Welcome from the YLD President, Scott Atwood

Welcome from the President Welcome from the President-Elect YLD/Florida Bar Brochure

My name is Scott Atwood. In June 2007, I was sworn in as the President of the Young Lawyers Division, which means that I will serve as the Division’s President until June 2008. I am extremely excited about this opportunity to serve the Division and to carry on the work of my hardworking predecessors.

It is not easy to be a lawyer. To do one’s job well, it takes (among other things) patience, dedication, attention to detail, and a recognition that what you do is for the client’s best interest, not the lawyer’s. And this lesson is learned through experience and training. One of the paramount jobs of the Young Lawyers Division has always been to provide this experience and training on behalf of the Bar.

I have served on the Board of Governors for the Young Lawyers Division for more than eight years. From this experience, I have developed a firm belief that new attorneys need mentoring and plenty of opportunities for practical training. We need to make sure that the Bar’s new lawyers are given all the tools to become good lawyers, regardless of whether they work for a big firm, small firm, or their own firm. That is why I served as the Division’s Affiliate Outreach Conference Chair and later helped create and chaired the Division’s Law School Committee. Both of these committees are intended to improve the relationships between young lawyers, to provide exchanges of ideas, and to assist with practical training that will lay the groundwork for a successful, competent attorney. Combined with the Division’s well-established role as the provider of the Practicing with Professionalism and Basic Skills courses, the Division is deeply dedicated to all programs that advance the mentoring and networking opportunities for the newest members of the Bar.

Another challenge for our Division has been making sure new lawyers have access to technology. The Internet has done much to break down the barriers between the large and small firms, but there is still much work to be done. New attorneys are the ones who will be the biggest beneficiaries of increased uses of technology in the court system and in their own offices. The Young Lawyers Division is striving to do its part. The website you are visiting is part of that effort, and we are constantly seeking programs that will improve the technological savvy of Bar members.

I am proud to be a lawyer. I enjoy helping people solve their problems, and find my relationships with my clients to be some of the most rewarding aspects of my life. For its part, the Florida Bar has an absolute obligation to help its members be the very best that they can be. The Young Lawyers Division is an integral part of that process, and I am extremely excited to be working with this year’s President-Elect, Jewel White Cole, who is a close friend and a true professional, to make sure that this trend continues.

Please feel free to contact me at scott@swalawfirm.com or at 770-349-8205. I’d love to hear from you.