The future of any state bar rests in the hands of the next generation. At the Florida Bar’s Annual Convention, Jason Silver, outgoing chair of the Student Education and Admissions to the Bar committee, shares with host Laurence Colletti a bit about what his committee has been doing to help law students achieve their best in law school, while taking the bar, and when they start their practices.

Jason Silver is an associate at Greenspoon Marder in their Financial Services group.

Following a Judicial Luncheon with Governor DeSantis at this year’s Florida Bar’s Annual Convention, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady joins host Renee Thompson to discuss the recent appointment of three new justices to his court, the influx of funding to help the court attract and retain a talented staff, and the steps the court is taking to better serve the community through new technology programs.

Charles T. Canady is the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

Host Laurence Colletti is joined by the Florida Bar’s departing president Michelle Suskauer to discuss her path to the presidency and accomplishments during the past year. She emphasizes the priorities her presidency held including supporting small/solo firms through LegalFuel, continuing support of lawyer mental health and wellness initiatives, and encouraging gender equality and diversity in leadership. Michelle also highlights her favorite accomplishment–the bar’s summit on criminal justice at which the bar collaborated with stakeholders in the criminal justice system on important issues to encourage much needed reform.

Continuing with updates on case law in this series from the Florida Bar Annual Convention, host Laurence Colletti talks to Denis deVlaming about his presentation on criminal law. Together, they review some of the noteworthy cases from 2018 and 2019 and discuss how they affect the practice of criminal law. They survey a wide variety of cases, including Madison vs Alabama, which dealt with a defendant suffering from dementia on death row and Carpenter vs United States, a case on privacy rights relating to warrantless searches of cell phone location data. Tune in to hear Denis’s full inventory of interesting criminal cases.

Denis deVlaming is a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Florida.

Leadership of the Florida Bar is changing! In this episode from the Annual Convention, host Christine Bilbrey talks to Dori Foster-Morales about her role as president-elect in the year ahead. Dori talks about her support of bar president John Stewart’s planned focus on technology and then shares goals for her own presidency beginning in June 2020. They also discuss how she maintains a healthy work-life balance when managing multiple commitments.

Dori Foster-Morales is a board certified marital and family lawyer and partner at Foster-Morales Sockel-Stone.

Doing estate planning early and often helps families avoid uncomfortable issues later in life. Florida Bar Annual Convention co-presenters Peggy Hoyt and Alex Douglas join host Geoff Probst in a discussion of the latest elder law and estate planning updates. They survey case law and practice tips in many areas including qualified beneficiaries, homestead issues, guardianship, irrevocable trust, and even estate planning for pets. They encourage listeners to find their entire presentation in the solo/small firm section of the Florida Bar site after the convention ends.

Peggy Hoyt is a founding partner of Hoyt & Bryan where she practices in the areas of family wealth and legacy counselling, including elder law.

Alex Douglas handles a wide variety of probate and trust litigation, fiduciary litigation, and contested guardianship cases with Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson.

Need legal assistance but don’t have out-of-pocket money for a lawyer? Fear not, there are prepaid legal insurance plans that can help you. At this year’s Annual Convention of the Florida Bar, host Laurence Colletti welcomes legal insurance expert Howard Rosenblatt to talk about affordable access to the legal system. They begin the discussion explaining the difference between Chapter 9 and Chapter 642, and then dive into why legal insurance can be very beneficial for those seeking legal assistance and for attorneys. Howard then continues to breakdown the types of legal matters the insurance does and doesn’t cover and why quality of service matters for both parties.

Howard M. Rosenblatt is an attorney specializing in estate planning, probate, and elder law.

Recent Supreme Court decisions are creating significant changes in the practice of employment law. Hosted by Geoff Probst at the Florida Bar Annual Convention, Kevin Johnson discusses what lawyers need to know about these developments. They highlight recent cases and examine how Kisor vs. Wilkie affects the balance of power between courts and agencies. Later, they briefly discuss employment law developments around the classification of gig economy employees and the impacts of medical marijuana in drug-free workplaces.

Kevin D. Johnson is a shareholder of Johnson Jackson LLC and has represented management in labor and employment law matters for 25 years.

Lawyers in Florida are expected to be competent with technology; the Florida Supreme Court has even made it a CLE requirement. But meeting the bare minimum requirements shouldn’t be enough. At the Florida Bar’s Annual Convention, panelists Janette Smith, Christine Senne, and Anessa Allen Santos join host Jonathan Israel to share some of their insights on the tools lawyers should be using to improve their practice; where they can find resources on how to work smarter and not harder; and how the bar is taking a leading role in facilitating this training.

Janette Smith is an attorney providing consulting services to local governments, non-profit entities, and law firms interested in streamlining technology.

Christine Senne is vice president of legal and compliance for Fluent and serves as of counsel with Manson Bolves Donaldson Varn, PA, with whom she practices environmental law.

Anessa Allen Santos is the founder and managing attorney of IntelliLaw.

Keep current on the latest developments in business case law with this overview from CLE presenter Paige Greenlee at the 2019 Florida Bar Annual Convention. Paige and host Laurence Colletti discuss the Florida case law updates from June 2018 to May 2019. They quickly review each case and its outcome and highlight some of the more colorful situations that led to litigation. From a cruise ship diamond purchase gone wrong to a dispute over a real estate deal at a tailgate party that may have never happened–tune in for this CLE overview!

Paige A. Greenlee founded Greenlee Law PLLC in 2014, after spending twelve years in private practice at both large and mid-sized firms in Tampa.