Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit! No, my fingers were not “off” on my keyboard. This is Happy New Year in Gaelic. I do indeed hope that this is a great year for all Section members and the Section as a whole. Unfortunately, Omicron is putting a damper on several of our events in the next couple of months, but the Section’s work continues on. Our Executive Committee has met and decided, like the Big Bar, to “go virtual” with the Mid-Year meetings on January 26-27. We already had the meetings set up for hybrid attendance, so the zoom registration links that have been posted will still be used. Other zoom invitations will be added to the schedule soon. So please register for those meetings you wish to attend. If you have already purchased a ticket for the Judicial Liaison dinner or the Section lunch, those purchases will be refunded.
After much discussion, the Bankruptcy/UCC Committee’s popular View from the Bench program, scheduled for January 20th in Tampa and January 21st in Miami is being rescheduled for the spring (April or May). As soon as those dates are firmed up, we will let people know.
Given the national draw of The Federal Securities Institute and the uncertainty of the Omicron peak in other states, the decision has been made to postpone this event until next year.
COVID has not stopped the Florida Legislature though. Our Legislation Committee and our consultants Aimee Diaz-Lyon and Greg Bell are working hard advancing the Section’s legislative positions and priorities as the Florida Legislature begins its session next week.
Finally, one perk of being the Chair of the Section is that the Chair gets to plan the Spring Retreat. This year, the Section will be traveling to Ireland, including Northern Ireland. We are optimistic, based on other countries’ experience with Omicron, that this trip will go forward. The information regarding the registration for the trip can be found here. On this trip we will have access to opportunities that you could never schedule on your own. It will be a great trip and I hope that many of you will be able to join us. Please register as soon as possible so that we can firm up our logistics. Sláinte!
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Section's Diversity & Inclusion CLE Speaker Panel Policy
Last year, in response to the Section's Diversity & Inclusion CLE Speaker Panel Policy, the Florida Supreme Court, sua sponte, amended the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar to preclude continuing legal education credit for "any course submitted by a sponsor, including a section of the Florida Bar, that uses quotas based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation in the selection of course faculty or participants." This Section, along with many other organizations and individuals, submitted a Comment in response to the Court's amendment. The vast majority of the comments asked the Court to reconsider the amendment. The Court denied oral argument. On December 16, 2021, the Court issued its Opinion in response to the Comments, making two minor changes to the rule effective January 1, 2022, but rejecting the substantive arguments asserted by commenters. Justice Labarga dissented from the Opinion, citing many of the arguments raised by the Section. The Section is disappointed at this outcome although perhaps not surprised. This decision will no doubt be the subject of conversation during the IMF Committee Meeting at our Mid-Year meeting at 1:00 pm on January 26th. If you would like to be part of that conversation, please register to attend the meeting via Zoom. |
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Wednesday, January 26th
Afternoon Meetings
12:00pm-12:55pm
Labor Day Retreat Committee, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 8162325947#
CLE Committee, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 9031955001#
1:00pm-1:55pm
Inclusion/Mentoring/Fellowship and Membership Committee Joint Meeting, Registration Link
Communications Committee, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 9031955001#
1:00pm-3:55pm
2:00pm-2:55pm
BLS Marketing, Promotions and Sponsorship Committee, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 3685320102#
3:00pm-3:55pm
UCRERA Task Force, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 5173246625#
Opinion Standards Committee, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 1352846759#
4:00pm-6:00pm
Thursday, January 27th
Morning Meetings
8:00am-8:55am
Civil Rules Task Force, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 3685320102#
ABC Study Group, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 9031955001#
9:00am-9:55am
Scholars and Fellows Retention Task Force, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 8670236698#
COVID Task Force, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 6184148071#
Business Courts Task Force, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 3685320102#
10:00am-12:00pm
Afternoon Meetings
1:30pm-2:30pm
Budget Committee, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 8670236698#
Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Task Force, Call Information (888)376-5050, Participant Pin: 8162325947#
1:15pm-2:45pm
2:45pm-3:45pm
2:45pm-4:00pm
Legislation Committee, Registration Link Upon Request
4:00pm-7:00pm
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