GREAT SPEAKERS FEATURED AT SENIOR COUNSEL LUNCHEONS
Senior Counsel Section Chair : Thomas Newcomb Hyde – Attorney at Law
The Senior Counsel Section is fortunate to have such enthusiastic support from the lawyers and judges of our legal community . We are proud to have had interesting and informative speakers for the 2016 – 2017 Bar year and look forward to more in the coming year .
At our first luncheon last year , Second District Court of Appeal Judge John Badalamenti thrilled us with the tale of Captain John Yates , the fisherman who was charged under the Enron statute , which criminalized the destruction of “ any record , document , or tangible object .” The story began with Captain Yates fishing for red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles west of Tampa Bay . Charged with destroying evidence because he threw undersized grouper back into the gulf , Captain Yates was ably represented before the United States Supreme Court by then public defender , John Badalamenti . The Court overturned Yates ’ conviction and held that a “ tangible object ” under the Enron statute covers only objects used to record or preserve information — not a fish .
In November , we were grateful to Ed Waller , who arranged for Senior Counsel members to attend a luncheon and tour the Tampa
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The Senior Counsel Section is fortunate to have such enthusiastic support from the lawyers and judges of our legal community .
Museum of Art . Michael Tomor , Ph . D . the museum ’ s executive director , briefed our members on the museum ’ s history , its permanent collection , and its current exhibits , before leading us on a marvelous tour of our own museum of art .
Paul Tash , the publisher of the Tampa Bay Times , was our March luncheon speaker . While Tash had experience as a reporter , an editor , and a bureau chief before becoming a publisher , he also has a background in the law with a bachelor of laws degree from Edinburgh University in Scotland . As the chairman and CEO of the Times Publishing Company , Tash described many of the legal and ethical concerns of publishing “ leaked information .”
Leonard Gilbert secured our next speaker . His friend , Dennis Archer , is the former president of the National Bar Association , former president of the American Bar Association , and former mayor of Detroit . Archer shared with us some of his experiences in each of these roles . We were also honored to have as our special guest , the Honorable Bob Buckhorn , mayor of Tampa , to speak to us about his vision of Tampa and to welcome Archer .
Morgan Streetman , the president of the Tampa Bay Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society , was the speaker at our final luncheon in May . Streetman explained the Federalist Society ’ s core principles : the preservation of freedom , the separation of powers , and the duty of the judiciary to say what the law is , not what the law should be . Several members of the judiciary were present for Streetman ’ s presentation , including U . S . District Judge Elizabeth A . Kovachevich .
Finally , I wish give a special thank you to David Reith for serving as co-chair of the Senior Counsel Section last year ; to Donald Cox for volunteering as the Section ’ s representative to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee ; and to Leonard Gilbert for serving as the Section ’ s representative to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee .
Author : Thomas Newcomb Hyde – Attorney at Law
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