F.A.W.L. JOURNAL
A Publication of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers
AUTUMN 2005
Balancing
the Scales
INSIDE
THIS
ISSUE
2005 ANNUAL MEETING
Page 4
FAWL MONITORS
JUDICIAL SELECTION
MEET THE LEADERSHIP
Page 12
Page 9
FAWL & THE FLORIDA BAR
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
BREAKFAST & BOOKS
CHAPTER/
MEMBER NEWS
Page 6
Page 11
Page 18–19
FAWL EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
£June McKinney Bartelle . . . . . . . . .850/414-3771
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . junemesq@sprintpcs.com
£Wendy Loquasto. . . . . . . . . . . . . .850/425-1333
President-elect
wendyloquasto@flappeal.com
£Mary K. Wimsett . . . . . . . . . . . . .352/374-3656
Secretary
Maryk.Wimsett@gal.fl.gov
£Amy Furness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305/530-0050
Treasurer
afurness@carltonfields.com
£Carolyn C. Coukos . . . . . . . . . . . .941/495-6729
Treasurer-elect
ccoukos@earthlink.net
£Sherri L. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . .941/952-1070
Communications
sjohnson@dentjohnson.com
£Mary C. Gomez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305/818-7030
Membership
gomezlaw@bellsouth.net
£Rebecca Harrison Steele . . . . . .813/254-0925
Public Relations
rsteele@aclufl.org
£Deborah Magid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305/770-4892
Past President
miamidadefawl@hotmail.com
£Pat Stephens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .850/894-0055
Executive Director
fawl@fawl.org
CHAPTER PRESIDENTS
£BARRY WOMEN LAWYERS
ASSOCIATION
Christina Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . .407/719-5501
cvj100@msn.com
£BROWARD COUNTY WOMEN
LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
Jennifer A. Anzalone . . . . . . . . .954/377-8100
janzalone@fowler-white.com
£CENTRAL FLORIDA ASSOCIATION
FOR WOMEN LAWYERS
Mary Musette Stewart . . . . . . . .407/425-2571
mms@stumplaw.com
£CLARA GEHAN ASSOCIATION
FOR WOMEN LAWYERS
Lucy Goddard-Teel. . . . . . . . . . .352/955-5022
lucy_goddard@dcf.state.fl.us
£AMICUS
Siobhan Shea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .561/655-4114
shea@sheappeals.com
£AWARDS
Barbara Twine-Thomas . . . . . . .813/221-4454
btwine-thomas@dssalaw.com
£BREAKFAST & BOOKS
Jacqueline Buyze . . . . . . . . . . . . .239/514-1000
jbuyze@gfpac.com
£BYLAWS
Patricia L. Morgan . . . . . . . . . . .352/754-4166
pattim1996@yahoo.com
£EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES SECTION LIAISON
Tammy Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .561/355-4398
tfields@co.palm-beach.fl.us
£HISTORIAN
Dinita L. James . . . . . . . . . . . . . .813/261-7858
shernandez@adorno.com
£NORTHWEST FLORIDA
CHAPTER FAWL
Abigail Sanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . .850/429-7408
sanderspl@cox.net
£NOVA LAW CENTER CHAPTER
Sarah Dubman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .954/554-5631
dubmans@nsu.law.nova.edu
£PALM BEACH COUNTY
ASSOCIATION
FOR WOMEN LAWYERS
Victoria A. Vilchez . . . . . . . . . . .561/471-0001
V2flalaw@aol.com
£COLLIER COUNTY WOMENS’
BAR ASSOCIATION
Jacqueline Buyze . . . . . . . . . . . . .239/514-1000
£PINELLAS COUNTY
ASSOCIATION
FOR WOMEN LAWYERS
Donna Rose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .727/443-2999
£HILLSBOROUGH ASSOCIATION
FOR WOMEN LAWYERS
Sarah H. Dennis . . . . . . . . . . . . .813/209-5058
£SARASOTA FAWL
Marjorie A. Schmoyer . . . . . . . .941/954-0064
jbuyze@gfpac.com
sarah.dennis@akerman.com
FAWL COMMITTEES
£MIAMI-DADE FAWL
Sandra Hernandez . . . . . . . . . . .305/358-3580
£JACKSONVILLE WOMEN
LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
Deborah Greene . . . . . . . . . . . . .904/359-5505
dgreene@smith-greene.com
£LEE COUNTY ASSOCIATION
FOR WOMEN LAWYERS
Josephine Gagliardi . . . . . . . . . .239/481-4435
jgagli6361@aol.com
£MANATEE COUNTY FAWL
Ginger Perusek . . . . . . . . . . . . . .941/745-1500
gperusek@verizon.net
£MARION COUNTY FAWL
Janet L. Fuller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352/351-2222
janetf@accmb.com
£MIAMI LAW SCHOOL,
WOMEN IN LAW
Shaena Rowland . . . . . . . . . . . . .732/841-7434
vonall4him@aol.com
marjories@att.net
£SOUTH PALM BEACH
COUNTY CHAPTER
Lisa M. Peraza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .561/603-0120
lisaperaza@bellsouth.net
£ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY
LAW SCHOOL CHAPTER
Jessica Larramendi Menjivar
larramendi_menjivar@yahoo.com
£FAWL AT STETSON
Kate Egelston
egelstonk@law.stetson.edu
£TALLAHASSEE WOMEN LAWYERS
Mary Ellen Clark. . . . . . . . . . . . .850/414-3764
meclarkesq@aol.com
£VOLUSIA/FLAGLER
Monica Hirsch Wilson. . . . . . . .386/615-6815
monicahw@cfl.rr.com
shae84@att.net
djames@fordharrison.com
£JUDICIAL MONITORING
Evelyn L. Moya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .941/321-2990
F L O R I D A A S S O C I AT I O N F O R W O M E N L AW Y E R S
£LEGISLATIVE
Kendra Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .850/224-6400
VISIT US ON THE WEB
moyalex@comcast.net
kdavis@parkscrump.com
£NOMINATING
Deborah Magid . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305/770-4892
P.O. BOX 15998 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32317-5998 • 850/894-0055
www.fawl.org
FOR MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
AND ADVERTISING INFORMATION.
miamidadefawl@hotmail.com
£SCHNEIDER AND DAVIS FUNDS
Paola Parra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .904/398-9002
parra@harrisguidi.com
£VIRGIL HAWKINS LIAISON
Rachelle R. Munson . . . . . . . . . .407/623-1051
ARTICLE SUBMISSION:
We encourage authors to submit articles through FAWL’s editor,
Sherri Johnson, at sjohnson@dentjohnson.com,
or contact the Association’s office as referenced above.
rachelle.munson@awi.state.fl.us
2
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Balancing the Scales
I
am honored to
serve as Florida
Association for
by
Women Lawyers’
June C.
54th President. I
McKinney
promise to serve
Bartelle
with enthusiasm and
to dedicate myself to working diligently
to fulfill the mission and goals of our
organization. To date, I have attended
the 80th National Bar Association
(NBA) Convention and brought
greetings on your behalf; I met with
the NBA Women Lawyers Division
and represented you on the dais at
their annual breakfast; I attended the
August Board of Governors’ meeting
and represented you there as well.
FAWL’s theme for the 20052006 year, is “Balancing the Scales”
is appropriate because when
I look at the bigger picture
there is still much work ahead
to ensure that women are
appropriately represented
throughout the legal profession.
I am intrigued and excited to
be part of an organization that
dedicates itself to increasing
the number of women leaders
in our profession. As we build
on our past and focus on our
future, we look forward to
another banner year for FAWL.
I am proud of the fact that
FAWL has become a place
for women in Florida’s legal
profession to coalesce, do
business, develop skills, find
mentors and benefit from the stories
and experiences of others just like
themselves. FAWL serves as a support
system for women who face issues
and challenges that are specific to
their gender, and which are frequently
encountered in the legal profession.
It is not uncommon for people
outside of FAWL to still ask “Why
do we need a women lawyers’
organization?” The obvious reasons are
that although women account for 31
percent of The Florida Bar we represent
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
only 26.4 percent of judges on the bench
and 17 percent of the Board of Governors.
The time has come to provide the kind of
support and training that will help move
more women into the kind of decisionmaking positions that make up the
leadership of the legal profession. We can
accomplish this by working together to
put our collective best “feet” forward. Our
efforts will embrace four specific areas:
our membership. Not only does it
put us in a position of keeping our
membership informed about ongoing
Bar issues, it also positions us to
advocate. As your representative,
I have offered FAWL’s assistance
to the Bar in any efforts to help
increase the number of women
on the Board of Governors and
in other key legal positions.
THE JUDICIARY
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s
retirement is a benchmark and
reminds us that her appointment to
the United States Supreme Court
took 91 years. Fortunately, Senate
Bill No. 2048 increases the number
of judges in Florida. And, FAWL
has committed itself to work to help
ACTIVE ROLE IN THE LEGISLATURE
FAWL once again has a lobbyist.
This year FAWL will play a more
active role in the legislative process
as our lobbyist Yolanda Cash
Jackson advocates FAWL’s issues.
If you have a concern or issue,
please communicate the same to
one of FAWL’s Board members.
BREAKFAST AND BOOKS
Finally, FAWL will continue
its award winning Breakfast
and Books Project with Pace
Center for Girls. As a volunteer
in the book club program last
year, I believe mentoring the
girls was greatly rewarding for
both the PACE participants and
the lawyers who volunteered
to work with the girls.
women have a level playing field in the
judicial process. To this end, FAWL is
publishing the judicial vacancies and
continuing to monitor JNC interviews
to ensure a fair and unbiased process.
ROLE ON THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
As FAWL’s President, I serve as an
Ex Officio Member on the Board of
Governors of The Florida Bar. During
the August meeting, I learned that
FAWL’s role is an important one that
can help effectuate positive changes for
With each of the components
of Balancing the Scales, I
believe that we will expand our
outreach and ultimately increase
our roles in leadership thereby
improving the legal system and
our society. Just as early pioneers
worked to obtain opportunities for
us as women, we must continue to
work hard in order to strengthen
our competitive positions in the
legal community. Accordingly, we
must invest in ourselves and take
the time to support each other.
In this vein, FAWL is unveiling
Part I in a series of Leadership
FAWL programs on January 20,
2006. The series of programs will
£ PRESIDENT, Continued on Page 9
3
2005 ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
A
Justice
Peggy
Quince
administers
the oath of
office to June
McKinney
Bartelle.
champagne reception, Tribute to Our
Lady Justices, honoring Chief Justice
Barbara Pariente and Justice Peggy Quince
was hosted by the Association. The event, held
in conjunction with The Florida Bar’s Annual
Meeting at the Marriott World Center Resort,
also provided an opportunity for Pariente
to officially conduct the “swearing-in” of
FAWL’s 2005-2006 officers, followed by the
oath of office for President June McKinney
Bartelle, administered by Justice Quince.
