“I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed. . .”  When we took the Florida Bar Oath, we each pledged to do pro bono work. But that isn’t why I always did pro bono cases, and that isn’t why I encourage others to take pro bono...Read More

Congratulations to John Macdonald and Maxine Long, the recipients of the first ever Business Law Section Pro Bono Award. On June 21, 2023, John MacDonald, of Akerman, LLP, and Maxine Long, a retired former Chair of the Business Law Section, received the BLS Inaugural Pro Bono Award. While the BLS and its members have been...Read More

The Business Law Section’s Financial Literacy Task Force is proud to announce the launching of their statewide Veterans Financial Literacy Program to take place this coming November 2023 (Veterans Month) in Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Pensacola. You can help veterans across Florida learn to make educated financial decisions and avoid pitfalls.  We would very...Read More

Do you have a pro bono hero? Someone whose dedication to pro bono work and to improving access to justice exemplifies our professional obligation to use their skills as an attorney to help those less fortunate? Someone who deserves recognition for pro bono work? If so, you have an opportunity to nominate your pro bono...Read More

Judge Isicoff is spearheading an effort to design a statewide project to assist and provide our Veterans with financial literacy counseling. The project is inspired and designed after a similar project that was presented during the last National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ Annual Meeting at the Veterans’ Village of San Diego, California. The Veteran’s Financial...Read More

Learn more Veterans Financial Literacy ProgramRead More

Jay Brown is the Deputy Chair, Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice Group at Akerman, LLP in Jacksonville, where he represents secured and unsecured creditors, committees, trustees, and debtors in bankruptcy, commercial litigation, and business law matters. Our former Chair of the Business Law Section is a true believer in the importance of Rule 4-6.1 of The...Read More

Adina Pollan is a Jacksonville attorney who owns Pollan Legal, her own law practice, focusing primarily on business formation, litigation and bankruptcy issues. Right after graduating from law school, Adina had the honor of clerking for The Honorable Jerry A. Funk at the United States Bankruptcy Court, in the Middle District of Florida. It was...Read More

Marianne Coulton is a solo practitioner who operates her own law firm named Marianne Coulton, P.A., located in Boynton Beach, Florida.  She was forced to retire in 2017 because she was suffering from severe chronic illnesses that she has now overcome to a degree that allowed her to return to the Practice of Law in...Read More

Judiciary Spotlight Hon. Thomas B. Smith, Magistrate Judge U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Orlando Division) Judge Smith has been an active member of the Business Law Section for many years. He is currently the Federal Judicial Chair of our State and Federal Court Judicial Liaison Committee, assisting our members in the exchange of information...Read More