As President of Florida Chapters American Board of Trial Advocates (FLABOTA), C. Howard Hunter, Shareholder in the Litigation Group and head of the Health Care Litigation Team of Hill Ward Henderson, welcomed members to the 16th Annual FLABOTA Convention at the Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg. Over 60 trial lawyers gathered at the convention representing more than 50 firms throughout the state of Florida.
On Saturday, FLABOTA proudly announced the award selection of Jurist of the Year, Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year, Fran Peacock Coker Community Service Award and the Joseph P. Milton Professionalism and Civility Award during a Banquet as part of the Convention. The following individuals were honored:
Jurist of the Year - Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year - Gary D. Fox of Miami
Fran Peacock Coker Community Service Award - James “Coach” Day of Jacksonville
Joseph P. Milton Professionalism and Civility Award - Michael T. Callahan of St. Petersburg
In addition to the continuing legal and judicial educational discussions held during the conference, FLABOTA hosted the Joseph P. Milton Memorial Golf Tournament. During the golf tournament, Mr. Hunter presented the President of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Michael Callahan with Callahan Martinez, LLC, with a check for $12,500 to benefit ABOTA’s Youth Education Initiatives. The three initiatives of the Youth Education program are Justice By the People, The James Otis Lecture Series and the Teachers’ Law School. The Justice By the People program brings the Constitution and the jury system to life in a classroom with hands-on, multimedia learning experience to 5th through 8th grade students. The James Otis Lecture Series educates and inspires students across the nation to develop knowledge and respect for the United States Constitution. The Teachers’ Law School is designed for middle school and high school government, social studies, history, law and civics educators, exposes participants to presentations, roundtables and workshops on topics aimed at giving teachers the tools to help their students understand and appreciate the value of the American Civil and criminal legal systems and the role those systems play in students’ lives and society.
Following the Golf Tournament, FLABOTA held its Annual Meeting thanking Mr. Hunter for his leadership over the past year and welcoming the new Board of Directors. To see a list of the directors, go to: http://www.flabota.org/board-of-directors
FLABOTA is one of four regional chapters chartered by the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) that is dedicated to defending the American civil justice system. FLABOTA’s goals and purposes are the same as ABOTA and is uniquely qualified to speak about the value of the constitutionally mandated jury system as the protector of the rights of persons and property.