The following day, FAWL members
joined the Equal Opportunities Law Section
of The Florida Bar and the Virgil Hawkins
Florida Chapter National Bar Association in
a joint awards luncheon featuring keynote
speaker Robert J. Grey, Jr., President of
the American Bar Association. FAWL
presented two awards at the joint luncheon:
The Distinguished Executive Award to
Nancy Daniels and the 2005 Rosemary
Barkett Award to Judge Patricia Seitz. e
Nancy Daniels Receives FAWL
Distinguished Executive Award
H
er office has approximately 40 percent
women employees, and women attorneys
head up her capitol division, misdemeanor
division, an appellate division, and her
Quincy office. For her active recruitment and
promotion of women and minorities, FAWL
recognized the Hon. Nancy Daniels, Public
Defender for the 2nd Judicial Circuit, with
the 2005 Distinguished Executive Award.
The Distinguished Executive Award, which was established this
year, was intended to recognize an employer who has encouraged the
employment and promotion of women and minority attorneys. FAWL
selected Nancy Daniels as the first recipient of the award because, in
addition to hiring and promoting women, her office allows job-sharing,
part-time employment, and telecommuting, which have been used by
employees who suffer from disabilities and those who have small children.
In addition, when the public defenders received a raise from the legislature,
she chose to distribute that pay increase among her employees.
Daniels was elected in 1990 as Florida’s first female public
defender. She is an active member of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers,
President-Elect of the Tallahassee Bar Association, and is currently
serving as President of the Florida Public Defender Association. e
Judge Seitz Receives Achievement Award
J
udge Patricia Seitz, the first woman
to be elected President of the Florida
Bar, was recognized by FAWL for her
achievements with the Rosemary Barkett
Outstanding Achievement Award. The
award is given out annually to a FAWL
member who has demonstrated a
commitment to the purpose and goals
of FAWL, and who has excelled in their
career, overcome traditional stereotypes
associated with women, and promoted the
status of women within the profession.
Judge Seitz was the first woman lawyer
hired by the law firm of Steel, Hector &
Davis. She has been very active in the
4
Bar, having served on the YLD Board
of Governors, the Board of Governors,
and the ABA House of Delegates, before
being elected President of the Florida
Bar in 1993. In 1996, she was appointed
chief legal counsel of the Office of the
National Drug Control Policy. Then, in
1998, President Clinton appointed her
to the United States District Court for
the Southern District of Florida. She
has previously been recognized by the
Miami-Dade Chapter of FAWL with the
Judge Mattie Belle Davis Award, and the
Hillsborough Association of Women
Lawyers Achievement Award. e
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
We greatly acknowledge the following
FAWL Mattie Belle Davis
Society Sustaining Members:
Nancy Toman Baldwin
Hon. Judith A. Brechner
4
4
Caryn Goldenberg Carvo
Mary Ellen Clark
Ava K. Doppelt
4
Cesar R. Camacho
4
Susan H. Churuti
Jennifer R. Coberly
Hon. Joseph P. Farina
Hon. Gill S. Freeman
Chief Justice Barbara
Pariente swears in
the 2005-2006 officers:
(above, from left) Wendy
Loquasto, PresidentElect; Sherri Johnson,
Communications
Editor; Mary Gomez,
Membership Chair;
Amy Furness, Treasurer;
Mary K. Wimsett,
Secretary; and Carolyn
Coukos, Treasurer-Elect.
Missing is Rebecca
Steele, Public
Relations Chair.
4
Henrietta Biscoe
Amy Furness
4
Sharon M. Hanlon
C. Sha’Ron James
M. Catherine Lannon
4
4
4
4
Wendy Loquasto
Paola Parra
4
4
Vene M. Hamilton
4
4
Julie Koves
Deborah Magid
Elizabeth Ann Morgan
Nola M. Richardson
Hon. Winfred J. Sharp
Linda Carol Singer
Susan W. Fox
Marilyn J. Hochman
Dinita L. James
June C. McKinney Bartelle
4
4
4
Siobhan Shea
Bonnie Sockel-Stone
Diane M. Van Ness
ABA President Robert Grey, Jr.
and FAWL President June C.
McKinney Bartelle at the
awards luncheon.
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
In honor of Judge Mattie Belle Davis and her extraordinary lifelong
commitment to FAWL and women lawyers, FAWL created the “Judge
Mattie Belle Davis Society” in June of 2004. Becoming a member of the
“MBD Society” continues Judge Davis’s dream and ensures the healthy
existence of FAWL through an annual contribution to FAWL’s general
operating fund, above and beyond regular FAWL dues. To become a
member, check the last box on the membership application at www.
fawl.org. Complete the form and send it, together with your check for
$100, to: FAWL, P.O. Box 15998, Tallahassee, FL 32317.
5
FAWL CHRONICLES
FAWL’s Role with The Florida Bar Board of Governors
I
t was nearly a
quarter century
ago that the FAWL
President became
a “liaison” to The
Florida Bar Board
of Governors
by
(BOG). Debra
Weiss Goodstone
Wendy
was the first
Loquasto
FAWL President
FAWL
President-Elect
to sit at the BOG
table. In her
“Report for 1982-83” she explained:
The Bar became more and
more important and it seemed
that in order to fully integrate, we
needed a solid relationship with The
Florida Bar. It seemed reasonable
that just as committees of the Bar
and other organizations enjoyed a
Board of Governors’ liaison, FAWL
should have one. So I asked. But
it was not just for the asking. I
began attending Board meetings,
politicking and educating, and
seeking support. Miraculously,
numerous offers to serve as liaison,
even before our right to a liaison
was granted, were made by men
and Kay Finley of Key West, the
only woman on the Board. I was
even invited to sit at the awesome
square Board of Governors’ table,
which filled the room. Although,
admittedly, it took a time or two
before I quite felt comfortable
pulling my chair all the way up.
Mattie Belle Davis, A History of Florida
Association for Women Lawyers 1951-2002
123 (2002) (hereinafter “FAWL History”).
Debra’s comment that the liaison
“was not just for the asking” reflects
not only what she went through to
gain the right to a FAWL Liaison,
but it also speaks to FAWL’s prior
efforts to gain access to the BOG.
FAWL has always believed that
equality for women lawyers must be
pursued through The Florida Bar. With
only 150 women lawyers in the entire
state of Florida in 1950, the founding
members of FAWL realized that women
6
needed to demonstrate their presence so
their viewpoints could be heard. Thus, it
was no coincidence that the founders of
FAWL voted to hold all future meetings
at the same time and place as The
Florida Bar convention. Id. at 29-30.
Representation on the BOG was a goal
for FAWL at least since 1953, when the
late Judge Mattie Belle Davis presented a
resolution that FAWL apply to the BOG to
create a “Women Lawyers Section” of The
Florida Bar and provide for representation
of the section on the BOG. Id. at 35. A
comparison to the “Junior Bar Section”
(now the Young Lawyers
Division) could be
easily made, since
women, who were
few in number,
faced gender bias in
the legal profession
that closed many
doors and
made it unlikely
Mattie Belle Davis
that a woman
would ever win an election to become
a circuit’s representative on the BOG.
Discussions were had over the next
two years as to whether FAWL should
seek to become a section of the Bar
with representation on the BOG, or if
FAWL should remain an independent
organization. Id. at 35. In 1955, FAWL
decided to remain an independent
association based on the recommendation
of Florida Supreme Court Justice B.K.
Roberts and Florida Bar President
Darrey Davis, who had assured FAWL
that he would appoint women lawyers
to Bar committees and would welcome a
woman member on the BOG. Id. at 40.
Recognition by the Bar was still
some time off. In her “Report for 19611962,” President Virginia Anne Jordan
announced that the Bar “had finally
recognized FAWL as an integral part
of the Bar. For the first time as FAWL
President she would give a brief report at
the final business meeting of The Florida
Bar on Saturday morning, and she would
introduce the incoming FAWL President,
who would have a special place at the
annual banquet on Saturday evening.” She
expressed hope that this would become
a tradition. She also reported that FAWL
had secured membership on the Florida
Council of Bar Presidents. Id. at 66.
In the late 1960s, Florida Bar
presidents were conducting the
installation of the FAWL Board of
Directors. Fletcher G. Rush did so at
the annual meeting on June 22, 1967,
and William P. Simmons, Jr. did
so on May 23, 1968. Id. at 76, 79.
As the 1969 Women Lawyers
Centennial approached, women lawyers
in Florida numbered only 200 and only
7,500 nationally. Id. at 81. Representation
on the BOG was still lacking, so FAWL
adopted resolutions to voice its concern
about issues pertinent to women lawyers.
One resolution recommended to the
BOG that “a prompt and adequate reform
of the existing procedures [be made]
with the view of expediting all grievance
matters and assuring uniformity thereof,”
and a second resolution requested that
BOG “make the Chairman of the Florida
Council of Bar Association Presidents an
associate member at large of the Board
of Governors.” Id. at 82. This second act
was probably done in anticipation of
FAWL Past President Phyllis Shampanier
becoming President of the Florida
Council of Bar Association Presidents,
which she did in 1972. Id. at 95.
FAWL’s struggle for representation
on the BOG found support in the
form of Florida Supreme Court
Justice James C. Adkins, Jr., who
said in his speech on the occasion of
the Women Lawyers Centennial:
The third task of the great
woman lawyer is to do her
part individually and as a
member of the organized bar
to improve her profession, the
courts and the law. Every lawyer
owes some of her time to the
upbuilding of the legal profession.
Collectively they should insist
that the Florida Association
of Women Lawyers be given a
representative on the board of
governors of The Florida Bar.
Id. at 85.
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
“Every lawyer owes some of her time to the upbuilding
of the legal profession. Collectively they should insist that
the Florida Association of Women Lawyers be given a
representative on the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar.”
Spurred on
by this support,
FAWL submitted
—FORMER SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA JUSTICE JAMES
an application for
membership on the
BOG in 1970, which was submitted to the
activities, both on local and state levels. Id.
Integration Committee of The Florida Bar
at 116. The fruits of FAWL’s labors were
for its consideration and recommendation. seen when Kay Finley and Past President
FAWL President Frances Ann Jamieson
Shampanier were elected to the BOG in
reported that several members of the
1981 and 1982, respectively. Id. at 117.
