The Florida Bar issued the following announcement on Dec. 30.
A recent coronavirus surge has forced ABOTA Ft. Lauderdale to postpone a ceremony honoring 17th Circuit Judge Sandra J. Perlman and South Florida lawyer Scott S. Liberman.
“While ABOTA Ft. Lauderdale was eager to bring our founders, members, and judiciary together for a fantastic event, the safety of our members and our legal community is our highest priority,” said ABOTA Ft. Lauderdale President Brent Reitman.
The January 12, “2022 Installation Luncheon and Awards Ceremony” at the Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Club will be rescheduled, most likely in April, Reitman said. For more information, continue monitoring www.abotafl.org.
Judge Perlman has been named “Jurist of the Year,” and Liberman has been named “Attorney of the Year,” Reitman said.
“Even in the throes of the pandemic, Judge Perlman, a supporter and frequent lecturer at ABOTA events, was doing everything in her power to preserve the right to civil jury trial including entertaining alternate venues for jury trials such that the wheels of justice could continue forward, even as jury service had been suspended,” Reitman said.
Since jury trials resumed, Judge Perlman is believed to have presided over more jury trials than any other judge in the 17th Circuit, Reitman said.
Liberman, with Liberman, Cabrera, Thompson, Reitman, is a 30-year trial attorney who specializes in medical malpractice.
“As attorney of the year, this year’s recipient, Scott Lieberman, has shown an exceptional commitment to the ideals of ABOTA,” Reitman said.
ABOTA, the American Board of Trial Advocates, is dedicated to the preservation of the Seventh Amendment that guarantees the right to a civil jury trial. When the pandemic struck, ABOTA volunteers worked with chief judges and court personnel to help design, test and implement procedures for remote jury trials.
Original source can be found here.