefit of many perspectives, the proposal would not be as complete.

One final item relates to finances. The section was required to raise yearly dues by $5 this year, bringing the cost of membership to $25. For the past few years, the Bar's Board of Governors has been examining the financial relationship between all sections and the Bar, and came to the conclusion that some changes were in order. These changes are expected to include all of the sections contributing more dollars from dues payments, contributing more dollars to the Bar's general overhead expenses, and reconfiguring the sections' split from CLE income.

Next year, our chair will be Debby Kearney. Debby is one of the few people, if not the only person, ever to be a general counsel in each branch of Florida government, and so she brings a unique blend of experience to the position. The section looks forward to growing under her direction and leadership, as well as that of our entire executive council.

ROBERT C. DOWNIE II, Chair

Appellate Practice

During the past year, the Appellate Practice Section has sought to continue its mission of advancing the administration of justice by promoting high standards of appellate practice.

The Outreach Committee, chaired by Shannon Carlyle, has been hard at work writing appellate guides for a number of practice areas including administrative, family, commercial, criminal, and workers' compensation law, as well as for the defense, plaintiffs', and federal bars. The committee plans to publish the guides in The Florida Bar News for general dissemination and as individual brochures available by request. Appellate lawyers should be able to purchase them in bulk for use in their own marketing materials. In addition, the committee will have an exhibitor's booth at the June 2006 Bar Annual Meeting under a "Who's Your Appellate Lawyer?" banner. The booth will be staffed by appellate lawyers who will be available to answer practitioners' questions. The brochures will be made available there as well.

The Legislative Committee, chaired by Deborah Marks, continues to monitor the legislative session. Last year the section took a position on an expedited basis as a bill came up that would have formed a sixth DCA without the basic time needed to truly establish one. We adopted and supported the position already taken by The Florida Bar in opposition.

The section also continues to take great pride in its Publications Committee, chaired this year by Vice Chair Susan Fox. Foremost of the section's publications is The Record: Journal of the Appellate Practice Section, published under the guidance of Editor-in-Chief Dorothy F. Easley and assistant editors Paul Avron of Miami, Mark Sussman of Miami Beach, Shelly Stirrat of Stuart, and Betsy Gallagher of Tampa. The Record continues to be published quarterly and consists of scholarly articles of interest to appellate lawyers as well as appellate news, case updates, book reports, editorial columns, judicial profiles, and information regarding board certification.

The Publications Committee recently revised The Florida Appellate Practice Guide--from hardbound to three-ring binder format--to allow easier updates of current material. The Guide, published under the auspices of Editor Caryn Bellus, presents invaluable information about the section, including member directory, committee lists, bylaws, and a calendar of events. Detailed information is given about each appellate court, including location and contact information, a list of current members of the court, a profile of each judge, their phone numbers, names of their law clerks, a copy of the court's most current notice to attorneys regarding special requirements, case statistics such as PCAs versus written opinions, a court history, and other information gleaned from interviews with the judges. The section on the First District Court of Appeal was written by Tracy Carlin of Jacksonville, and the Second District by Roy Wasson of Miami and Kristin Norse of Tampa. The section on the Third District was prepared by Elizabeth Rodriguez and Roy Wasson, and the Fourth District was prepared by Treasurer Siobhan Shea. Shannon Carlisle has updated the article on the Fifth District with help from Tracy Carlin. June Hoffman of Miami is working on updating the Florida Supreme Court section originally written by Beverly Pohl of Ft. Lauderdale, who is updating the section on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The section is also a regular contributor of scholarly articles to The Florida Bar Journal. Tracy Gunn of Tampa coordinates recruitment and topic selection as well as editorial advice for the authors of these articles. This year, the section published an article on 10 signs you need an appellate lawyer by Betsy Gallagher; an article by Ceci Berman on appeals of arbitration orders; and one by Steve Wisotsky on ethical issues in appellate practice Other articles waiting for publication include one by Kathy Maus on preservation of error in jury selection, one by Laura Whittmore on the "gross abuse of discretion" standard of review, and another by Tracy Carlin on pass-through jurisdiction.

A final publication not to be missed is the section's Web site: www.flabarappellate.org, which has regular updates, section information, upcoming events, and past issues of The Record.

At the meeting in June, leadership of the section will be placed in the capable hands of Tom Hall as chair and Susan Fox as chair-elect. They will be ably assisted by our devoted liaison, Austin Newberry, who has been instrumental in assisting the section in carrying out the objectives established at the executive council meetings. As section membership grows, we look forward to new members becoming involved in the section and its work.

JOHN G. CRABTREE, Chair

Business Law

The Business Law Section continues to offer a wide range of opportunities to its nearly 4,800 members through its active committees, legislative agenda, CLE, and special projects.

Committees: The substantive law committees of the section are Antitrust, Franchise and Trade (Chair David Beyer); Bankruptcy/Uniform Commercial Code (Chair Robert "Scott" Shuker); Business Litigation (Chair Jonathan Koch); Computer/Cyber Law (Chair Manuel Farach); Corporations, Securities & Financial Services (Chair Karen Orlin); and Intellectual Property (Chair James Gale). The committees are active in reviewing, drafting, and providing technical input on pending business legislation; sponsoring CLE programs and incorporating CLE into their meetings; and publishing articles and practice...