With the holiday season upon us, I want to take a moment to extend my warmest wishes to you. This time of year provides us the chance to reflect on our accomplishments and prepare for the opportunities in the coming year.
As I reflect on 2024, I am so proud and grateful to be a part of this Section. Our members continue to answer the call of bettering the legal community, whether by providing appellate pro bono services, authoring articles on appellate practice and profiles on appellate judges, engaging in various programs designed to foster meaningful connections among appellate practitioners, or hosting and attending many appellate CLEs. None of this would have been possible without the dedication, participation, and support of our committee leaders, Executive Council, and members.
Looking ahead to the opportunities in 2025, I’m excited to share some highlights of upcoming events taking place just in the first couple of months. We encourage you to mark your calendars and join us whenever you can.
For anyone taking or thinking about taking The Florida Bar’s appellate practice board certification exam, you won’t want to miss two exciting events. Taking place on January 9 at noon, our free board certification town hall will feature a panel of board-certified appellate practitioners discussing the ins and outs of the certification process. Sign up for that special event is at this link. The following week, on January 16, the Section will present our Board Certification Boot Camp, which is a virtual CLE designed to update exam takers about—and anyone wanting to stay current on—new developments in appellate law. Register for that CLE at this link.
There will be many fantastic additional CLE opportunities in the new year, starting with our continuing webinar series, which returns on Tuesday, January 21, with Florida Appellate Law 2024 Year In Review. On Thursday, January 30, Part I of a new webinar, Navigating Your First Appeal, will be available.
Our Section will have its next formal, in-person meetings on Thursday, January 23, in conjunction with The Florida Bar’s winter meeting. We will kick off these meetings with a town hall discussion at 10:00 a.m., so please come share your ideas about how the Section can continue to grow and best serve its members. Stick around at 11:00 a.m., when we will break out for our committee meetings. Finally, at 12:00 p.m., we will have our winter Executive Council meeting. Lunch will be provided. These meetings will all take place at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. The hotel is adding rooms to the block as it sells out, so please keep checking the link posted on the website for availability.
For those just looking for a chance to connect with other Section members, there also will be a couple of virtual offerings in the new year. Our Outreach Committee has a virtual happy hour scheduled for January 9 at 5:30 p.m. Grab a cocktail or mocktail and join us on zoom! And another installment of Table of Authorities is around the corner in February. If you are a new appellate attorney, I highly recommend you check this program out. It provides the unique experience to connect with an appellate judge for a personal, informal, and interactive discussion about the challenges and benefits of appellate practice.
Finally, the long-awaited Section retreat in Rome, Italy, is upon us. Registration was a huge success; we filled all available spots within a week. I look forward to seeing many of you for our second international retreat on February 23.
Thank you for being integral to our Section. Your engagement and enthusiasm inspire us to do more. If you have ideas, feedback, or would like to get more involved, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I wish you all a holiday season filled with peace, happiness, and good health. And cheers to the new year!
Courtney Brewer