BOG were enthusiastic about FAWL
Patricia Fawsett joined the BOG in 1984.
having one of its members on the Board.
FAWL President Marjorie Bekaert
However, Florida Bar President Burton
Thomas commented in her “Report
Young suggested FAWL members
for 1983-1984,” that “A strong Board
seek election to the BOG. Id. at 90.
and greatly increased visibility for
The decade of the 1970s saw many
FAWL resulted in better liaison with
changes for Florida women lawyers. The
The Florida Bar. FAWL was the first
women’s movement resulted in women
organization invited to attend all of the
entering law schools in greater numbers
Bar’s meetings in an ex officio capacity, as
and they were finally comprising 10
a means of encouraging a closer working
percent of the law student body. In
relationship between FAWL and The
1978, women were the fastest growing
Florida Bar.” Id. at 130. Thus, the “FAWL
minority in the Bar. Id. at 106. The
Liaison” on the BOG was created.
growing number of women lawyers was
FRANCES
also noted in The Florida Bar News in
ANN
JAMIESON
April 1979, when it was reported that
First
women lawyers then number about
woman
seven percent of Bar’s 24,000 members.
elected to
FAWL History, 107. With these growing
Board of
numbers, women finally broke the glass
Governors
ceiling on the BOG when Past President
Jamieson won a contested election to
became the first woman member of
the BOG on June 18, 1977. Id. at 92.
FAWL began the work of encouraging
its members to take part in The Florida
FAWL continued its efforts to achieve
Bar through educating and training
greater participation in Bar activities
programs. The December 1980 edition
throughout the 1980s. In 1984, FAWL was
of FAWL News reported that 2,000 of the
encouraging its members to apply for Bar
27,000 Bar members were women, but
Committees. Id. at 129. Throughout the
noted women were rarely in the Bar’s
remainder of the 1980s, FAWL Presidents
power structure. Id. at 113. Patricia
Gill Freeman, Mary Jane Nettles
Seitz, a FAWL member on the Executive
Henderson, Diane Van Ness, Maura
Committee of the Young Lawyers Section
Smith and Andrea Hillyer each took her
of The Florida Bar Board of Governors,
turn as the FAWL Liaison to the BOG by
was recruited to speak at the January
traveling around the state and attending
1981 midyear meeting on involvement in
the BOG meetings. Visits to the FAWL
Bar activities. Id. At the February 1982
Chapters were almost always coupled
midyear meeting, Florida Bar President
with the FAWL President’s liaison duties,
Samuel S. Smith spoke on “Breaking
and many Chapter Presidents hosted the
into the Good Old Boys’ Network” and
FAWL President in their homes. FAWL
he gave suggestions as to how women
encouraged BOG members, which,
lawyers could more fully participate in Bar by 1987, included four women (Seitz,
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
YLS President
Bette Quiat and
Public Members
C. ADKINS, JR.
Wilhelmina
Tribble and
Ruth Ann Bramson) to attend the
FAWL meetings. It was a natural step
in the progression when in November
1987 FAWL held its first Board Meeting
in conjunction with the BOG meeting
in Gainesville. Later, Bekaert Thomas
hosted a special reception for the BOG
and the C-FAWL Chapter in her Orlando
home. Id. at 146. With the election of
Sandy Karlan to the BOG in 1988,
FAWL had yet another member on the
BOG to further its goals. Id. at 151.
Edith Osman brought FAWL’s
involvement with the BOG to new heights
when she became the first president to
hold the FAWL Retreat in conjunction
with the BOG and its Young Lawyers
Section retreat and meeting in July 1989.
Id. at 154. A fabulous dessert reception
hosted by FAWL for the BOG was a
smash, and is still talked about to this day.
Id. at 155. Osman also planned FAWL
Board Meetings on a bimonthly basis,
attempting to follow the BOG around
the state. This scheduling served the dual
purposes of allowing the FAWL Board to
build relations with the FAWL Chapters
and keeping the FAWL Board in close
contact with the BOG. The September
1989 FAWL Board Meeting was held
in conjunction with the Bar’s annual
meeting of sections and committees in
Tampa, and the November meeting was
held in Gainesville, where FAWL and the
8th Circuit Chapter hosted a breakfast
meeting and all were invited to attend a
BBQ and football game with the BOG.
Id. at 156. This close working relationship
resulted in FAWL’s participation in
the first All Bar Conference in January
1990, at which FAWL had 15 delegates
from the FAWL Chapters. Id. at 157.
The time was ripe for FAWL
leadership on the BOG. In 1990, FAWL
member Seitz became the first woman
to run for president-elect of the BOG.
Id. at 161. She was, of course, victorious
and went on to become the first woman
7
of a disciplinary rule that
prohibited the initiation
Florida Bar president in 1992of a sexual relationships
93. Id. The second woman Bar
between an attorney and
president, Osman, was already
his or her client, which was
beginning her ascent, having
first brought to the Board’s
been elected to the BOG in
attention by President
1991. Id. at 159. By 1993, seven
Virginia Daire
Daire, and the
of the 51 BOG members were
First Annual Minority Bar
women: Seitz, Raquel Matas,
Summit was held on June
Dianne Saulney Gaines, Edith
Edith Osman
24, 1995. Id. at 185 & 187.
Osman, Marsha Rydberg,
For the past ten years FAWL
Evett Simmons and Marguerite
presidents have continued in their role
Boyd, an out-of-state member.
as FAWL Liaison to the BOG. President
With women coming into leadership
Tonia Yazgi offered FAWL’s perspective
on the BOG, FAWL Presidents Ava
on important issues. President Sharon
Doppelt, Leslie Reicin Stein and Mary
Bleier Glickman appeared in 1996 before
Brennan continued to hold FAWL
the Florida Bar’s Special Committee to
Retreats in conjunction with the BOG
Study the Composition of the Board of
meetings in 1990, 1991 and 1992. In
Governors. She and Lynn Whitfield,
fact, 35 FAWL members were present
Virgil Hawkins President, discussed
at the BOG meeting in July/August
diversity on the BOG and requested
1992, when the anti-bias bar rules were
the three nonvoting minority liaisons
discussed. FAWL continued to exhort
be given the right to vote on the Board,
its members to run for the BOG.
but the request was once again denied.
FAWL began to focus on increasing
President Jennifer Coberly returned
diversity on the BOG under President
Caryn Goldenberg Carvo. In her “Report to the tradition of holding the FAWL
Retreat in conjunction with the BOG
for 1994-1995,” she recounted FAWL’s
meeting in August 1997, during which
efforts to add three minority designated
Osman spoke and encouraged women
voting seats (FAWL, Virgil Hawkins
Florida Chapter, National Bar Association, to be more active in the Bar. Id. at 191,
and the Cuban American Bar Association) 196, 201. Coberly, like Osman, relished
her role as FAWL Liaison and went on
to the BOG and to evaluate and
restructure the Board election procedures. to be elected to the BOG in 2001.
Presidents Katherine Castor and
Carvo stated that this move was “rejected
Jeanmarie Whalen were fortunate to
by the Board, despite irrefutable evidence
be FAWL Liaisons while Osman was
of under-representation of women and
president-elect and president of the Bar
minorities in these positions. Although
in 1998-2000, and the close association
unsuccessful in achieving the objective,
between the Bar and FAWL was
FAWL’s efforts raised the conscious
strengthened with the First 150 Women
awareness of many in The Florida Bar that
Lawyers Celebration, a joint event to
it was well past time to implement other
procedures to increase the participation of celebrate the Bar’s 50th anniversary.
President Barbara Eagan forged a
women and minorities.” Id. at 185. FAWL,
strong bond with Craig Gibbs, the Virgil
in fact, was instrumental in the passage
Hawkins Liaison to the BOG,
during her term, which has
resulted in the joint luncheons
FAWL holds with the Equal
Opportunities Law Section of
The Florida Bar and the Virgil
Hawkins Florida Chapter,
National Bar Association.
FAWL’s voice continued to
be heard through Presidents
Susan Fox, Siobhan Shea,
Dinita James and most recently
through Deborah Magid in
FAWL’s 1989 Dessert Reception
£ CHRONICLES, From Page 5
8
“The effort to add three
minority designated
voting seats to the Board
was rejected by the Board,
despite irrefutable evidence
of under-representation
of women and minorities
in these positions.”
—CARYN GOLDENBERG CARVO,
FAWL PRESIDENT 1994-95
her role as FAWL Liaison during the
term of Kelly Overstreet Johnson,
the Bar’s third woman president.
This year, FAWL President June
McKinney Bartelle will continue the
duties of FAWL Liaison to the BOG. As
FAWL’s first African-American president
and a government lawyer, she epitomizes
diversity in Florida’s legal profession.
Without the support of a private law firm,
McKinney Bartelle, like her predecessor
Magid, will incur substantial financial costs,
but it is a contribution she is willing to
make to ensure that women and minority
voices are heard. She will see nine women
on the 52-member BOG (Kimberly Bald,
Jennifer Coberly, Maryanne Downs,
Nancy Gregoire, Sharon Langer, Denise
Lyn, YLD President Jamie Moses, Lisa
Small and Gwynne Alice Young), but
those nine women constitute only 17
percent of the Board, down from 19.6
percent in 1997. Thus, the fact remains that
women, who are currently 31 percent of
the Bar, continue to be under-represented
on the BOG. It is McKinney Bartelle’s
goal to “Balance the Scales” by, among
other things, increasing the number
of women and minorities on the BOG
and thereby empowering us all. e
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
FAWL to Monitor Selection
of Judges for New Vacancies
By Evelyn L. Moya
E
mboldened by the
latest statistics
showing women are
severely underrepresented
in the judiciary, the Florida Association
for Women Lawyers has sought to revive
its 40-year-old commitment to achieve
gender equity in the court system.
In April 2004, The Florida Bar
reported that 31.2 percent of its members
are women. However, that percentage
is not reflected in the Florida courts:
28.5 percent in the Florida Supreme
Court; 20.9 percent in the appellate
level; 21.7 percent in the circuit level;
and 28.9 percent in the county level.
With the passage of Senate Bill 2048,
amending Sections 26.031 and 34.022 of
the Florida Statutes, the number of judges
on both circuit and county levels would
be increased effective November 2, 2005,
and January 2, 2006. There would be 18
additional circuit judgeships in November
and 18 more on January 2, 2006. On
the county level, the statute calls for 10
new county level judges by November
2005 and 10 more in January 2006.
Even if all of the new judges that
fill the positions created by statute are
women, the ratio of women in Florida’s
judiciary would still be lower than
its reported gender composition.
