A Florida Bar training program lauded by participants for helping diversify the pool of applicants that become active in state bar committees and leadership has shrunk this year to half its original size.
The Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Leadership Academy began in 2013 with 59 fellows as the brainchild of former Florida Bar president Eugene Pettis, who that year became the association’s first African-American president. The program was meant to help lawyers from a variety of backgrounds better understand the work of the bar, present them with volunteer options and assist them in becoming better leaders.
