People

U.S. legal eagles descend on England

By MARY EVERTZ

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 23, 2000

LONDON -- The British press called it "the biggest invasion of Americans since the second World War." That's because 8,000 members of the American Bar Association and their families arrived in England last week for meetings and sightseeing.

"The American Bar Association doesn't have meetings, it has conventions -- huge glittering affairs sprinkled with politicians, royalty, groundbreaking discussions and elaborate parties," the Evening Standard noted.

While London and most of the British Isles were wrapped up in the 100th birthday of the Queen Mother, American lawyers were focusing on a different agenda.

Lawyers from Florida were very much in the forefront. The newly installed president of the American Bar Association, the attorney general of the United States and the U.S. ambassador to England have one thing in common: All are, or were at one time, Florida lawyers.

Martha Barnett, a fifth-generation Floridian who was born and raised in Pasco County, is the new president of the ABA. She is the second woman in the history of the 122-year association to be elected leader. Barnett was also the first woman hired by law firm Holland & Knight's Tallahassee office almost three decades ago.

Many members of the megafirm -- one of the nation's largest -- were there to see Barnett at the helm. Among them was Chesterfield Smith, one of Florida's most prominent and respected lawyers and a past president of the ABA. Smith, 82, who served with Gen. George S. Patton in Europe during World War II, was among those featured in Tom Brokaw's best-selling book, The Greatest Generation.

St. Petersburg Holland & Knight attorney Joe Fleece and his wife, Joanne, were attending their third London ABA meeting. The Fleeces, who rented a flat in Chelsea, also took in Wimbledon, thanks to the sponsorship of longtime St. Petersburg lawyer Edward V. Turville, who has strong Wimbledon connections. Turville is a former Davis Cup captain and former president of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.

While waiting to be seated in the fifth-floor restaurant at the Harvey Nichols store, the Fleeces bumped into Tom and Mary Lou DeVoe, who were on holiday in England before going on to France. The Fleeces also dined with Charlie and Laurie Lowe, who were spending a few days in London after coming in from a cruise to Scandinavia.

Other Holland & Knight lawyers at the session were Bill and Sylvia Lane of St. Petersburg. Before returning to St. Petersburg, the Lanes and their children boarded the Eurostar for a short stay in Paris.

Other Floridians attending the convention were William Reece Smith of Tampa and Talbot D'Alemberte of Tallahassee, both past presidents of the ABA. D'Alemberte is the president of Florida State University.

Among the convention highlights was Monday's London 2000 Opening Assembly at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Blair's wife, Cherie Booth, were scheduled to give a joint speech themed "Behind Every World Leader is a Great Lawyer," but Mrs. Clinton pulled out because of campaign commitments. Still, delegates heard an address by Booth and were then invited back to 10 Downing Street for cocktails.

The first event was the rededication ceremony of the ABA monument at Runnymede, where King John sealed the Magna Carta. That was followed by lunch with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Master of the Rolls Lord Woolf and judges from the highest courts in the United States and Britain.

U.S. Ambassador Philip Patrick Lader and his wife, Linda LeSourd, opened their official residence, the palatial Winfield House, to his fellow lawyers. (The home once belonged to Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, who gave it to the U.S. government.) Lader, who grew up in St. Petersburg, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University and a Harvard law grad. He was named ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland by his good friend President Clinton in 1997.

Initially the Laders and their two young daughters lived in temporary quarters while the historic estate was refurbished. When they moved in last September, rabbits were running rampant in the 11-acre landscaped garden in Regent's Park, and the ambassador had to take some serious steps to get rid of them. He gave serious consideration to having a hunt, but thought better and instead had them removed professionally.

Although U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had to cancel her Wednesday speech because of pressing matters at Camp David, the convention moved on.

"Even the dry legal sessions had an air of razzamatazz about them," said the Telegraph. One of the most popular sessions was the discussion of the marital woes of Henry VIII, led by Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss (Britain's top family judge) and her American counterpart from Connecticut, Samuel V. Schoonmaker III. Florida State Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince was one of the jurists who heard the case.

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