Citizens forum offers insight to help guide the bar.

Lawyer discipline and the legal needs of children are high on a list of priorities the Bar's Citizens Forum wants to take a look at this year.

Created in 1998 as a way to establish a dialog between the legal profession and Florida's major citizen constituencies, the Bar's Citizens Forum serves as an advisory council to the Board of Governors and is overseen by the Communications Committee. It provides the board with a public perspective about issues the profession faces and suggests steps to help the public better understand lawyers' place in society.

"The Citizens Forum is not an implementer," said Richard Tanner, chair of the Citizens Forum. "It is a think tank for policy and procedure at The Florida Bar."

Citizen Forum members are recommended by Bar leaders and appointed by the president. Bar President Jesse H. Diner recently appointed Mary Gardiner Evertz, Shirley Gooding-Butler, and Carole Green to the forum.

In all, the 2009-2010 Citizens Forum is made up of 12 Florida residents and three Florida lawyers.

Current members of the Bar's Citizens Forum include:

* Marilyn Baldwin of Orlando who has a passion for the advocacy of those with disabilities.

* Nancy E. Biesinger of St. Petersburg whose work is centered on governmental affairs and public relations.

* Connie Reeves Bookman of Pensacola who focuses on counseling and treating prisoners, as well as training and supervision of students in the counseling field.

* Giselle Carson of Jacksonville who is an avid cyclist and dedicated immigration law attorney.

* Andrew B. Cheney of Jacksonville who has spent over 30 years in banking.

* Mary Gardiner Evertz of St. Petersburg who, now retired, holds the record of working longer than any other woman at the St. Petersburg Times.

* Ricardo E. Gonzalez of Miami who is a business consultant.

* Shirley Gooding-Butler of Tallahassee who was the first black woman to hold the position of secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment Security.

* Carole Green of Ft. Myers who has more than 40 years of experience as a health care and public service advocate. She served from 1998 to 2004 in the Florida House of Representatives and is a former secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs.

* Charles Ronald "Ron" Kalapp of Jacksonville who is on a committee for the Better Jacksonville Plan and very involved in his church.

* Arsenio Milan of Miami who has more than 35 years of experience in civil and environmental design.

* Margaret J. Perry of Ft. Lauderdale who serves as a guardian ad litem.

* Murray B. Silverstein of St. Petersburg, a member of the Board of Governors and who has been practicing law for 26 years.

* Marni Fayth Stahlman of Winter Park who is a consultant specializing in organizational maturity.

* Richard A. Tanner, a Board of Governors member who practices law in New Jersey and Florida.

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The forum is currently debating the Bar's disciplinary sanctions, which range from reprimands to disbarment. On The Florida Bar Web site, visitors can see if a lawyer has been disciplined in the past 10 years. Alternate disciplinary sanctions under discussion include conducting public reprimands at a local venue instead of before the Board of Governors; seeking broader coverage of lawyer wrongdoing in the media; and paying a monetary penalty, or working a set amount of pro bono hours as part of attorney discipline. These additional sanctions are envisioned as a way to enhance the credibility of penalties and hopefully dissuade attorneys from committing ethical breaches.

The Citizens Forum has taken a keen interest in the election and appointment of judges, believing voters need more information on judicial candidates than is currently available. Forum members were strong proponents of a "self-disclosure statement" for trial court candidates, which won final approval from the Board of Governors in July and will be ready for use in 2010 judicial races.

The 12-page Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement is similar to the application used by judicial nominating commissions. Included in the final form is an essay question proposed by the Citizens Forum. It asks candidates, "In 100 words or less, without discussing any particular issue which may come before you if you become a judge, explain why you believe you would be a good judge."

Forum members said they wanted more than multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions to help them judge judicial candidates, and after extensive discussions the Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee agreed to include the question.

This year the Citizens Forum will also study the Bar's Commission on the Legal Needs of Children 2002 report. The protection and needs of children who are going through the legal system is a concern of President Diner. After its study of the report, the group will decide what changes need to be implemented or established to keep up Florida's standards.

Another issue to be considered is The Florida Bar's board certification program, which measures the competency and experience of attorneys in various areas of law, allowing lawyers to identify themselves as experts.

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Michelle C. Morris

Special to the News

Michelle C. Morris is a recent graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Public Relations. She is interning this summer in the Bar's Public Information and Bar Services Department. She is originally from Ponte Vedra Beach.