President's Message - August 2011 - It's About Professionalism

In preparing for my position as President of the Seminole County Young Lawyers Division for the 2011-2012 membership year, I took a few moments to take a step back and reflect on my brief journey so far as a young attorney.  I am currently a partner with SalfiLaw in Altamonte Springs, handling a variety of different practice areas, all of which involve litigation.  But five years ago, in 2006, I was just starting my law school career, attending school while working full time for a large consulting firm where I had worked for over 6 years.  Going to law school and becoming an attorney was what I knew I was meant to do.  But, after already having a career, it meant starting over, which in and of itself was scary.

My first legal position was as an intern with the Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society, where I first met Silvia McLain.  Silvia  is a warm hearted, direct attorney, who tells it like it is.  My first day there, she immediately had me working on cases, performing research, and preparing basic pleadings.  Silvia always challenged me if I didn't put my all into a task I was assigned, while trusting me to work on projects I might not have had experience in.

After working with Silvia, I decided to take the plunge, and left my full time consulting job, and started working for SalfiLaw in Altamonte Springs.  SalfiLaw was headed by Dominick J. Salfi, a former circuit judge, the first state attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit and an attorney who just celebrated his 50th year of practice under the Florida Bar.  Even though I brought to his firm six years of experience in the corporate world, everything I did with Dominick's firm in my first months was brand new.  How do I schedule a hearing?  How do I file affidavits with the Court?  How do I find out what fees are required for opening a new case?  I was constantly facing new challenges.

Even more challenging was how to approach the substantive issues I had never yet faced.  Did a statute of limitations already run for a potential new client?  What affirmative defenses were available to a client being sued in a business contract?  Where do I find out how to fill out a child support guidelines worksheet?  The new subject material went on and on.

When I ran into roadblocks, or wasn't completing something correctly, Dominick would always either point me in the right direction, or challenge me to find a better way to do something than the way I was.  When I started my first year of practice with Dominick, Dominick taught me by example regarding how to properly address the Court at hearings, how to professionally address conflicts which may be arising between clients with opposing counsel, and how to effectively communicate with clients to ensure that the client truly understood the message or advice being delivered.

I mention Silvia and Dominick because without both of them, I would not be the type of attorney I am today. Through their mentorship, I am confident in my abilities, and have learned really what it means to practice with professionalism.  The Seminole County Young Lawyers Division strives to have events which promote practicing with professionalism.  During our social events, our members share the trials and tribulations of practice, and the lessons we are all learning along the way.  In the beginning of 2012, the Seminole County Young Lawyers Division will also be launching a mentorship program, designed to connect experienced attorneys with new and younger attorneys, in the hope that these relationships can further build upon the great reputation which lawyers practicing in Seminole County already have.

As young lawyers, it's important to not lose sight of the fact that being an attorney is not just a job, it's a profession.