Adverse Witness
Adverse Witness As youall know, our Bar Associationhad tocancel or reschedule many of our fantastic events and programs this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those events was our annual Law Week luncheon and presentation. The Law Week theme this year was “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy - the 19th Amendment at 100”, which commemorated “the centennial of the transformative constitutional amendment that guaranteed the right of citizens to vote would not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex. American women fought for, and won, the vote through their voice and action.” Lisa Terwilliger, Chris Donovan and I had already lined up the presenters for this year’s Law Week luncheon prior to the decision to postpone all in-person Bar Association events. In order to meet the requirement of having at least one costumed historical reenactor appear at a Bar event each year (known as the “Laird Lile Rule”), we were scheduled to have an actor from the American Historical Theatre in Philadelphia appear in character as Susan B. Anthony. And Chris Donovan had agreed to appear in costume in a supporting role as Alice Paul, who was another important figure in the women’s suffrage movement (you can see a photo from Chris’ dress rehearsal below). It would have been a memorable performance and great Law Week program. But it was not meant to be. While it was unfortunate that the Law Week program was canceled this year, preparing for it gave me the opportunity to think about the theme and how fortunate our Bar Association is to have a history of strong female leadership, which continues today. The precedent was set in Collier County by Lynne Hixon-Holley who, among her many accomplishments, was the first female judge in the county and circuit courts, the first female public defender, the first female school board attorney, and the first female CCBA president (serving as our third president from 1952-53). I had the pleasure of interviewing Judge Hixon-Holley a few years ago as part of an Inns of Court project. She was as sharp as ever, and regaled us with tales of being one of only three women at the University of Florida Law School. Judge Hixon-Holley passed away on April 30 of this year (coincidently, the day before Law Day, which kicks off Law Week), but her accomplishments and leadership set the example for female leaders in Collier County and within our Bar Association. While Judge Hixon-Holley set the bar for women leaders in our area, many of our excellent female attorneys followed in her footsteps and have continued to raise that bar. To date, fifteen women have served as President of our Bar Association, which I would be willing to bet is a very high number when compared to other Bar Associations throughout the state. In fact, we’ve hadmore female thanmale presidents since 2002. In addition, to JudgeHixon- Holley, Brenda Garretson (1984-85), Cathy Reiman (1991-92), Shannon Anderson (1993-94), July-August 2020 PRESIDENTS MESSAGE Letter from the Editor Did you know that the first version of the iPad debuted in 2010? In fact, in 2010, many things were very different. The national crisis of the moment was the BP oil spill. Breaking news in pop culture included Simon Cowell leaving American Idol after eight years with the show, and Kate Middleton becoming engaged to Prince William. The notion of conducting court hearings and trials virtually would have sounded far-fetched. (Interestingly, Zoom was founded one year later in 2011, but would not become a house-hold name until 2020.). Our judiciary has changed quite a bit, as well. In 2010, Judges McF e andMcGowan were criminal defense attorneys, often opposing Judge Brown, a budding young prosecutor. Ju ge Cupp and Judge Nicola were solo practitioners, Judge Foster was practicing civil trial law, and Judge Adams became a member of the Florida Bar. A dec de, seven new judges and seven generations of the iPad later, one thing has remained very much the same - the Adverse Witness . This little publication of ours has had the s me look since Pet r Van Dien was president of the CCBA i 2010! As is year’s secretary and thus the curr nt editor, I will b working with Lisa to implement a fresh new look for the magazine tha has become a staple on la yers’ desks (and, more rec ntly, computer screens) around Collier County. Do ’t orry, you will still see all of the columns that you know and lov , including Views from the Bench, ph togr phs from our events (whether they are screen shots of virtual meeti gs or pictures from saf ly social-distanced gatherin s) and, of course, your President’s Message. And most importantly, we till want to f ature content from our members, s please k p submitting articles and phot gr phs for publication. Enjoy your last 2010s-era Adverse Witness , and be on the lookout for our new and (hopefully) improved look in the September issue. Respectfully, Rachel Kerlek Editor of the Adverse Witness.
September 2020 Vol. 192 published in the Adverse Witness, nor are the articles published in the Adverse Witness intended to express the views of the Collier County Bar Association. If you have questions or concerns about information contained in articles published in the Adverse Witness, please contact the author of the article directly. Real Estate - Erin Miller-Meyers Trial Law - Christopher Donovan Trusts & Estates - Kristin Phillips Young Lawyers - Ashley Cooper Collier County Bar Association 3315 E. Tamiami Trail, Suite 505 Naples, Florida 34112 (239) 252-8711 (239) 775-5858 Fax LisaT@colliercountybar.org www.colliercountybar.org Hours: 8:30 - 4:30 p.m. M-Thu 8:30 - 4:00 Fridays The adverse witness is pleased to feature articles submitted by Collier County Bar Association members, affiliates and the general public that may be of interest to the Collier County Bar Association’s membership. The Collier County Bar Association does not verify the accuracy of the information contained in the articles Adverse Witness Editorial Board Publication Deadline: 10th day of month preceding publication Officers President Travis Hayes President Elect Andrew Reiss Treasurer Edward Larsen Secretary Rachel Kerlek Immediate Past President Richard Montecalvo Executive Director Lisa A. Terwilliger Directors Hilda Cenecharles Christopher Donovan Donna Marshall Patrick Neale Jamie Schwinghamer Rebecca Vacciarello Charles Whittington Section Chairs Family Law - Corey Huffman Publication Deadline: 10 th day of month preceding publication Officers P esident Travis Hayes President Elect Andrew Reiss Treasurer Edward Larsen / AW Editor el Kerlek Executive Director Lisa A. Terwilliger Immediate Past President Richard Montecalvo Directors ilda Cenecharles hristopher D novan a Marshall trick Neale Jamie Schwinghamer Rebecca Vacciarello Charles Whittington Section Chairs: Section Chairs Family Law – H lly Rice Real Estate – Erin Miller-Meyers Trial Law – Christopher Donovan Trusts & Estates – Kristin Phillips Young Lawyers – Ashley Cooper Collier County Bar Association 3315 E. Tamiami Trail, Suite 505 Naples, Florida 34112 (239) 252-8711 (239) 775-5858 Fax LisaT@colliercountybar.org www.colliercountybar.org Hours: 8:30- 4:30 p.m. M-Thu 8:30-4:00 Fridays A rse Witness Editorial Board
Christine Greider (1996-97), Jill Burzynski (2002-03), Kelley Geraghty Price (2004-05), Jean Rawson (2005-06), Kathleen Passidomo (2007- 08), Janeice Martin (2008-09), Maggie McMorrow (2011-12), Jeanne Seewald (2012-13), Tamara Nicola (2013-14), Sonia Diaz (2014-15), and Kim Spiker (2018-19) have served as presidents of the Collier County Bar Association. CONTINUED ON PAGE 31
Cover photo by Gail Markham. If you have a picture (old or new) that you’d like to submit for consideration as cover art for the next issue of the Adverse Witness , please forward a JPG image to Lisa Terwilliger, LisaT@colliercountybar.org along with a brief description of the place depicted in your photo.
The Adverse Witness is pleased to feature r cles ubmitted by Collier County Bar Association members, affiliates and the general public th t may be of interest to Collier County Bar Association’s membership. The Collier County Bar Association does not verify the accuracy of the information contained in the articles published in the Adverse Witness , nor are the articles published in the Adverse Witness intended to express the views of the Collier County Bar Association. If you have questions or concerns about information contained in articles published in the Adverse Witness , please contact the author of the article directly.
Adverse Witness, July-August 2020
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