Summation Weekly Dec. 10

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Vol. 14, No. 48

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December 10, 2014

1 Section, 8 Pages

Local Love: Small Business Saturday is a win for local consumers and businesses alike

By Josh Newby & Valerie Thornewell

mall businesses are responsible for a vast majority of economic development in the United States and are considered vital to our continued recovery from the Recession.

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In fact, small businesses have generated more than 65 percent of new jobs since 1995 and more than 50 percent of America’s working population is employed in a small business, defined as any company with fewer than 500 employees. It is not an overstatement to say that small business has largely built America into what it is today, and while the big box retailers get much of the attention during the holiday season, it is often the little guys that offer the best deals and quality.

Enter Small Business Saturday, the mom-and-pop answer to Black Friday. It was first observed in 2010 and has experienced a surge in awareness recently due to sponsorship by American Express and local chambers of commerce. In 2012, the day was further legitimized when the US Senate and President Obama expressed their support. In 2013, consumers spent $5.7 billion on Small Business Saturday, thanks to the fact that an estimated 93 percent of Americans believe that locals should support other locals.

The growth does not stop there.

The National Federation of Independent Business indicated that 88 million consumers shopped small this year, up almost 15 percent from 2013. Even better, 446 companies agreed to be official supporters of the day and a reported 610,000 small business owners used marketing tools available on shopsmall.com, which resulted in the average small business shopper spending $162 on Saturday. The day has become a social media phenomenon, too, with #SmallBizSat and #ShopSmall accounting for 126,000 tweets within the 24-hour period.

“More Americans recognize the direct link between shopping locally and stronger communities and that’s

an extremely positive result,” said Dan Danner, CEO and president of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, in a statement.

“We’re delighted by the success of Small Business Saturday but we’re even more excited by the growing commitment among Americans to give small businesses a chance to compete all year round.”

These small businesses are the ones that are worth supporting, as small businesses donate an average of 250 percent more than larger businesses to non-profits and community organizations. According to a recent civic economics study, $68 of every $100 spent at a small business stays in the local economy, compared to only $43 at a larger business.

Locally, the Small Business Saturday initiative was headed up by the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, which handed out shopping bags, balloons, doormats, and perhaps most enticingly, American Express gift cards. American Express offers discounts and other rewards on Small Business Saturday to anyone who used their card at a registered small business, with rewards differing every year. The company also puts out online advertisements about small companies to help raise awareness about the day. American Express offers $10 back to every $10 spent. This push seems to have helped, as many local stores reported as much as double the responsiveness and sales over the shopping weekend compared to other weekends.

One such success story is Urban Objects, which has been open in downtown Pensacola for almost exactly one year after moving from mid-town. Owner Sarah Gillette believes in fashion forward interior de-

sign and the importance of shopping small.

“We’ve been here a year and our sales have doubled from last year,” said Gillette. “People are realizing that if you keep the money local, it goes right back into our local economy.”

Jeanne Kennedy, an employee at Urban Objects, was there for Small Business Saturday and joyfully reported the spike in sales and window shoppers.

“We did have a lot of locals who would come in and say, ‘We are trying to keep it local,’ so they knew what they were participating in,” said Kennedy.

As more corporately-owned companies seek to dominate a larger share of consumers’ dollars by continually pushing Black Friday into the late hours of Thanksgiving the night before, small businesses remain steadfast and continually increase their profits over the previous year.

At Indigeaux Denim Bar & Boutique, a four-year-old clothing store that is a favorite among locals, co-

Photo courtesy of the Greater Pensacola Chamber

owner Katie Rozier said that Shop Small merchandising, as well as local marketing and social media initiatives, helped make this Small Business Saturday the best she has seen since the store has been open.

“I think people were shopping late Thursday at big stores and likely slept in a lot Friday,” said Rozier.

“We did really great on Saturday, though. We had 20 percent off the entire purchase and people really showed up because of that and the awareness that was built around shopping small downtown.”

Some businesses actually did better on Black Friday, the day traditionally reserved for larger retailers, than on Saturday.

Michelle Vice owns Vivian’s Loft in downtown Pensacola, a consignment clothing store that is off the usual main drag that is Palafox Street, and sees her increased sales and small business patronage as a sign of the times in the city.

“We actually got more traffic on Friday than on Saturday,” said Vice.

“Friday saw a sales increase of 50 percent and Saturday was 30 per-

cent. I think that just goes to show that people are paying attention to small retailers and are even venturing off of Palafox. It’d be really cool if we keep this momentum going. As there’s more stores, more people will come down here, which means more stores will open. It’s good for everybody.”

