The leadership of Florida is top heavy with attorneys these days. Charlie Crist will be sworn in as Governor in a few weeks, Jeff Kottkamp will serve as Crist's Lt. Governor and Ft. Myers attorney and Florida Bar Board of Governors member Larry Ringers is set to become Kottkamp's Chief of Staff.

All of these attorneys at the top of the state's executive branch suits Florida Bar President Hank Coxe just fine. "I think it implies a great relationship with the Governor's office," said Coxe, who was
Coxe                                sworn in as Bar president in late June and has maintained he'd have a much better grasp of his agenda as Bar president once the new governor of the state was determined. "I am thrilled Paul Huck is the Governor's General Counsel."

Having members of his profession in decision-making positions in Tallahassee will certainly help Coxe through the next seven months as the leader of the state's 80,000-plus attorney Bar. Crist, Ringers, Kottkamp, Huck and new Attorney General Bill McCollum, many of whom he knows well, understand the issues facing the legal profession in the state.

"At the top of my agenda is to keep an open line of communication with the governor's office on a number of issues," said Coxe, adding having Crist as governor is certainly good for his position as Bar president, but having an attorney for a governor isn't a prerequisite for the job.

"Given the choice, I would always prefer an attorney," said Coxe. "Our governor appreciates the issues our profession faces."

Coxe says his role as a criminal defense attorney at The Bedell Firm has suited him well for the job as President of the Bar. Just as clients with new issues arise unexpectedly, so do issues facing the Bar and the judiciary.

"It's not an unusual dynamic to go through every day," he said.

Short-term crises do arise and some of those will be addressed Friday in Miami at the Bar's Board of Governor's meeting.

"Funding for court-appointed counsel just came up. There is a $25 million shortfall," explained Coxe of an issue that must be taken up immediately and dealt with soon. "A committee is in place to deal with this. Other issues that just came up include the shackling of juveniles in court. We will take that up Friday in Miami. It surfaced a month or so ago. We deal with these issues as they arise. We'll also deal with the civil legal assistance bill Friday. This affects groups like JALA (Jacksonville Area Legal Aid). We've had some relative success, but not what we'd like."

Helping Coxe get through the year is Bar President-elect Frank Angones. Coxe said there's nothing he or The Bar is doing that Angones isn't aware of.

Coxe said he's enjoying his year as Bar president thus far, but the amount of traveling has been more than he expected. Making things easier have been his co-workers and support staff.

"I have been juggling things non-stop. I have had phenomenal support and help from others who have made it much more manageable. We have excellent lawyers and excellent support staff," said Coxe. "There is an awful lot of traveling. I knew that going in. I have not done as much traveling as (immediate-past Bar president) Alan Bookman -- he set the all-time record. As it turns out, it is much more than I anticipated. Wednesday (of last week) I was in Miami. Thursday and Friday I was in Tallahassee and Saturday I was in Orlando. I am dealing with the reality of 80,000 lawyers and all the things that come with it."