£ PRESIDENT, From Page 3
provide education, grooming, and
training in various leadership areas.
Leadership FAWL will focus on building
and enhancing strong leadership skills,
designing an effective career path
based on career interests and goals, and
applying leadership skills effectively in
professional and community endeavors.
On January 20th, the morning program
will include features that are both
challenging and exciting. Participants will:
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, which
will have four circuit judgeships (two
in November, and two in January)
and two county judges (one in
November, and another in January).
FAWL’s Judicial Selection Committee
aims to gather a database of the questions
In an attempt to analyze whether
asked in the interview process. It has
there is a gender bias in the selection
been reported that there seems to be
of judges for Florida courts, FAWL
deference towards candidates who have
created a committee to monitor the
achieved board certification. This finding
judicial selection process. The judicial
alone would help prepare a woman lawyer
selection committee seeks to:
considering a judicial
£ Monitor the
post. A FAWL
judicial selection
FLORIDA:
member characterized
process in those
WOMEN IN LAW
the judicial selection
communities
process as a
where circuit and/
Florida Bar Members . . . . . . 31.2%
continuum of legal
or county level
Supreme Court Judges. . . . . 28.5%
education. As many
judicial vacancies
Appellate Judges . . . . . . . . . . 20.9%
of the attendees
are created;
Circuit Judges. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.7%
acknowledged,
£ Gather and
County Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.9%
preparation for the
analyze the
judicial process
questions
was not a course in law school.
and answers in the judicial
There are multiple parts to the
interview process;
judicial application process. Candidates
£ Establish parameters to identify,
must prepare all forms of background
encourage, and support women
records before the interview is scheduled.
for the judiciary; and
Support and encouragement for
£ Create a continuum of legal education
FAWL’s preferred women candidates
centered on a judicial career.
may be obtained at this state of judicial
FAWL has prepared a Judicial
candidacy. Interviews are open to the
Nominating Committee Worksheet
public and may be conducted in a county
for a willing candidate-interviewee to
administration office, a private law firm
submit to the FAWL Judicial Selection
office, or at a local courtroom. Interested
Committee chair, Evelyn L. Moya
volunteers may request information
(maylex@comcast.net). The worksheet is
from the JNC Chairman of their districts
available on the FAWL website at www.
or their local county bar association.
fawl.org/documents/JNCMonitoring.pdf..
Everyone is encouraged to
The Committee is setting up for
participate in this judicial selectionthe January judicial appointments.
monitoring project. e
Busiest among the circuits is the
£ Gain exposure to a variety of highprofile, high-achieving speakers and
facilitators;
£ Participate in a variety of leadership
development exercises to improve
leadership skills;
£ Gain insight into the procedures to
follow when seeking a seat on the Board
of Governors;
£ Obtain information regarding legislative
issues;
£ Learn to implement good networking skills.
This program will conclude with a
luncheon keynote address by National
Leader Judith Lichtman, who worked
to ahve the Family Medical Leave Act
and presently is working to expand
the Act to include leave with pay.
As FAWL members, we owe it to
ourselves to fine-tune the skills we have
and to ensure that we never regret not
actively advocating to effectuate change
for the betterment of the profession.
We will not and cannot rest until
our work is done. Join us with your
support and your suggestions! e
9
Moses
with her
children,
Ashley,
9, and
Bennett, 4.
An Interview with
JAMIE MOSES,
YLD President
J
amie Billotte Moses is a hard-working
woman. In addition to being the
President of the Young Lawyers’ Division
of The Florida Bar this year, she is also
an AV-rated attorney, a shareholder in
Fisher, Rushmer, Werrenrath, Dickson,
Talley & Dunlap, P.A., Secretary of
the Orange County Bar Association,
and an active member of FAWL. After
graduating from Notre Dame Law School,
she immediately got involved with the
Young Lawyers Section of the Orange
County Bar Association, received the
Outstanding Board Member Award in
1997 and was elected President in 2001.
After getting elected to the Young Lawyers
Division Board of Governors, she was
soon recognized as the Most Productive
Board Member in 2003, and was elected
President for the 2005-2006 year. FAWL
spoke to her to find out just how this
young attorney (and mother) does it.
FAWL: What inspired you to
run for President of the Young
Lawyers’ Division this year?
Jamie: I knew very early on that
I wanted to be the YLD President.
My first year on the YLD Board of
Governors Edith Osman was President
of The Florida Bar. I watched with
amazement how she led the Bar with such
grace. I was so impressed with how she
got things done. I truly love being a lawyer
and thought the best way I could give back
to the profession was to guide its youngest
members. It was then, six years ago, that
I said “I want to be YLD President.”
FAWL: What advice would you offer
10
to a young female attorney who is
interested in taking on leadership
positions within our profession?
Jamie: I would recommend that you
get involved early. If you wait too long,
so many opportunities are lost. The best
way to work your way up through an
organization is to start at the bottom
and prove yourself. Become the “worker
bee.” Become the one that others know
they can count on to get things done.
After a while, you won’t have to ask for a
position, you’ll be given it because people
will know you’ll do it right and on time.
It is important to remember that for
many, practicing law is a commitment
for life and therefore what you do as a
young female attorney will affect what
you are allowed to do as an older female
attorney. I worked very hard before I
decided to have children so that my firm
was confident that even if I went part time
while the children were young, I would
still be profitable and I was committed to
returning after my maternity leaves and
part-time employment. If an alternative
work schedule is something you might
want later, it’s something you need to
be working for now. And that includes
thinking about your professional
activities. Laying the groundwork now
allows you some “slack” later when
child rearing becomes an option.
FAWL: Young attorneys often have
difficulty balancing their volunteer
efforts with voluntary bar associations
with the billing requirements of their
firms. How would your respond to
those attorneys who decline to get
involved because of their workload?
Jamie: We have to make choices
in our careers. Billable hours are very
important, but there will be a time in
your career, sooner than you think, when
billable hours will not be enough. The
professional contacts that you make
will be important. You can’t have those
without getting involved in something
other than your work. Unfortunately,
women don’t have the same networking
opportunities as men. Rarely do women
hit the course on Saturday for 18 holes
of golf in the hopes that a new client
may come out of that. We have to create
other opportunities for ourselves, and
bar service is one such opportunity.
FAWL: What are some of the benefits
that you have experienced from
your involvement with the Young
Lawyers’ Division and with FAWL?
Jamie: I have met some of the
most amazing people though my Bar
involvement. For example, I met June
(FAWL President) through service
on The Florida Bar’s Membership
Outreach Committee. Given that
she lives in Tallahassee and I live in
Orlando, it was unlikely we’d meet if we
weren’t involved. Nevertheless, we’ve
taken two different paths to the same
place – seats on the Board of Governors
of the Florida Bar, June as FAWL
President and me as YLD President.
FAWL: What sacrifices have you
had to make in order to take on
such an important position in the
Bar? Do you feel that the benefits
of involvement outweigh the
sacrifices you have had to make?
Jamie: Well, I don’t have a lot of free
time. I rarely watch TV and a good book
takes me about a year to read. My children
must always come first, but sometimes
you just can’t possibly be at everything. So,
sometimes that bothers me. Nevertheless,
I try very hard to avoid those conflicts
and be proactive. For example, I was
my daughter’s homeroom mother so
that I could schedule the class parties.
As such, I could always attend them.
I do believe the benefits outweigh
the sacrifices. I am, hopefully, making a
difference in my profession. I never want
to take more than I have given. Being a
lawyer has been so rewarding and allowed
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
me to provide for my children. The least
I can do is work to make the profession
the best it can be. I also believe I am
setting a good example for my children
by showing them that anything that’s
important takes attention and hard work.
FAWL: It is often noted that while
women are not very well represented
on the Board of Governors, the YLD
Board of Governors is very diverse.
How has the YLD attained such a
diverse group of representatives?
Jamie: Age helps. The lawyers on
the YLD Board were more diverse in law
school than those on the “senior board.”
Women were SBA president and moot
court captain. Thus, upon graduation,
women naturally assumed leadership
roles in their local bars. Then, when
they seek a seat on the YLD Board of
Governors, the only issue is who’s the
better candidate. The face of the “senior
board” will change over time, but it
may be a little slower than desired. We
cannot forget, however, that we have had
excellent female Bar Presidents, and I have
no doubt that we will have many more.
I think it’s also important to recognize
the reality that many women stop working
to have children or slow down their
practice when they do. Those women
active as young lawyers may choose not
to be as active as older lawyers. What’s
most important, in my opinion, is that we
respect whatever choice a woman makes.
FAWL: What can women attorneys do to
ensure that they are fairly represented
in the Florida Bar Board of Governors,
and in its committees and sections?
Jamie: Kelly Johnson and Alan
Bookman (and former Bar Presidents)
have demonstrated that all you have to
do is ask when it comes to committee
assignments. The first step to getting
involved is being willing to do so. As for
the sections, they are easy — just sign up.
Go to the section meetings, volunteer to
do something, make a good impression,
offer to do more. Sooner or later, you’ll be
the chair!! As for The Florida Bar Board
of Governors — get involved locally, get
your firms (no matter what size) behind
you and get a reputation in your local
community — make a name for yourself.
The key, in my opinion, is not to shoot
for the top right away, but rather climb
your way up one rung at a time. e
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
Breakfast & Books Program
Going Statewide
By Jacqueline Buyze
B
reakfast & Books is a reading/mentoring program
that FAWL is implementing statewide for the benefit of
PACE Centers for Girls (“PACE”). PACE is a non-residential,
gender-specific program for high-risk girls ages 11-18, who are
experiencing difficulty or conflict in school and at home. PACE has been extremely
effective and successful in changing the lives of these young women, and is currently
operating 19 centers located throughout our state. Our mission is to provide
mentorship and books for every PACE student throughout the State of Florida.
Breakfast & Books began in 2001 when Michele Suskauer, at the urging of
Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, started a reading and mentoring
program to benefit the Florida Institute for Girls located in Palm Beach County.
Notably, the program promoted two of our governor’s initiatives — reading and
mentoring. For this reason, the program was recognized by Governor Bush and the
Department of Justice. Later, in 2003, Michele applied for and received a grant from
The Florida Bar Foundation. The Foundation presented its check to FAWL in 2004,
with instructions that the funds be utilized to implement the program statewide.
To accomplish this task, I began compiling a complete list of all PACE
Centers, paired each FAWL chapter with a center, and began contacting local
book distributors to see if they would be interested in partnering with FAWL.
