Trial Lawyers Section provides training scholarships for legal aid attorneys

The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section logo

The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section logoThe Florida Bar Trial Lawyers section provided more than $7,000 worth of scholarships enabling four legal aid attorneys to attend the section’s Advanced Trial Advocacy 2016 seminar May 10-14 at the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law in Gainesville.

The Florida Bar Foundation accepted applications from legal aid attorneys at its grantee organizations around Florida and selected the scholarship recipients.

“We are so grateful that the Trial Lawyers Section offered this tremendous opportunity to these legal aid attorneys,” said Jennifer Wimberly, the Foundation’s director of grants. “Operating on severely reduced budgets in recent years, legal aid organizations can use support of all kinds, and the provision of professional development is a great way for Florida Bar sections and divisions to offer their support.”

Andrew Batog of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Ariel Cook of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Dayanna Lopez of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, and Sean Rowley Legal Services of Greater Miami each received a Trial Lawyers Section scholarship to attend the seminar.

The Advanced Trial Advocacy Seminar is a hands-on, learning-by-doing trial skills training for attorneys who have practiced a minimum of five years and are involved in a full-time litigation practice. It covers three years-worth of continuing legal education and ethics hours. A case file is used as a source of facts and law for the training. Participants are videotaped in participatory exercises and receive a one-on-one performance review.