Hon. Gerald Cope, Jr. (Ret.) is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Our latest featured speaker is Hon. Gerald Cope, Jr. (Ret.) from Akerman!

Judge Cope will be speaking at our upcoming Preserving the Trial Record for Appeal in Florida Civil Cases Webinar on August 1 & 3, 2023. He has taught this class several times before to rave reviews! Judge Cope always provides a detailed outline and walks attorneys carefully through the topic.

It’s so good to have you back with us, Judge Cope!

As the former Chief Judge of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal and member of the court for 22 years, Gerald Cope is the chair of Akerman’s Appellate Practice. He represents clients in appellate litigation at the state and federal levels. He was recognized by the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar for his contributions toward the 2013 enactment of the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act in Florida. As a member of the Court of Appeal, he participated in approximately 60 appeals involving arbitrability of disputes, interpretation of arbitration clauses, proceedings to enforce or vacate awards, and comparable proceedings involving appraisal clauses in insurance contracts.

Judge Cope is a founding member of Akerman Bench, an innovative practice including former appellate and trial court judges providing the perspective of both sides of the bench. He conducts practice oral arguments for attorneys appearing in state and federal appellate courts, serves as a consultant on appeals, and provides support to trial counsel.

Additionally, Judge Cope has served as an adjunct professor teaching federal and Florida arbitration at the University of Miami School of Law. He is a member of the Executive Council of the Florida Bar’s International Law Section and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. Judge Cope also serves as a special master.

Thank you for joining us, Judge Cope!

Congratulations to the Hon. Kira Klatchko

Congratulations to one of our favorite speakers, and my friend, Judge Kira Klatchko, sworn in to serve on the Riverside Superior Court just a bit ago!

Photo: Judge Klatchko is second from the right in the photo. I’m not quite sure how I (Faith) ended up in the middle of this photo – it was Judge Klatchko’s day! That’s Lead Appellate Court Attorney for the California Appellate Court Pablo Drobny on the far right and on the left is frequent speaker and appellate attorney Extraordinaire, Ben Shatz with his wife Meena Patel.

Previously, Judge Klatchko was a partner at Lewis Brisbois and handled both state and federal appeals arising from all areas of civil practice for clients as varied as cities, businesses and families. She was vice chair of the firm’s national Appellate Practice Litigation group. And she has served as the President of the Riverside County Bar Association.

Judge Klatchko is also an Appellate Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

 

Commission Confirms Three Calif. State Appeals Judges

Three California State Appellate judges were appointed to the bench by Gov. Jerry Brown and confirmed  February 9th.  San Diego Superior Court Judge Willilam Dato and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields were approved to and are now on the Fourth District Court of Appeals.  Judge Kathleen Meehan of Fresno County Superior Court was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals.  Read more here from The Recorder.