Shortly thereafter, I met with Denise Cotman-Thomas, the public relations
director of our local Barnes & Noble. Denise proved to be a valuable resource
having previously worked in Tallahassee as public relations director for Barnes
& Noble statewide. The partnership was formed, and Barnes & Noble offered a
significant discount on all books purchased.
In early 2005, FAWL sent chapter leaders all of the information that we gathered
and compiled, together with materials explaining the program and its history. The
leaders were asked to contact their respective PACE executive director and work
in a cooperative effort with Barnes & Noble to begin the program. Those chapters
wishing to commence programs were given a pro rata share of the Foundation
Grant proceeds. The remaining funds were utilized to purchase books for students
at PACE centers located in counties where we had no participating chapters.
Today, we have seven participating chapters, with several other chapters
working to commence programs in 2005/2006. This is a great start, but we need
everyone’s involvement if we are to be successful in our mission.
To that end, I urge each chapter to utilize the information previously
provided. Contact your local PACE executive. They are anxious to hear from
you, and may have a good idea about the kind of program that will work for their
students. You will then have a general idea about what is needed, and can present
the issue to your board and/or your general membership. Keep in mind that every
community is different, and you will likely confront challenges that are unique
to your situation. Design a program that will work for your organization. Ask for
volunteers to work on a committee and/or to serve as mentors. If you do not have
enough interest in your membership, seek volunteers from the community. Your
PACE board may be able to assist in that regard. Obtain funding through fundraising activities and sponsorships. Contact other chapter leaders to see what
their organizations are doing. Work with you local library or organize a book
exchange to help minimize costs. Do what ever you can, and get started today!
Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and help PACE give its
girls the ground they need to grow. e
11
FAWL OFFICERS, COMMITTEE CHAIRS
AND CHAPTER PRESIDENTS
President
JUNE C. M
MCKINNEY
BARTELLE of Tallahassee
Women Lawyers is a past
President of the Chapter
for two years. She is a Supreme Court
Certified Mediator and is MartindaleHubbell AV rated. She is a graduate
of Leadership Tallahassee, serves on
the Commission on Professionalism,
Membership Outreach Committee,
Education Law Committee and is a
Mediation Qualifications Board Member.
She is also a member of the Tallahassee
Barristers Association, William H.
Stafford American Inn of Court, the
Florida Government Bar Association,
the Tallahassee Bar Association, Virgil
Hawkins Chapter of the National Bar
Association, National Bar Association and
National Association of Women Lawyers.
A former chair of the Capitol City Bar
Presidents Council, she is a 2002 recipient
of the Florida Association of Black
Public Administrators Legal Community
Service Award. She is currently a Senior
Assistant Attorney General in Tallahassee
and provides General Counsel services
to the Commission for Independent
Education. She previously worked for the
Office of the General Counsel, Division of
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, where
she was Chief Attorney from 1999 to 2001.
She has also served the Florida Public
Service Commission Office of the General
Counsel, Bureau of Telecommunications,
the Public Defenders Office as
Misdemeanor Division Chief from
1996 to 1998 and she worked for the
Department of Labor and Employment
Security Division of Unemployment
Compensation, Bureau of Appeals, as
an Appeals Referee/Hearing Officer. She
earned her J.D. at the University of Florida
College of Law, where she was President
of the Black Law Students Association
as well as a Virgil Hawkins Scholar and
an Earl Warren Legal Training Scholar,
and worked as an Associate Editor for
Development, Journal of Law and Public
Policy. She is an active alumna of Howard
12
University and a lifetime member of Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
President-Elect
WENDY S. LOQUASTO
is a shareholder in Fox &
Loquasto, P.A., a statewide
appellate practice law firm.
She manages the Tallahassee office and
has a varied practice, including civil,
criminal, workers’compensation, and
family law appeals; extraordinary writs;
and postconviction motions. Prior to
entering private practice, she clerked
for Judge Richard W. Ervin, III, at the
First District Court of Appeal for 15
years. She is on the Executive Council
of The Florida Bar Appellate Practice
Section and The Florida Bar Journal and
News Editorial Board. She has served on
the FAWL Board almost continuously
since 1995 as Public Relations Officer,
Secretary, Historian, Assistant Historian,
Chapter Representative, and Chair
of the Membership, Website, Bylaws,
and Nominating Committees. She was
instrumental in organizing the First
150 Women Lawyers Celebration and
compiled and edited Celebrating Florida’s
First 150 Women Lawyers. She also
assisted Judge Mattie Belle Davis in
compiling and editing History of Florida
Association for Women Lawyers (19512002). She is a FAWL Golden Star Award
recipient. She is a former president of
Tallahassee Women Lawyers (1996-97)
and received the Florida Council of Bar
Association Presidents’ 2004 Outstanding
Past Voluntary Bar President Award for
her service. She graduated magna cum
laude from Stetson University College
of Law in May 1988 and currently serves
on Stetson’s Board of Overseers.
Treasurer
AMY FURNESS is an AVrated attorney shareholder in
the Miami office of Carlton
Fields, where she practices
commercial litigation and product
liability. Her leadership experience
includes prior service on the Florida
Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of
Governors, as an officer, newsletter editor,
and former member of the Board of
Directors of the Miami Dade Chapter of
FAWL. She also has served as a director
for the Welfare to Work Partnership, a
volunteer judge for Miami-Dade Teen
Court, a pro bono faculty member of
the Florida Paralegals’ Seminar, a former
steering committee member for the
Vizcaya Museum, and research committee
member for the First 150 Women
Lawyers Celebration. She spoke at the
National Summit for Women in Law on
Attaining Goals for Women Attorneys,
and has published Gender Equality in
the Legal Profession for The Florida
Bar Practicing with Professionalism
Handbook. She received the Guardian
Ad Litem Domestic Violence Pro Bono
Award in 1998 and was recognized by
President Bush for her contribution
to Welfare-To-Work Project 2002. She
earned her J.D. from Widener University
School of Law, her B.S. from Drexel
University, and studied International
Comparative Law in Rome, Italy.
Secretary
MARY K. WIMSETT
is a Guardian ad Litem
Program Attorney for the
Eighth Judicial Circuit. She
also serves as Special Counsel to the
Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program
Office. She graduated cum laude from
Vanderbilt University with honors in
English. She attended law school at the
University of Florida where she was a
Florida Bar Legal Services Fellow and UF
Center for Governmental Responsibility
Public Service Fellow. Upon graduating
with honors from law school, she moved
to Tallahassee where she worked as
an Assistant Public Defender for the
Honorable Nancy Daniels. She handled
felony, juvenile and misdemeanor
caseloads for over two years. In 2000,
she began working for the Guardian
ad Litem Program of the 2nd Judicial
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
Circuit. She currently serves as Vice
Chair of the Florida Bar Juvenile Rules
Committee and will continue to be
Vice Chair for the 2005-2006 year. She
previously served as FAWL’s Treasurer,
Membership Director and Bylaws
Committee Chair. She and her husband,
Gary, an attorney for the University of
Florida, live in Gainesville with their
daughters, Emma and Charlotte.
Treasurer-Elect
CAROLYN COUKOS is
serving her second term
as Treasurer-Elect, after
taking a year off from
FAWL. She retired this year as Vice
President of Northern Trust Bank Before
joining Northern Trust Bank in 1997,
she spent 10 years in private practice
in Indianapolis, Indiana in the areas of
trust and estate law and employment law
litigation. She earned her J.D. degree cum
laude from Indiana University School
of Law, where she was associate editor
of the Indiana Law Review, as well as
editor-in-chief of the student newspaper,
Dictum. Her B.A. in English is from the
University of Kansas. She has served
on the board of FAWL’s Collier County
chapter (the Collier County Women’s
Bar Association) since 1998 and was its
President from 1999 to 2001. She has
been active in bar, civic and political
activities in Indiana and continues to be
so in Florida. Notable among them, she
founded the Women Lawyers Division
of the Indianapolis Bar Association and
served as its first president and on its
Executive Council from 1987 to 1993.
Coukos co-chaired the Indiana State
Bar Association’s Committee to study
the adoption of community property
law in Indiana. She was nominated
by Indiana’s Judicial Nominating
Commission for an appellate judgeship.
Communications Editor
SHERRI L. JOHNSON
JOHNSON, a
past president of the Sarasota
chapter, has previously served
as FAWL’s Membership
Director, and as chairman of the Judicial
Selection and Awards committees. She
is also the Treasurer of the Sarasota
County Bar Association, and Membership
Chairman of the Judge John M. Scheb
American Inn of Court. The Sarasota
Chapter of FAWL recently awarded
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
her its 2005 Outstanding Attorney
Achievement Award. She graduated with
honors from the University of Florida
College of Law in 1997, where she was
a member of Florida Blue Key and an
editor of the Journal of Law & Public
Policy. She is now a partner in the law
firm of Dent & Johnson, Chartered,
where she concentrates her practice in
ad valorem tax law representing county
property appraisers, as well as appellate
law, business and real estate law. She has
published an article on ad valorem tax
law in the Stetson Law Review, and is a
regular presenter at property appraisers’
conferences. She was recently named
the 2005 Young Lawyer of the Year
by the Gulf Coast Business Review.
Membership
MARY C. GOMEZ is a solo
practitioner in Miami Lakes.
Her practice concentrates
on complex marital and
family law cases. Gomez was formerly an
associate attorney at the Miami office of
Carlton Fields, where she was a member
of the family law practice group. She has
served as Journal Editor for the MiamiDade Chapter of FAWL and on the Dade
County Bar Association’s Family Court
Committee. Additionally, she is on the
legislation committee of the Family
Law Section of the Florida Bar. She
received her J.D. from Nova Southeastern
University, Shepard Broad Law Center,
magna cum laude, and her B.A. summa
cum laude, from Saint Thomas University.
While at Nova, she was a member
of the Moot Court Society and was
the Associate Editor of the Nova Law
Review, where she published an article
on sexual harassment in the workplace.
Public Relations
REBECCA HARRISON
STEELE is the Director of
the ACLU of Florida’s West
Central Florida regional
office. She is an experienced appellate
attorney who clerked for the Honorable
Charles R. Wilson for the United
States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit. She received her law degree,
magna cum laude, from the Stetson
University College of Law, where she
was an articles and symposium editor
for the Stetson Law Review. She has
served as an adjunct professor at Stetson
University College of Law, and writes and
speaks frequently on civil rights issues.
Before becoming a lawyer, she was a
stage director and an adjunct professor
of theater at the University of South
Florida and the University of Tampa.
She is a past president of the Board
of Directors for the community radio
station WMNF-FM, and the Hillsborough
Association for Women Lawyers.
