Former Florida Supreme Court Communications Director Craig Waters has been appointed by The Florida Bar to a three-year term on the board of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization whose mission is to provide greater access to justice.

Waters, of Tallahassee, served as director of public information for the Court for 35 years. Before working as a journalist in his hometown of Pensacola, he attended Brown University. Waters then earned his juris doctor from the University of Florida School of Law. He began his law career as a staff attorney for Florida Supreme Court Justice Rosemary Barkett. In 1994, under the direction of Chief Justices Stephanie Grimes and Gerald Kogan, he created the Court’s first website. Two years later, he formed the Court’s public information office as part of Kogan’s effort to improve public access to the courts.

Most recently, the First Amendment Foundation recognized Waters with its 2022 Pete Weitzel/Friend of the First Amendment Award in recognition of his groundbreaking use of the internet and video technology to increase the public’s access to Florida’s court system. The Florida Bar’s Media and Communications Law Committee this June gave Waters its lifetime achievement award for his career-long work on governmental openness and transparency and cooperative outreach with the press and the public.

Waters is known to be an innovator, having advocated early for online court records. He also created the Florida Court Public Information Officers nonprofit organization and was an early adopter of social media to disseminate Court information. He is also widely recognized for his public role during the 2000 Bush v. Gore case, when Florida recounted its election results.

The Florida Bar Foundation accomplishes its mission by funding programs that expand and improve representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons in civil legal matters, improve the fair and effective administration of justice, and promote public service among lawyers.

In December 2023, The Florida Bar Foundation changed its name to FFLA. Posts prior to this date contain our former name.