August 2020
Hello BLS members:
I hope this message finds each of you safe and healthy. As if the effects of the COVID pandemic were not challenging enough, there is nothing like the added overlay of Hurricane Isaias and storm preparations facing us as Florida residents. The Section and I remain undeterred and will continue our efforts to bring you quality and timely programming.
I write to give you an update on the Section’s work-in-progress and upcoming activities as we gear up for virtual business meetings in lieu of our much-missed Labor Day Retreat. Our Committee meetings will be held via Zoom from Wednesday, September 2 through Friday September 4, 2020. Please see the schedule and pre-register for any meetings you wish to attend. We hope to see all of you participate.
Since our last meeting, our Committees have been hard at work developing content and working on various projects. Our Intellectual Property Committee will be hosting a CLE at our next meeting and is working to provide additional CLE sessions in the Fall. They are also working on an update to the original study guide for IP certification and other projects.
Similarly, our Legislation Committee is working on bringing our members a Legislative Update providing a comprehensive look at legislation passed during Florida’s recent legislative session.
Our View from the Bench Standing Committee is working to ensure that our signature bankruptcy program remains uninterrupted this Fall, even if it means transitioning to a virtual platform. Stay tuned for further information on this program which will be available soon.
In addition, collaboration between the Florida Bar’s Tax Section and our Bankruptcy/UCC Committee has led to the development of our upcoming CLE Series beginning on August 26 covering bankruptcy, state and local tax issues. See the link for registration for these programs available for free to Section members.
Also look out for our Computer and Technology Committee’s upcoming publication in the Florida Bar Journal, “The Revolution Will Be Memorialized; Blockchain Smart Contract Use Cases” authored by our own Robert Kain and Zachary Catanzaro. Keep watching the Computer and Technology Committee’s active list serve by which it will be sending out a proposed legislative position on data privacy for input and feedback from its members.
Last but not least, please join us for a networking opportunity at our first Virtual BLS IMF Networking Social on Thursday, August 6, 2020 at 6pm via Zoom. Although 2020 continues to present challenges, we will continue to refuse to allow the challenges to impede our ability to do the work of the Section, to connect or to get to know each other. We hope this BLS IMF Networking Social will allow our Fellows, Scholars and other new members to learn how to make the most of Section opportunities this year. At the same time, it will provide members an opportunity to share and get to know our Fellows and Scholars. I hope to see all of you there.
Leyza