Waltzing into the millennium: the Jacksonville Bar Association.

• Author: Stephens, Pat
• Position: Florida

February marks the 103rd anniversary of The Jackonville Bar Association and President Christopher Hazelip plans to celebrate its second century with a Millennium Ball. The JBA is the second oldest bar association in Florida, with the Hillsborough County Bar preceding it by one year.

No one knows why founding President Duncan U. Fletcher called the first meeting of 16 attorneys to order in an 1897 circuit courtroom. A 1901 fire that destroyed 146 blocks burned the records of much of their original business. But, having grown to 1,700 members strong, Jacksonville attorneys are looking at the association's past to better their legal community. The recent debut of a mentoring program is reminiscent of days when attorneys went through an apprenticeship-type training, paring younger lawyers with more experienced lawyers. This organized effort by JBA leadership to personally support and counsel is the culmination of an initiative designed to proactively promote professionalism. Hazelip credits Donald R. Moran, Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, with helping the program get off to a running start.

"Judge Moran sent letters to lawyers promoting the mentor program and has continued to update the Jacksonville area attorneys on the progress of their professionalism effort," said Hazelip of the program which won The Florida Bar's 1999 Professionalism Award.

The second part of the JBA professionalism initiative is the Professionalism Review Committee which addresses complaints regarding a lack of professionalism or civility by lawyers practicing in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. This committee was also assisted by Chief Judge Moran, who issued an administrative order which formally implemented the Hillsborough County Standards of Professional Courtesy and endorses The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section's Guidelines for Professional Conduct. Serious about compliance, the JBA's annual judicial poll added a category as to whether a particular judge enforces those guidelines.

How does the system work? Any conduct complaints filed with The Jacksonville Bar offices are forwarded to a member of the Professional Review Committee on a rotating basis. Three attorneys of the five-member committee, each representing a different sector of the law, are convened to review the complaint. This review committee then determines the manner in which to resolve the complaint so that the attorney becomes familiar with "acceptable professional conduct and practice."

When...