Small Business Saturday is about more than just the sales, though, according to Vice.

“It’s also about awareness,” said Vice. “Lots of people came in and visited who may not have otherwise.

Even if they didn’t buy anything, they know about us now. We generally cater to women over 40, but lots of moms and young girls came in that day.”

As awareness continues to build and shopping small becomes the pervasively trendy thing to do, these small stores have even more business to look forward to. When money that is earned locally is spent locally, it helps us. When visitors come and spend their outside money locally, it helps everyone.

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December 10, 2014

The Summation Weekly NEWS FROM THE BAR ASSOCIATION

Chief Justice Labarga Launches Access to Civil Justice Commission TALLAHASSEE – Recognizing that economic disparity threatens access to a fair and impartial judicial system, Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga today issued an administrative order establishing the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice. The 27-member commission includes leaders from all three branches of Florida government, The Florida Bar, The Florida Bar Foundation, civil legal aid providers, the business community, and other stakeholders, who will work in a coordinated effort to identify and remove economic barriers to civil justice.

The commission is a result of recent efforts by Florida Bar President Gregory W. Coleman, in partnership with Labarga and Florida Bar Foundation leaders, to focus on addressing access to justice as a societal crisis that needs to be solved with concrete and creative changes in the system.

“Florida needs a coordinated effort involving all of the entities with the potential to make permanent, systemic advances to ensure that access to justice in Florida is not limited to those who can afford it,” Labarga

said. “We are particularly concerned about the circumstances facing lowincome litigants for whom purchasing legal representation can pose an impossible challenge. But access to civil justice is also a problem for the middle class, many of whom do not qualify for legal aid and cannot afford to hire a lawyer.”

Coleman said there is a huge segment of society who make too much money to qualify for legal aid, but not enough to hire your average lawyer.

“We have a broken system right now with legal aid having severely reduced funding and a void in the court system in terms of access to justice by middle-income Americans who make too much money to qualify for legal aid but cannot afford a lawyer,” Coleman said. “These are people who are living paycheck to paycheck.”

Labarga’s order tasks the commission with studying the unmet civil legal needs of disadvantaged, low-income and moderate-income Floridians and with considering the state’s legal assistance delivery system as a whole, “including but not

APPLICANTS SOUGHT FOR STATEWIDE PROSECUTOR The Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission is seeking qualified applicants to fill the position of Statewide Prosecutor. The appointment takes place every four years, according to Section 16.56, F.S. Applicants must be an elector of the state, a member of The Florida Bar for the preceding five years, and must devote full-time to their duties and not engage in the private practice of law. The Judicial Nominating Commission will nominate not less than three persons to the Attorney General, who will appoint the Statewide Prosecutor for a term of four years, to run concurrently with the term of the Attorney General. The person appointed Statewide Prosecutor is prohibited from running for or accepting appointment to any state office for a period of two years following vacation of office.

Applications for the position and the required financial statement can be obtained from The Florida Bar’s website.

One completed original application, with attachments and financial statement, must be received by Jason Unger at GrayRobinson, P.A., 301 South Bronough Street, Suite 600, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 no later than December 11, 2014. Additionally, one electronic redacted copy of the application which complies with Chapter 119 and Florida’s public records law must also be received no later than December 11, 2014 at the following email address: jason.unger@gray-robinson.com.

Interviews will take place on December 15, 2014 at the offices of GrayRobinson, P.A., 301 S. Bronough Street, Suite 600, Tallahassee, Florida.

The members currently serving on the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission are: Chair Cynthia G. Angelos, Port St. Lucie; Vice Chair Jason L. Unger, Tallahassee; Alexander M. Clem, Orlando; Daniel E. Nordby, Tallahassee; Israel U. Reyes, Coral Gables; Jeanne T. Tate, Tampa; Nilda R. Pedrosa, Coral Gables; Robert A Butterworth, Jr., Ft. Lauderdale; and Rutledge R. Liles, Jacksonville.

limited to staffed legal aid programs, resources and support for self-represented litigants, limited scope representation, pro bono services, innovative technology solutions, and other models and potential innovations.”

Labarga’s order notes the significant work Florida state courts have undertaken to develop forms, instructions, and other self-help resources for those going it alone in court, while calling for the examination of other potential solutions.

These include “unbundled legal services,” in which the attorney and client agree to a limited scope of attorney involvement in a case, leaving greater responsibility the client so as to limit the client’s legal costs; leveraging technology in expanding access to civil justice; and maximizing resources and stabilizing funding in support of civil justice services.

