The Sages in Florida

THE AMERICAN COLLEGE
of Trial Lawyers (ACTL or
the College) was established in 1950. Two years later, the first Florida
lawyer was admitted to membership.
It is a high honor to be invited to become a Fellow of the College.
Only those lawyers who are actively engaged in trial practice as their
principal activity and who have done so for at least fifteen years are
eligible for an invitation. The total number is limited to no more than
1 percent of the lawyers licensed to practice in the state of Florida.1
At the present time there are 204 active and retired Florida Fellows.
Every Fellow inducted through 2013 is listed in the Appendix.
We have attempted to credit all the sources of the anecdotes
and written materials used. One particular source deserves special
mention. The Florida Bar has a center for professionalism named in the memory of Henry Latimer. Its work includes live video interviews
of leading Florida lawyers in order to memorialize their views on
civility, professionalism, and law school curriculum. The Latimer
Center graciously provided us with copies of some of these videos,
and an outstanding Jacksonville court reporter, Susanne DiBerardino,
made transcripts for our use. She did a magnificent job, with her only
compensation being our sincere thanks. References to these videos
will be referred to as the Latimer interviews.
It is our hope that this book will be interesting to the reader, help
publicize the important work of the College, and become a tool for
mentoring new lawyers.