Voluntary BarNews

School may be out for the summer, but our voluntary bar associations continue to be hard at work.

The Central Florida Association for Women Lawyers

In April, the Central Florida Association for Women Lawyers (CFAWL) teamed up with the Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association (GOAABA), the Hispanic Bar Association of Central Florida (HBACF), and the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association (PCPBA) for a luncheon on April 14, 2023, at the Citrus Club. Then on April 27, 2023, Judge Vincent Chiu and his wife Alicia Chiu hosted a CFAWL Table for 8 with culinary masterpieces created by David Varet. Finally on April 29, 2023, CFAWL members laced up their sneakers and joined the Paws for Peace walk which raises funds for the emergency kennel at the Harbor House domestic violence shelter.

The Paul C Perkins

Bar Association

On April 12, 2023, The Paul C. Perkins Bar Association (PCPBA) hosted its Mentor/Mentee Networking Mixer Event at Ace Cafe Orlando. At this event, mentors and mentees of the Law Student Mentoring Program were able to network with attorneys and judges in the Central Florida area. Then on April 14, the PCPBA hosted a Joint Luncheon with CFAWL, GOABBA and HBACF in honor of Diversity Month at the Citrus Club. Finally, on April 17, 2023, the PCPBA hosted its April General Meeting. At this meeting, speaker Teneshia “MzMoneyWorks” LaFayé provided an informative presentation on investing, life insurance, and money management.

Congratulations as well to the PCPBA for winning the FAMU College of Law “Outstanding Community Service Award.”

The Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association

On April 17, 2023, the Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association (GOAABA) took place in an Orlando Foodie Tour at Wafu. GOAABA also had a great time at the joint luncheon on April 14, 2023, alongside CFAWL, PCPBA, and HBACF at the Citrus Club.

Central Florida Chapter American Board of Trial Advocates (CFLABOTA)

On March 8, 2023, members of the Central Florida American Board of Trial Advocates (CFLABOTA) met at the Country Club of Orlando and were joined by many members of our local judiciary. The honored speaker, Judge Richard Gergel, Federal District Judge, South Carolina, and author of “Unexampled Courage,” told the heartbreaking and compelling story of the beating and blinding of a decorated World War II African American soldier, Sargent Isaac Woodard which brought national attention to the gross prejudice and injustice endured by African Americans during the Jim Crow Era. This atrocity deeply moved Judge J. Waties Waring, Federal District, South Carolina (1942-1968) who encouraged Thurgood Marshall, the era’s leading civil rights attorney, to challenge the “Separate But Equal” doctrine established in 1896 by Plessy v. Ferguson. This back story, as told by Judge Gergel, revealed how this bold action ultimately helped pave the way to one of the most significant United States Supreme Court civil rights cases, Brown v. Board of Education, which de facto overruled the Plessy decision in 1954.