Holidays In July
Holidays in July is an annual event of the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation and the St. Petersburg Bar Association Young Lawyers Section. It provides children the opportunity for a day of fun, lunch, and presents. Each year, approximately 250 foster children and their caregivers attend this wonderful event, which allows the Foundation and lawyers to give back to our community.
The Foundation is truly honored to provide a day of bowling, lunch, presents, and games for attendees and help brighten lives in Pinellas County.
Professionalism Seminar
Consistent with the Foundation’s mission to foster programs of law-related education, the Foundation provides an annual professional seminar at Stetson College of Law each spring.
The genesis of this seminar is a result of our close legal community in St. Petersburg and the commitment to those with whom we practice and hold in high regard. In February of 2013, two pillars of our legal community died of cancer – Mike Keane and Marty Rice – who were both in the prime of their legal careers. As we gathered to mourn, we told inspiring Mike and Mary stories and we were motivated to begin a professionalism seminar series in their honor. Thus, the first of the professionalism seminar series was in February of 2014. As we were planning for our first program, we realized that seventeen members of our legal community had died within that year – some old and some young.
As we honor our late friends each year, the goal is to provide tools to help each other improve the way we think about ourselves and the clients we serve. It is our hope that those attending will leave each program with a greater insight into the many benefits of practicing with civility and professionalism.
Among the many benefits of attending are obtaining regular CLE credits and special CLE credits for legal ethics, professionalism, bias elimination, substance abuse, and mental illness, which depend on the scope and nature of the substance of each year’s seminar. The programs are known for lively and though provoking topics. This is truly a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with fellow colleagues and be reminded of what is most important in our practice and in our life, generally.
Pillars of Justice
The Pillars of Justice event recognizes those individuals who have dedicated their lives to community service, including, past and current recipients of the Liberty Bell Award, Heroes Among Us Award, and Stetson’s Dean’s Award. It also provides an opportunity to recognize the Foundation’s monument at the Stetson University College of Law campus, which is dedicated to the recipients of these awards. This event is one of the premier events in the St. Petersburg legal community with a cocktail reception hosted by members of our judiciary honoring distinguished citizens for their contributions to our community.
Wills for Warriors
Wills for Warriors (previously Wills for the Greatest Generation) is a pro-bono event of the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation, Community Law Program, and Stetson University College of Law. Volunteer attorneys with the assistance of law students provide basic wills, health care surrogates and living wills to impoverished veterans.