AVAILABLE!

Would you like to position your business in front of the legal community in Lee County?

The 2023 Annual Bench Bar-B-Q & Shrimp Boil is one of our most highly attended events, which makes it an excellent opportunity to promote your firm or professional services.

Contact Lauren Baugh at LBaugh@leebar.org or call (239) 334-0047 to secure one of the following sponsorship packages.

GOLD SPONSOR: $1,000

In addition to exposure for your business, you will receive six tickets and three beer bracelets. Your company logo will be included on event signage, and you are invited to bring a table and 10x10 backdrop to set up. Swag is always welcome!

SILVER SPONSOR: $500

In addition to exposure for your business, you will receive three tickets and one beer bracelet. Your company logo will be included on event signage, and you are invited to bring a table and 10x10 backdrop to set up. Swag is always welcome!

BRONZE SPONSOR: $250

In addition to exposure for your business, you will receive one ticket to attend the Annual Bench Bar-B-Q & Shrimp Boil. Your company logo will also be include on event signage.

DJ SPONSOR

DIAMOND SPONSORSOLD

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS SOLD

BEER SPONSOR

SWEET TREATS SPONSOR SOLD

SOLD

FACE PAINTING & BOUNCE HOUSE SPONSOR

By Sarah Nadal

During March, the United States celebrates Women’s History Month to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8. These two national observances provide the opportunity to acknowledge the often-overlooked contributions of many trailblazing women throughout history, society and culture.

Today, the National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) designates a yearly theme to encourage the recognition of women – past and present – who are committed to serving others. For 2023, the theme for Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” According to the NWHA, this timely theme honors women in every community who have devoted their lives and talents to pursuing truth and reflecting society, decade after decade.

Local Female Judiciary on the Women Who Inspired Them

In the spirit of recognizing those who pursue truth, the Lee County Bar Association recently surveyed the local female judiciary who serve on the 20th Judicial Circuit. Charged with serving their fellow citizens during their most vulnerable moments, these public servants are inspiring examples in their own right!

Several legal ladies revealed which women have made a lifelong impact in their own careers, while others shared why they chose to enter the field of law.

The Hon. Leigh Frizzell Hayes, who will retire next year after serving 27 years as a judge in Lee County, shared her reflections on her early days as a female judge. She first ran for office in 1996 at the encouragement of Barbara Wallace, who served on the school board during that time and had given an inspirational speech during a presentation to the Women’s Bar Association.

“Back then, Cindy Pivacek was a Collier County Judge and Sherra Winesett served as a Circuit Judge. While Judge Winesett started in Lee County, she had moved to Charlotte County by the time I started, so I was the only female judge in Lee County back then,” said Judge Hayes.

“It was a different world. Once while covering for Judge Sloan in Hendry County, an older man told me he ‘wasn’t going to let no lady tell him that he had to stay in jail.’ During civil phone hearings, an

East Coast lawyer told me he was ready – so I could call the judge to the phone,” she recalled. “I nicely told him I was the judge. There was silence for a bit, until he apologized.”

She recalled how the criminal attorneys in Lee County gave her a difficult time for about a year. “Then their tests were over, and we got along fine. Despite some resistance to me being a judge back then, I’ve had so much support and so many mentors through the years, including Vicki Sproat and Judge Keith Cary,” said Judge Hayes.

How the times have changed! When the Hon. Josephine Gagliardi started to practice law in Lee County, Fort Myers did not originally have a Federal Courthouse nor a sitting federal judge. “Back then, the Honorable United States District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich (ret.) would come from Tampa to hear cases. I regularly appeared before her. She was a powerhouse,” she explained.

Judge Kovachevich made a lasting impact on the young lawyer after tasking her with changing the legal landscape for the Fort Myers community. “I was drafted to work on getting a judge and a courthouse for Fort Myers. I flew to Washington, D.C., and spoke to members of the House and Senate about the needs of our community. We eventually did get the courthouse – and it was all because of her. Talk about inspiring” said Judge Gagliardi.

Judge Gagliardi’s interest in the legal arena initially grew from deep family roots in the law. “I have always wanted to be a lawyer. I believe it began as I litigated everything with my old world Italian father as a youth,” she said.

She isn’t the only local judge who followed the footsteps of family into law. “My great-grandfather graduated law school in 1911,” explained the Hon. Devin George. “My dad, even though he was my mother’s grandfather, became a lawyer because of him. And I, because of my dad.”

Judge George has a profound respect for what women had to push through in the workplace. “I think Sandra Day O’Connor paved the way for woman to truly begin receiving respect and recognition for the legal community in a way we never had,” she said.

O’Connor was selected in 1979 to serve on the Arizona State Court of Appeals. A mere two years later, President Ronald Reagan nominated her to serve as associate justice of the United