2018 Florida Bar Convention

The Florida Bar Florida Registered Paralegal (FRP) Standing Committee hosted its very first seminar for attorneys and paralegals at the 2018 Florida Bar Convention on Friday. Over two hundred paralegals and attorneys, including our very own Misty McGlothern, attended the seminar to hear a variety of presentations.

Alyson Laderman, Esquire and Howard Myones, Esquire presented on Technology: Effective and practical use of case management software today, and how to make the most of the technology available in your law practice. Both attorneys provided practical and helpful tips for paralegals and attorneys from the technology “must haves”, which included a PDF overview and some helpful tricks in Outlook to make the life of any legal professional that much easier. In the effort to provide insight regarding storage issues, Attorney Laderman spoke in depth about server based platforms while Attorney Myones pled a case for why he prefers a cloud based platform.

Orange County Circuit Judge, John Marshall Kest gave a presentation on Professionalism and Ethics in the Real World where he provided tips on zealously representing clients while still remaining fair and civil to the opposing party and other counsel. Judge Kest addressed many areas of potential conflicts from discovery situations to motion practice and communications amongst counsel while giving his advice on how to handle some often very stressful situations in a professional manner.

President of the American Bar Association (ABA), Hilarie Bass, Esquire, spoke about how the legal profession and the ABA are reacting to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, sexual harassment, the disparity in income between men and women, and the studies being done to find out more about why by the age of 50, only 25% of women remain in the legal profession.

The Florida Bar launched the FRP program in 2008. After ten years, it is exciting to see FRPs being welcomed and included at the Florida Bar Convention as we believe that paralegals are integral part of the legal profession.