Judge James M. Barton II appointed to The Florida Bar Foundation board

by Nancy Kinnally
July 2012

James-BartonORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court has appointed Judge James M. Barton II of the 13th Judicial Circuit to a three-year term on the board of directors of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization that works on behalf of Florida’s legal profession to expand access to justice.

“For the past 20 years I have been involved with organizing and promoting pro bono legal services at both state and local levels,” Barton wrote in his board application. “I would like to contribute to the efforts of The Florida Bar Foundation in increasing access to the courts by indigent persons, particularly in these difficult economic times.”

Barton earned his bachelor’s degree at Tulane University and his juris doctorate at Vanderbilt University College of Law. He is former chair and a current member of The Florida Bar Standing Committee on Pro Bono and a member of the 13th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee.

He received the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Jimmy Kynes Pro Bono Award in 1993 and 2011, its Robert W. Patton Outstanding Jurist Award in 1995 and 2010 and received its James M. “Red” McEwen Memorial Award in 1992. He also received the William Reece Smith Jr. Award for Public Service from the Stetson University College of Law in 1996 and the Chief Justice Distinguished Judicial Service Award in 2012.

Barton’s term on the Foundation board began July 1.