Amicus Committee
SIOBHAN H. SHEA is an
AV rated appellate lawyer in
Palm Beach County. She is
a past president of Florida
Association for Women Lawyers. She
has served as State FAWL representative
to Board of Governors and is a past
president of Palm Beach County FAWL.
She is the Secretary and past Treasurer
of the Appellate Practice Section of The
Florida Bar and has served as chair of the
Appellate Rules Committee of the Florida
Bar. She is also a past president of B’Nai
B’Rith Justice Unit Palm Beach County,
a member of Palm Beach County Bar
Association, an Emeritus Member Craig
S. Barnard American Inns of Court and
a past executive board member of the
ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers. Her
work has merited the Pro Bono Award
for the Appellate Practice Section of The
Florida Bar, the Florida Bar President’s
Pro Bono Award for the 15th Judicial
Circuit and the American Immigration
Lawyers Human Rights Award.
Awards Committee
BARBARA TWINETHOMAS is a partner in
the firm of Stewart & Twine,
P.A. and the immediate
past president of the Hillsborough
Association for Women Lawyers. Her
practice includes civil trial practice and
employment/personnel law and family
matters. She is former General Counsel
to the Virgin Islands Water and Power
Authority, which she represented in all
matters, including labor management
and administration, bond finance and
environmental and business matters. Her
past governmental service includes service
as a Special Assistant Attorney General,
U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice,
Senior Attorney, Hillsborough County
Attorney’s Office and Managing Attorney
Legal Services of the United States Virgin
13
Islands. She was also previously associated
with the law firm of Grunert & Stout,
USVI. She is a graduate of the University
of South Florida and the University of
Florida School of Law. In addition to
her HAWL leadership, her civic and
social activities include: Past President,
George Edgecomb Bar Association;
President, Hillsborough County Bar
(HCB) Foundation; and Co-Chair, (HCB)
Local, County & City Section; League
of Women Voters; Life Member, Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority; V.P., Scholarships
and Community Service, Gamma Theta
Omega Chapter of AKA; Leadership
Tampa Alumni; Grants & Scholarship
Committee, Hillsborough Education
Foundation; NAACP’s National “Foot
Solider in the Sands” Award, Chair of
the NAACP Legal Committee; HAWL
President’s Award; and George Edgecomb
Bar Association’s President’s Award.
Barbara is married to attorney Henry
E. Thomas, Sr. and they are raising two
teenage sons, Quincy and Anwar.
Bylaws Committee
PATTI MORGAN is a Trial
Court Staff Attorney for
the Fifth Judicial Circuit in
Hernando County, where
she provides research and support in
civil litigation, eminent domain, family
law, and criminal cases. She earned her
B.A. in Political Science at the University
of Florida in 1986 and was inducted
into the society of Phi Beta Kappa. She
then earned her law degree, graduating
in 1990 from the University of Florida,
where she was senior research editor
of the Journal of Law and Public Policy.
After working in-house in the insurance
industry, primarily focused on compliance
issues, she earned a Master’s Degree
in Library Science from the University
of South Florida in 2001. She recently
worked as a Reference Librarian at the
Ocala Public Library before returning
to the legal profession in 2004.
Judicial Monitoring
Committee
EVELYN L. MOYA has a
practice in health law and
family law. She was a 1997
graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College
of Law in Ohio. While at ClevelandMarshall, she was editor of The Gavel
and was the 1997 recipient of the Pro
14
Bono Award for asylee and refugee
representation at ProBar, an Immigration
Law project of the Texas Bar Association.
She has served as director for three terms
and later as vice-president of SarasotaFAWL before becoming its first Asian
president in 2004-2005. She served as
health chair of the Sarasota County
Commission on the Status of Women
and is currently President of Gulfcoast
Legal Services, Inc., which has offices in
Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
She has also been a Certified Registered
Nurse Anesthetist for over 20 years.
Legislative Committee
KENDRA N. DAVIS is an
associate at Parks & Crump,
LLC. She is a Miami native
who in 1996 obtained
both an Associate of Arts from Florida
Agricultural & Mechanical University and
a Bachelor of Science in criminology from
Florida State University. She graduated
cum laude from the University of Miami
School of Law in 2002. In the summer
of 2000, she was a law clerk for Florida
Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince.
While attending the University of Miami
School of Law, she received the Dean’s
Honor Scholarship, and served as Vice
President of the Black Law Students
Association. She also served as Vice
President of the Society of Bar & Gavel,
an organization where membership
yields the highest honor at the School of
Law. She received the CALI Excellence
Award in Civil Procedure, awarded to the
student who receives the highest grade in
the class. She was also a member of the
Moot Court Board and the Supervising
Dean’s Fellow in the Writing Center. She
is a member of the International Legal
Fraternity Phi Delta Phi, Omicron Delta
Kappa Leadership Honor Society and
the Alpha Epsilon Lambda Graduate
Honor Society. She also sits on the
board of the Santana Moss Foundation,
a charitable organization dedicated to
strengthening and improving, physically
and spiritually, the children in America.
Admitted to The Florida Bar in 2002,
her primary area of practice is civil
litigation which includes medical
malpractice and wrongful death. She is a
member of the Academy of Florida Trial
Lawyers, Association of Trial Lawyers of
America, Tallahassee Bar Association,
National Bar Association, Virgil Hawkins
Chapter of the National Bar Association
and the Tallahassee Barristers.
Nominating
DEBORAH MAGID of the
Miami-Dade Chapter is a
Magistrate in the Circuit
Court of the Eleventh Judicial
Circuit. She also teaches legal research
and writing at St. Thomas University
School of Law. She is a former President of
the Miami-Dade Chapter and previously
has served on the FAWL Executive Board
as President (2004-2005), President-elect,
Treasurer and Secretary. She was the 2002
recipient of the Miami-Dade President’s
Award and the Miami Law Women’s
“Women Who Make a Difference” Award
in 2003. She serves on the board of the
Miami-Dade PACE Center for Girls and
the Southern Regional Leadership Council
of Lawyers for Children America. She
is also a founder of the HIV Education
and Law Project’s “Safe Girls” Program.
Schneider and Davis Funds
PAOLA PARRA HARRIS
is a member of the firm
Harris, Guidi, Rosner,
Dunlap, Rudolph & Catlin,
P.A. in Jacksonville. She is the immediate
Past-Treasurer of State FAWL and
saw a 10-percent increase in statewide
membership for the association during
her term. Prior to serving on the State
FAWL Board, she was the 2003-2004
President of JWLA in Jacksonville, where
she also served as Vice President of
Membership and Events and PresidentElect. She serves on The Florida Bar’s
Judicial Nominating Procedures
Committee, as well as the Jacksonville
Bar Association’s Professionalism and
Judicial Relations Committees and
volunteers as a pro bono attorney for
Jacksonville Legal Aid. Fluent in Spanish,
she is a member of the Cuban American
Bar Association and President and
Founder of the Hispanic Bar Association
of North Florida. She is actively involved
in the Jacksonville community as a Past
President of Rotaract of Florida’s First
Coast (Rotary International), a member
of Rotary of San Jose, a graduate of
Leadership Jacksonville, and a member of
the Junior League of Jacksonville where
she serves as Membership Outreach and
Admissions Chair.
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
CHAPTERS
Barry Women
Lawyers Association
CHRISTINA JOHNSON
graduated from Forest Hills
Northern in Grand Rapids,
Michigan in 1998. From there she went
on to the Pennsylvania State University
where she majored in Advertising Public
Relations. While at Penn State she worked
as a marketing creative specialist for
the Daily Collegian, one of the largest
student-run newspapers in the country.
After graduating from Penn State in
2002, she worked as a store manager for
Abercrombie & Fitch in Willow Grove,
Pennsylvania. She was accepted to and
has been attending Barry University
School of Law since the fall of 2003. In the
summer of 2004 she spent the semester
abroad in London, studying International
Public Law and European Union Law.
Recently, she completed her summer
externship with the City of Orlando.
Broward County Women
Lawyers’ Association
JENNIFER A.
ANZALONE has been
active with the Association
since prior to her admission to the
Bar. She is an associate at Fowler
White Burnett in Fort Lauderdale, and
practices casualty and insurance defense
litigation. Her general practice areas are
automobile negligence, wrongful death,
premises liability, products liability and
construction litigation. Before joining
Fowler White, she was an associate with
Luks, Santaniello, Perez, Petrillo and Gold,
a Fort Lauderdale-based firm, specializing
in commercial and insurance defense
litigation. She was born in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, and received her Bachelor’s
in elementary education from Saint
Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where
she received the Outstanding Student
Leadership and Service Award. She
attended the Widener University School
of Law in Wilmington, Delaware, from
1998 to 2000, and she visited the Shepard
Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern
University during the 2000-2001 term.
While at Widener, she was active with
the Student Bar Association and was
elected President. She was named to the
Dean’s Honor List, and received a Book
Award/Certificate of Achievement in
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
Evidence. At Nova Southeastern, she
served as a representative to the Student
Bar Association and became active with
the Broward County Women Lawyers’
Association. In her final semester of
law school, she performed a full-time
internship with Senator Walter “Skip”
Campbell and Holly Krulik of Krupnick
Campbell in Fort Lauderdale. She earned
her Juris Doctorate from Widener
University in 2001 and received the
Outstanding Student Service Award that
year. She was admitted to practice in
Florida in 2001, and in the United States
District Court for the Southern District
of Florida in 2002. She is also a member
of the Broward County Bar Association.
Central Florida Association
for Women Lawyers
MARY MUSETTE
STEWART, a Florida native,
STEWART
attended Loyola University
of New Orleans, earning her Bachelor
of Arts in communications and was
awarded her Juris Doctor degree from
Oklahoma City School of Law in 1997.
While in law school, she was elected
Tenth Circuit Governor of the American
Bar Association/Law Student Division
and coordinated circuit meetings and
programs. Her excellent service earned
the Tenth Circuit the ABA Circuit of
the Year Award. She also served as the
law school’s American Bar Association
Chapter President and during her tenure,
the school was chosen as the American
Bar Association Outstanding School of
the Year. Her practice in central Florida
began in the area of insurance defense,
but she was soon drawn to business and
commercial litigation and bankruptcy.
She is a member of the American Bar
Association, the Orange County Bar
Association, where she is active in
the Young Lawyers Division, and also
serves on several community service
organizations. She joined Stump, Storey,
Callahan, Dietrich & Spears, P.A. in
1999 and is admitted to practice before
all Florida courts and the United States
District Court, Middle, Northern and
Southern Districts of Florida.
