Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, January 15, 2018
Vol. 105, No. 041 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Law a family tradition
Boeing, Embraer looking at merger
For three generations, the Kent family has been a part of the legal community – and also for a while, the movie industry.
By Max Marbut Associate Editor
Both companies have operations in Jacksonville; Brazil could block deal.
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or Jacksonville’s Kent family, the practice of law is a three-generation tradition. Frederick H. Kent III, president of Jacksonville’s Marks Gray law firm, has kept the family’s archives and oral history. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Kents lived in Fitzgerald, Georgia, where the family was in the cotton business. Kent’s grandfather, Frederick Heber Kent, enrolled at the University of Georgia and graduated from law school there. He moved to Jacksonville after getting into some mischief during a weekend outing to Atlanta. Kent said his grandfather’s father, somewhat embarrassed over the notoriety following the youthful transgression that included being arrested, told his progeny that it would be a good idea to leave the state. “My grandfather was exiled to Jacksonville. He called it ‘Siberia,’” Kent said. “But he met my grandmother and they fell in love.” The move also was the beginning of a law career that spanned nearly 60 years. It was a time of great change in Florida. Kent said his grandfather left his mark on the state, including Kent
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Two global companies that are significant players in Jacksonville’s aerospace industry are talking merger, but the deal is facing a snag that may derail an agreement. The Boeing Co. and Brazilbased Embraer S.A. confirmed last month in a joint statement they “are engaged in discussions regarding a potential combination,” adding that they won’t discuss further details. However, other parties are weighing in, including the Brazilian government, which says it won’t approve a deal in which Boeing acquires control of Embraer. This isn’t a regulatory matter in Brazil. The country has an ownership stake in Embraer. Embraer is a publicly traded company with about 740 million shares outstanding, but one of those shares is a “golden share” held by the Brazilian government. That one share gives the government veto power over any potential deal involving Embraer. Brazil’s defense minister told the Financial Times two weeks ago that the government would allow a “partnership or joint ven-
Photo by Max Marbut
Frederick H. Kent III has a collection of family history that includes the program for a groundbreaking at Florida Junior College, which later was named in honor of his grandfather. The site along Roosevelt Boulevard and Park Street is now the Kent Campus of Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Basch
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Florida Coastal students excel on professionalism exam 97 percent pass rate on the November MPRE required by The Florida Bar is No. 1 in the state.
By Max Marbut Associate Editor Students of Florida Coastal School of Law turned in a nearly perfect performance when 97 percent of them passed the November Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, one of the requirements for admission to The Florida Bar.
The pass percentage was the highest among the 11 law schools in the state, as well as graduates of law DeVito schools outside Florida and attorneys who previously were admitted to the practice of law
in other states, according to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Florida Coastal Dean Scott DeVito attributes the level of success on the most recent exam to a combination of raising the minimum Law School Admission Test score required to enroll at the school and improving the ethics and professionalism curriculum. DeVito said when he was
appointed dean of the school in June 2015, the faculty and administration were “concerned about the MPRE.” Florida Coastal graduates were at the time consistently grading out on the test in the bottom two or three among the state’s 11 law schools. Florida Coastal continued on Page 4
The Marbut Report: Attorney travels to Antarctica McGuireWoods partner Scott Cairns wants to visit all seven continents. Public
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