WHEREAS, on September 12, 2011, the Florida Supreme Court amended the oath of admission to the Florida Bar to include a pledge of “fairness, integrity, and civility” to the court and opponents “in all written and oral communications” (the “Oath of Civility”);
WHEREAS, voluntary bar associations throughout South Florida, including those listed in the attached Addendum1 (the “South Florida VBAs”), recognize that many attorneys maintain inter-county practices where they appear before state and federal courts, government agencies, arbitrators, and other quasi-judicial forums throughout South Florida;
WHEREAS, the South Florida VBAs acknowledge that a joint effort to promote the Oath of Civility on a regional level will help promote a more uniform standard of civility and consistent application of standards of professional courtesy across the South Florida counties;
WHEREAS, the South Florida VBAs recognize that their effort to promote the Oath of Civility within their respective counties should attempt to reach members and non-members of the South Florida VBAs to ensure that the message of civility is disseminated to all attorneys practicing within the VBA's counties and not just to active members of the VBAs;
WHEREAS, the successful promotion of the Oath of Civility requires the active participation of, and communication from, the South Florida VBAs to the attorneys in their respective communities; and
WHEREAS, the South Florida VBAs recognize that it is important to have the South Florida courts, through their respective Chief Judges, affirm and agree to support this resolution together with the South Florida VBAs.
IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:
The South Florida VBAs jointly resolve that they shall work together to actively promote the Oath of Civility and adherence to accepted standards of professional courtesy across the South Florida VBAs’ respective counties;
The South Florida VBAs hereby resolve to jointly promote the above through a series of articles, seminars, membership lunches, press releases, and correspondence directed to members and non-members of the South Florida VBAs’ respective counties; and
The South Florida VBAs, through their respective Officers, Boards of Directors, and Professionalism Committees, shall work with the Chief Judges of South Florida’s courts to promote the above in a manner most likely to improve civility awareness and adherence to accepted standards of professional courtesy.
The South Florida VBAs resolve to promote the Oath of Civility and adherence to accepted standards of professional courtesy to attorneys appearing before the state and federal courts, government agencies, arbitrators and other quasi-judicial forums throughout South Florida.
Accepted and approved:
/s Federico A. Moreno
Hon. Federico A. Moreno
Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Florida
/s Paul G. Hyman
Hon. Paul G. Hyman
Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of Florida
/s Melanie G. May
Hon. Melanie G. May
Chief Judge, Fourth District Court of Appeal
/s Frank A. Shepherd
Hon. Frank A. Shepherd
Chief Judge, Third District Court of Appeal
/s Peter D. Blanc
Hon. Peter D. Blanc
Chief Judge, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit
/s Joel H. Brown
Hon. Joel H. Brown
Chief Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit
/s Peter M. Weinstein
Hon. Peter M. Weinstein
Chief Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit
/s Steven J. Levin
Hon. Steven J. Levin
Chief Judge, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit
The Addendum shall be a living document that will be intermittently updated as additional bar associations pledge their approval of this Joint Resolution.
Addendum
The following South Florida Voluntary Bar Associations, through their respective Officers and Boards of Directors, have accepted and approved the foregoing Joint Resolution.
/s Adam Rabin
Adam Rabin, President
Palm Beach County Bar Association
/s Garrett Biondo
Garrett Biondo, President
Dade County Bar Association
/s Greg Weiss
Greg Weiss, President
Martin County Bar Association
/s Larry Corman
Larry Corman, President
South Palm Beach County Bar Association
/s Deborah Poore Fitzgerald
Deborah Poore Fitzgerald, President
Broward County Bar Association
/s Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz
Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz, President
Cuban American Bar Association
/s Daniel Zuniga
Daniel Zuniga, President
Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association
/s Lynn Solomon
Lynn Solomon, President
F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr. Bar Association
/s Leora Freire
Leora Freire, President
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Palm Beach County Chapter Version 5.0
/s Brett Barfield
Brett Barfield, President
Federal Bar Association
South Florida Chapter
/s Jessica Callow Mason
Jessica Callow Mason, President
Craig S. Barnard American Inn of Court
Palm Beach County Chapter
/s Jason Jones
Jason Jones, President
Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern
District of Florida
/s Saman Movassaghi
Saman Movassaghi, President
Florida Muslim Bar Association
/s Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson, President
Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association
/s Peter Spillis
Peter K. Spillis, President
American Board of Trial Advocates
Miami-Dade Chapter
/s Stephanie Moot
Stephanie N. Moot, President
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of
South Florida
/s Richard Robles
Richard R. Robles, President
Puerto Rican Bar Association of Florida
/s Haydee Sera
Haydee Sera, President
Miami Lakes Bar Association
/s Carol Green
Carol N. Green, President
Caribbean Bar Association
/s Michael Pike
Michael Pike, President
Palm Beach County Justice Association
/s Angelina Namia
Angelina Namia, President
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
South Palm Beach Chapter
/s Bruce Ramsey
Bruce Ramsey, President
American Board of Trial Advocates
Palm Beach Chapter
/s Laura Mall
Laura Mall, President
Christian Legal Society
Palm Beach County Chapter
/s Kimberly Gilmour
Kimberly Gilmour, President
Federal Bar Association
Broward County Chapter
/s Sumeet Chugani
Sumeet Chugani, President
South Asian Bar Association of Florida
/s Kelly Reagan
Kelly Reagan, President
Federal Bar Association
Palm Beach County Chapter
/s Scott Golden
E. Scott Golden, President
Broward County Christian Lawyers Association
/s Marisol Gomez-Decena
Marisol Gomez-Decena, President
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Miami-Dade Chapter
/s Jude Faccidomo
Jude M. Faccidomo, President
Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Miami Chapter
/s Olanike Adebayo
Olanike Adebayo, President
Gwen S. Cherry Black Lawyers Association
/s Stephanie Ducheine-Welsh
Stephanie Ducheine-Welsh, President
Haitian Lawyers Association
/s Diana Santa Maria
Diana Santa Maria, President
American Board of Trial Advocates
Fort Lauderdale Chapter
/s Laura Wendell
Laura Wendell, President
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
/s Rebecca Emmons
Rebecca Emmons, President
Indian River County Bar Association
/s Hon. Martin Bidwill
Hon. Martin Bidwill, President
Stephen R. Booher American Inn of Court
Broward County Chapter
s/ Antony Ryan
Antony Ryan, President
Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Palm Beach Chapter
Version 5.0
/s Anthony Visone
Anthony Visone, President
Port St. Lucie Bar Association
/s Hugh Eighmie
Hugh Eighmie, President
St. Lucie Bar Association
/s Margaret Wood
Margaret Wood, President
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Martin County Chapter
/s Tameika Jackson
Tameika Jackson, President
Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Martin County Chapter
/s Stephen Marino
Stephen Marino, President
Miami-Dade Justice Association
/s Deborah Hooker
Deborah Hooker, President
Okeechobee Bar Association
Version 5.0