At the same time, Florida lawyers are contributing significant time and monetary contributions to legal aid.

Last year Bar members reported 1.7 million hours of pro bono work and $4.8 million to legal services organizations, Coleman said.

“Lawyers truly care about trying to provide services to those who can least afford them, but we cannot do it with volunteers and donations alone.

I believe it is particularly important to involve the business community to bring their innovative problem solving expertise to the effort. Business leaders also have the welfare of their employees to consider. Lack of access to justice can lead to individual and family instability that will affect the workplace,” Coleman said.

Both Labarga and Coleman say the time has come for an unprecedented level of collaboration to address this issue.

“We want to build on the great work that others started here in Florida and have been working hard to implement with limited resources,” Labarga said. “Our local legal aid societies, despite resources stretched to the limit, have been there all along representing folks who would otherwise not have access to our civil justice system. Members of The Florida Bar have donated thousands upon thousands of pro bono hours to needy citizens throughout

the years. We must now take it to the next level, bearing in mind that the question of access to our civil justice system is a societal question and, as such, the solution rests with all segments of society.”

The Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice will be a timelimited commission but is called upon in the order to make a recommendation on the need for a permanent access to justice commission in Florida. Permanent access to justice commissions operate in 32 states and the District of Columbia, with the first commission having been established in Washington state in 1994.

TheAmerican Bar Association operates a Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives to support access to justice commissions and promulgate their advances.

The study commission will submit an interim report to the Court by Oct. 1, 2015, and a final report by June 30, 2016, and will provide these reports also to the Governor of Florida, the President of the Florida Senate, and the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.

Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association Calendar of Events December 11 ESRBA Holiday Reception Gulf Coast Community Bank (5:30 – 7:30 P.M.) December 12 Santa Rosa Legal Community Holiday Luncheon The Imogene Theater (Noon) For Ticket Information Contact: The Byrom Law Firm December 24 Christmas Eve Offices Closed: First Judicial Circuit Court Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Escambia County Clerk of Court and Comptroller (Court Functions Only) Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association

December 25 Christmas Day Offices Closed: U.S. District Court First Judicial Circuit Court Florida Office of Compensation Claims Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Escambia County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association January 1 New Year’s Day Offices Closed: U.S. District Court First Judicial Circuit Court Florida Office of Compensation Claims Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Escambia County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association

2015 JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION NOMINATIONS TO BE MADE Judicial Nominating Commissions: One lawyer vacancy for each of the 26 JNCs. The Florida Bar has the opportunity to nominate three lawyers for each Judicial Nominating Commission to the Governor for his appointment. Each appointee will serve a four-year term, commencing July 1, 2015. Applicants must be engaged in the practice of law and a resident of the territorial jurisdiction served by the commission to which the member is applying. Commissioners are not eligible for state judicial office for vacancies filled by the JNC on which they sit for 2 years following completion of their term.

Applications must be submitted no later than 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 2, 2015 in the Executive Director’s office of The Florida Bar. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of an application. Screening committees of the Board of Governors will review all JNC applications. The Executive Committee will then make recommendations to the Board of Governors.

Persons interested in applying for any of these vacancies may download the proper application form (there is a specific JNC application) from The Florida Bar’s website, www.floridabar.org, or call Bar headquarters at (850) 561-5757, to obtain the application. Completed applications must be received by the Executive Director, The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300 by the March 2 deadline date.

Professionalism Awards Nomination Deadlines Approaching The Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on Professionalism is now accepting nominations for the William M. Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award, the Group Professionalism Award, and the Law Faculty/Administrator Professionalism Award. The William M. Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award is for either a state or federal judge “who best exemplifies strength of character, service, and competence as a jurist, lawyer, and public servant.” The purpose of the Group Professionalism Award is to find one organization that has an innovative program that can be implemented by other organizations to promote and encourage professionalism within the legal community. The Law Faculty/Administrator Professionalism Award is intended to honor a faculty member or administrator who through teaching, scholarship, and service to the profession best supports or exemplifies the mission of the Standing Committee on Professionalism. The deadline for nominations and all supporting documents for the William M. Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award is February 2, 2014.

The deadline for nomination packets for the Law Faculty/Administrator Professionalism Award and the Group Professionalism Award is Feb. 16, 2014. All nomination forms can be found on the Center's website at www.floridabar.org/professionalism - under the “Awards” section - and must be submitted to the Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism.

The Summation Weekly

December 10, 2014

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December 10, 2014

The Summation Weekly