Clara Gehan Association
for Women Lawyers
(8th Circuit)
LUCY GODDARD-TEEL is
Chief Legal counsel for the
Department of Children and Families,
District 3, which covers 11 counties in
North Central Florida. She joined the
Department in 1995 as Deputy District
3 Legal Counsel after being in private
practice for six years. Law is a second
career, as she taught school for 16 years
before entering UF College of Law in
1986. She graduated with honors in
1988 and is a member of Order of the
Coif. She was a fellow with the Center
for Governmental Responsibility
during her last year of law school.
Collier County Womens’
Bar Association
JACQUELINE J. BUYZE
began her career with
Grant, Fridkin, Pearson,
Athan & Crown, P.A. following her
graduation from law school in 1999. She
is a member of the firm’s litigation group,
working to build her practice with an
emphasis in commercial, construction
and real estate matters. She is a graduate
of Stetson University College of Law,
where she excelled in trial advocacy. She
was a member of Stetson’s prestigious
Trial Team, and assisted in teaching
trial advocacy. In 1998, Buyze received
a judicial internship with the Honorable
Debra K. Behnke in Hillsborough
County. She participated in the school’s
Prosecution Clinic and worked in the
office of the Pinellas County State
Attorney in 1999. She also spent a year
clerking for an insurance defense firm in
St. Petersburg, and became a Certified
County Court Mediator. She has been a
Naples resident since 1986. Before law
school, she enjoyed a 10-year career with
the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Hillsborough Association
for Women Lawyers
SARAH DENNIS is a
member of the Tampa
office of Akerman Senterfitt
where she practices in the areas of
commercial, securities, employee
benefits and guardianship litigation.
She graduated magna cum laude from
Stetson University College of Law in
1994, where she served as an editor
for the Stetson Law Review. She is a
member of the Labor and Employment
Section of the American Bar
Association and a regular contributor
to 401K Advisor ERISA News.
15
Jacksonville Women
Lawyers Association
DEBORAH GREENE
received her J.D. with
honors from the Florida
State University College of Law
(graduating in the top 10 percent of
her class). While attending law school,
she was: president of the Women’s Law
Symposium; vice-justice of the William
Terrell Glenn Chapter of Phi Alpha
Delta Law Fraternity International; an
intern with the Majority Office of the
Florida House of Representatives; an
intern with Judge Rosemary Barkett,
then a Justice with the Florida Supreme
Court, and a certified legal intern with
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. Admitted
to practice law in Florida in 1992, she is
also admitted in several federal district
courts, and in the United States Courts of
Appeal for the 9th and 11th Circuit. She
is a former member of the law firms of
Boyer, Tanzler & Boyer; Kirschner, Main,
Graham, Tanner & Demont; a former
shareholder of Tromberg & Safer; Combs
& Greene; and a former shareholder of
Barlett, Heekin, Smith, Greene & Malin.
She is currently a founding shareholder
in the firm of Smith & Greene, an AVrated firm with Martindale-Hubbell,
which concentrates in the areas of civil
litigation, family law and appellate
practice. She is a Barrister in the Florida
Family Law Inn of Court, a member of a
local Florida Bar Grievance Committee
and a member of the Jacksonville Bar
Association. She is married to Steven
P. Combs, General Counsel to the 4th
Judicial Circuit, and a “fill in” Magistrate
and Child Support Enforcement
Hearing Officer. They have two children,
Jordan, 14, and Annabelle, 5.
Lee County Association
for Women Lawyers
JOSEPHINE GAGLIARDI
practices in the areas of
immigration, family and
general law in Fort Myers. She earned her
B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and
her J.D. from Antioch School of Law. She
is a twice-past president of Lee County
Women Lawyers, and she was the Lee
County Bar President in the year 2000.
She serves as a liaison member for the
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Texas
Service Center Committee. She is married
and the mother of twin teenage boys.
16
Manatee County FAWL
GINGER PERUSEK
graduated from University
of Akron Blake McDowell
School of Law in 1986,
whre she served on Law Review. She is
admitted in Ohio 1986 and admitted in
Florida in 1987. She practices business law,
corporations, contracts, collections and
personal injury. She serves as Membership
Secretary for the Bradenton Woman’s
Club, established in 1913 where Eleanor
Roosevelt became a member. She enjoys
photography, sports and has been assistant
baseball coach for AAA for two years.
Marion County FAWL
JANET FULLER graduated
from the University of
Florida College of Law in
1987. She practices in the
area of Social Security disability law at
Ayres, Cluster, Curry, McCall, Collins &
Fuller, P.A., in Ocala. She is married and
has a 10-year-old son and is active with
his school and sports activities. Before
law school, she was a registered nurse at
Shands Teaching Hospital for six years
Miami-Dade FAWL
SANDRA HERNANDEZ
attended undergraduate
school at Florida
International University,
receiving a Bachelor of Accounting with
honors in 1996. She earned her Juris
Doctor from University of Miami School
of Law with honors in 2000. She was born
in Pinar del Rio, Cuba and grew up in
Miami. She is with the law firm of Adorno
& Yoss, LLP, where she concentrates her
practice in complex commercial litigation.
She participates in numerous community
and professional activities.
Miami Law Women,
University of Miami
School of Law
SHAENA ROWLAND has
always been an advocate for
the underdog. Getting off to an early start,
she entered college at the age of 16. She
was quick to get involved with community
service and volunteer opportunities,
ranging from adopt-a-highway to
preparing meals at the local soup kitchen,
from aiding in an after-school program
to spending time with geriatric hospital
patients. At the University of Miami
School of Law, she is a member of the
Cardozo Jewish Legal Society and has
been elected the 2005-2006 president of
Miami Law Women. Enthusiastic about all
that UM has to offer, she takes an active
role in welcoming and encouraging new
students through her position as a Vice
Chair of the law school’s ambassador
program. In hopes of having a positive
impact not only on incoming students,
but on the less fortunate members of the
greater Miami area, as a H.O.P.E. fellow
for the summer of 2005 she worked at
the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center
(FIAC), using her Spanish-speaking
abilities to help provide representation for
the homeless to obtain public benefits. As
President of Miami Law Women, Rowland
hopes to have an impact both on the UM
community and on the greater Miami/
Florida community — through networking,
community service, social events,
and numerous other activities — and
is thrilled to once again be working
together with the Florida Association of
Women Lawyers to achieve that end.
Northwest Florida
Chapter of FAWL
ABIGAIL SANDERS is
a native of Pensacola and
practices primarily in the
areas of corporate law, and wills and
estates. She taught high school Spanish
and English as a second language for two
years before going to law school at North
Carolina Central School of Law. She
graduated in the top 10 of her class, was
on the Moot Court team and Law Review.
Next, she earned an LL.M. in taxation
from the University of Florida where she
was a member of the Honor Council and
the Tax Review. After graduation, Sanders
worked at Lozier, Thames & Frazier,
P.A. before opening her own practice.
Nova Southeastern
Law School Chapter
SARAH ROSE DUBMAN
attended Newark Academy
for high school in Livingston,
New Jersey. She earned her bachelor’s
degree in government and politics from
the University of Maryland, and spent
a semester at the American University
in Rome. After graduation, she was a
third-grade classroom teacher at New
York City Public School 28 just north
of Harlem. Next, she worked for the
Autumn 2005 • FAWL JOURNAL
popular New York City restaurant group,
B.R. Guest. Last August she moved
from Brooklyn to the Sunshine State
to begin her law school career at Nova.
She is an intern at the office of attorney
Christopher D. Niles in Fort Lauderdale.
Palm Beach County
Association for
Women Lawyers
VICTORIA A. VILCHEZ
received her B.A. from
Florida State University and J.D. from
Mercer University in 1980. She is a
Certified Family Mediator and has
practiced family, criminal, juvenile and
guardianship/mental health law in Palm
Beach County for over twenty years where
she owns the firm, Vilchez & Associates,
P.A. She is a member of the Palm Beach
County and American Bar Associations,
the Collaborative Divorce Association of
Palm Beach, and is a past-president of the
Hispanic Bar Association of Palm Beach
as well as immediate past-president of
the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach.
Pinellas County Association
for Women Lawyers
DONNA ROSE is a sole
practitioner in Clearwater
and also serves as editor
of the Clearwater Bar Association’s
membership publication, Res Ipsa
Loquitur. She is the recipient of the
American Bar Association’s Merit Award
from the General Practice, Solo and Small
Firm Section — an award recognizing
service to local and legal communities.
Sarasota County FAWL
MARJORIE A. SCHMOYER
grew up in Pennsylvania
and taught sixth grade for
five years before moving to
Florida to attend law school at Stetson
University. She practices in the areas of
Social Security disability, family law and
appeals at McArdle, Schoymer & Simon,
where she is a partner. She has been Board
Certified as a marital and family lawyer
since 1988, a family law mediator, and a
member of the Connecticut Bar. She has
served on a variety of community boards
including the Sarasota Better Business
Council, the Sarasota Chamber of
Commerce and St. Armands Key Church
Foundation. She was president of the
Zonta Club of Sarasota and chaired the
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2005
Family Division of the Sarasota County
Bar Association. For many years, she has
been an author and editor for Florida
Dissolution of Marriage and an author
for Professional Liability of Lawyers in
Florida, both published by The Florida
Bar. She is a Master in the Judge John
M. Scheb American Inn of Court.
South Palm Beach
County FAWL
LISA M. PERAZA was reelected as president and is
a founding member of the
South Palm Beach County Chapter. She
owns her own firm in Coral Springs and
practices immigration and nationality law.
She is admitted to practice in New York,
Minnesota and Florida. She is a graduate
of Boston University and received her J.D.,
cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo
School of Law of Yeshiva University in
1989. From 1989 until her relocation
to Florida in 2000, she practiced law in
Albany, New York. From 1996 until 2000,
she owned her own firm devoted solely to
immigration clientele. In 2004, she again
opened her own practice in Florida. She is
a member of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association and the New York
State Bar Association.
St. Thomas University
Law School Chapter
JESSICA LARRAMENDi
MENJIVAR graduated from
G. Holmes Braddock Sr.
H.S. in Miami in 1996 before attending
the University of Miami. While at UM,
she joined in the petition to make
women’s studies an official major. In
2000, she graduated with a bachelor’s
in psychology and women’s studies (the
first graduate from UM) and a minor in
biology. After graduation, she relocated
to Palm Beach County where she worked
as a bilingual parent counselor at a nonprofit organization assisting clients in
their childcare needs with an emphasis
on emergency assistance. In 2003, she
entered St. Thomas University School of
Law. While in law school she has interned
with the State Attorney’s Office, 15th
Circuit, in the Felony Division, Crimes
Against Children. She also completed a
judicial externship in the Probate Division,
15th Judicial Circuit, and worked this past
summer as a law clerk at Boyes & Farina,
P.A. and the Law Offices of John L. Chalif.
She is currently an intern at the Clerk
& Comptroller’s Office of Palm Beach.
FAWL at Stetson
KATE ELIZABETH
EGELSTON graduated with
honors from E.L. Bowsher
High School in Toledo,
Ohio. She earned a bachelor’s degree
in political science and women’s studies
from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
While at Miami, she spent a summer
studying Italian in Urbino, Italy. She was
also president of the Association of
Women Students and volunteered as
a crisis hotline counselor. She began
her law school career immediately after
graduation and is currently a third-year
student. She spent the summer of 2005
studying International Law in The Hague,
Netherlands and Freiburg, Germany.
Tallahassee
Women Lawyers
MARY ELLEN CLARK is an
Assistant Attorney General
in the Administrative Law
Bureau of the Office of the Attorney
General. She is a past president of the
Florida Government Bar Association
and a member of The Florida Bar’s
Administrative Law Section Executive
Council. Before her election as president,
she held positions on TWL’s Board
as FAWL chapter representative,
treasurer, judicial reception chair and
CLE co-chair. She also served on the
First 150 Women Lawyers Supreme
Court Ceremony Committee in 2000.
Volusia/Flagler Association
for Women Lawyers
MONICA HIRSCH
WILSON is a graduate of
Florida Coastal School of
Law and received her J.D. in 2004. She
owns her own firm in Ormond Beach
and practices in the areas of real estate,
trusts and estates and condominium
association law. She previously owned
and managed mortgage and real estate
brokerage companies in Southern
California and in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
As an undergraduate at FSU and as a
graduate student at UCLA, she studied
Italian language and literature. She is
married and has two teenage sons who
attend the International Baccalaureate
Program at Spruce Creek High. e
17
CHAPTER NEWS
2004-2005 President Deborah Magid
presents a Charter to Christina
Johnson, of the Barry Chapter at the
FAWL Annual Membership meeting
in Orlando.
BARRY UNIVERSITY ESTABLISHES
LAW SCHOOL CHAPTER
The Board of Directors in pleased to
welcome the Women Lawyers Association
at Barry as a new law school chapter.
eee
SOUTH PALM BEACH COUNTY
CHAPTER ELECTS OFFICERS
Lisa M. Peraza was re-elected
President for the third straight year.
Maria Lorts Sachs, the newly elected
President Elect, is a past president of
the Broward County Chapter of FAWL.
Holly O’Neill, of Miller & O’Neill
Pl, is Secretary. Rochelle “Shelly”
Kerner is the new Treasurer. Tammy
B. Saltzman, of Tammy B. Saltzman
PA and Paradise Home Title, is the new
Membership Director. Tammy was
responsible for restarting the FAWL
group at Nova Southeastern University.
In 1997, with the help of Dean Patricia
Jason and some of her female first-year
counterparts, she recruited over 100
members before the end of the first
semester. Robin Bresky has been elected
as Public Relations Specialist and Tanya
Greiner, of Auslin Legal Services,has
been elected as Chapter Liaison.
The Chapter hosted a member
reception at the Lurie Fine Arts Galleries
at the Gallery Center in Boca Raton
on September 22, 2005. The Lurie Fine
Art Galleries, has, for the second year
generously provided their beautiful space
for the event. Other Sponsors included
Fidelity National Title Insurance Company,
Paradise Home Title, Auslin Legal Staffing,
Inc., and Rutherford Mulhall, P.A.
eee
TALLAHASSEE WOMEN LAWYERS
MARKS 25TH ANNIVERSARY
The Honorable Winifred J. Sharpe,
who was appointed to the Fifth District
Court of Appeal in 1979 and the second
woman to be appointed to an appellate
court in Florida, provided the keynote
address at the Association’s anniversary
dinner on June 13. The gala celebration
included a photo montage of TWL’s
history, champagne toasts recognizing
TWL’s founding members and past
presidents and the presentation of the
Outstanding Achievement Award to The
Florida Bar’s President and former TWL
President Kelly Overstreet Johnson. e
ParksCrump LLP is
pleased to support
FAWL’s Tribute to our
Lady Justices and to
recognize the firm’s
female members
(from left):
Daryl Parks, Stenise
Rolle, Maja Holman
and Kendra Davis.
18
Autumn 2004 • FAWL JOURNAL
Members
on the Move
£ Robin Bresky, the South Palm Beach
County Chapter’s Public Relations
Specialist, is honored to serve for a second
term as a Director of the South Palm
Beach County Bar Association. Robin
is an appellate attorney with experience
in criminal and civil matters, including
administrative and family law issues.
Robin is also available to provide motion
support to trial counsel.
£ Central Florida Association for Women
Lawyers member Carolyn Crighton was
elected President of Volie Williams Inn
of Court for 2005-2006. Susan W. Stacey
was elected as President-elect.
£ C. Sha’Ron James of Tallahassee Women
Lawyers was appointed Membership
Outreach Director of the Young Lawyers
Division of The Florida Bar.
£ Sarasota-FAWL’s immediate
past-president Evelyn L.
Moya was elected president
of the Board of Gulfcoast
Legal Services, Inc., on
May 26, 2005 at the Board
meeting in St. Petersburg.
Gulfcoast Legal Services is a non-profit
legal services organization. It has four
offices in three counties: Clearwater and St.
Petersburg in Pinellas County; Bradenton in
Manatee County, and Sarasota in Sarasota
County. GLS has 12 staff attorneys who
handle representation for eligible clients
involving family law, landlord-tenant,
consumer issues, probate, public benefits,
and others. Moya will serve as president for
12 months. She was a former staff attorney
at Legal Aid of Manasota, Inc. and is
currently practicing administrative law with
emphasis on healthcare and family law.
£ Karen J. Orlin has been appointed for
a second one-year term as Chair of the
Corporations, Securities & Financial
Services Committee of The Florida Bar’s
Business Law Section. During the past
year, as Chair, she assisted in coordinating
the efforts of members of that Committee
and members of the Tax Section of The
Florida Bar in drafting, and lobbying for
passage and signature of, the seminal “Act
relating to business entities,” including
the Florida Revised Uniform Limited
Partnership Act (2005).
£ Justice Peggy A. Quince
was the 2005 recipient
of the Richard W. Ervin
Equal Justice Award
from the Capital City
Bar Presidents Council
for having promoted the
cause of justice, the rule of law, the cause
of diversity in the legal community and
equal access to the courts.
£ Cara Sansonia, principal of The Sansonia
Law Firm, P.L., represented the Boca Raton
Chapter of the American Association of
University Women at the Association’s
biennial convention in Washington,
D.C. Distinguished speakers addressing
the Convention theme of “Purpose,
Power, and Progress” included Jehan
Sadat, Eleanor Holmes Norton and
Collier Past President
Jeanne Seawald…gotta scoot!
Madeline Albright.
Albright. The Association’s
new biennial theme: “Education as the
Gateway to Women’s Economic Security”
was also unveiled at the Convention.
£ Carolyn House Stewart of Macfarlane
Ferguson & McMullen was just appointed
to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
£ Christi Underwood was elected to the
Board of Directors of the American
Arbitration Association at their annual
meeting in Dublin, Ireland. Underwood is
member of the Central Florida Association
for Women Lawyers.
£ FAWL congratulates the following
members recently appointed by Governor
Jeb Bush: Faye Allen Boyce, a former
Orlando public defender, to fill a jusicial
seat in Orange County; Nuria Saenz de
la Torre, former general magistrate in the
family division of the 11th judicial circuit,
to fill a County Court post in Miami-Dade;
and Belle Schumann, a former Assistant
Attorney General, to fill a Volusia County
vacancy in the 7th judicial circuit. e
FAWL ANNUAL RETREAT
FAWL officers relax at the Annual Retreat
Dinner Reception held in conjunction with
The Florida Bar’s Voluntary Bar Workshop in
Naples. (From left:) Sherri Johnson, Rebecca
Steele, Amy Furness, Wendy Loquasto,
June McKinney Bartelle and Mary Gomez.
Tell FAWL about your latest
accomplishments
E-MAIL NEWS TO: fawl@fawl.org
FAWL JOURNAL • Autumn 2004
19
FAWL Midyear Meeting
January 20, 2005
Miami Hyatt Regency
Judith Lichtman
to Speak at Midyear
by Wendy S. Loquasto,
FAWL President-Elect
J
udy Lichtman, senior advisor and
former president of the National
Partnership for Women & Families, will
be a panelist and keynote speaker at the
FAWL Midyear Meeting on January 20,
2006, at the Miami
Hyatt Regency.
The National
Partnership for
Women & Families
is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan
organization
that uses public
education and
advocacy to promote fairness in the
workplace, quality health care, and
policies that help women and men meet
the dual demands of work and family.
During her tenure with the National
Florida Association
for Women Lawyers
Partnership, Lichtman worked for
pay equity for women, which has
increased from 59 cents per dollar
earned by men in 1974 to 76 cents
today. She also worked for passage
of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
in 1978. The Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) is a crowning
achievement for Lichtman, who
chaired the coalition that worked
to make it become law in 1993.
Although she retired from the
National Partnership’s presidency
in 2004, she remains on its board of
directors and committed to its goals,
which includes expanding FMLA
to provide for paid leave. For more
information about the National
Partnership, visit its website: www.
nationalpartnership.org. Please
mark your calendars now for the
FAWL Midyear Meeting on January
20. It promises to be a meeting
you will not want to miss! e
P.O. Box 15998, Tallahassee, FL 32317-5998
850/894-0055
Visit us on the web at www.fawl.org
Calendar
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CONFERENCE CALLS
All Committee Chairs or Chapter
Representatives are welcome.
To participate on the call, email the
FAWL office for access codes.
£Tuesday, October 25, 2005
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
£Tuesday, November 15, 2005
-3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
£Thursday, December 08, 2005
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
MIDYEAR MEETING:
LEADERSHIP FAWL CLE,
MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON AND
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Friday, January 20, 2006
Downtown Miami Hyatt Regency Hotel
in conjunction with The Florida Bar
FAWL ANNUAL LOBBY DAYS
Monday, March 13, 2006 Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Tallahassee
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING,
ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Boca Raton Resort and Club in
conjunction with The Florida Bar
PRSRT STD
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