FAMSEG April 2024 Trustee Spotlight

In the April 2024 issue of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, Allyson was featured in the Trustee Spotlight—

1.     What was the “theme” for your year and why? 

My theme was “Bringing Others Along.” It was in appreciation for how I was brought into the Section by my good friend Sharon Taylor from Brooksville Florida. Sharon allowed me to tag along to committee meetings and I felt welcome. I wanted to extend that welcoming atmosphere to others and encourage their participation. I believe we achieved that.

2.     What does the Section mean to you?

The Section is a wonderful place to gather with likeminded colleagues and generate ideas and feel like you are doing good for the practice of Family Law. A Family Law attorney can become jaded having to deal with some of the day-to-day frustrations attendant with client relations, solving cases, and practicing law. I’m a big believer you cannot sit on the sidelines and complain about deficiencies and not problem solve to correct those shortcomings. The Section gets you out of the trenches and onto a higher plane of thinking, a 30-thousand-foot view and requires you to ask, “What if…?”

3.     Where do you see the Section in the next 50 years?

I don’t have my crystal ball charged up. I think for anyone to believe they can predict where the Section will be in 50 years has invented a time machine they are not sharing. What will society be like then? What technological advances will have occurred? What form of government will we have? I think the family unit in some form will always be at the center as we have seen from history for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I can say my wish is that there will be a trend towards more comprehensive alternative dispute resolution processes such as Collaborative that provides highly customized solutions for each family. I hope we never lose the personal touch of in-person meetings.

4.     How has your participation in the Section changed the way you practice law?

My participation in the Section has elevated my practice of Family Law. I have been exposed to great lawyers and judges from around the state who are blueprints of what a top family law lawyer should be. I was able to forge lifelong friendships and alliances that will forever enrich my life. The Section and its leadership always made me want to do better in my law practice. It has also been a privilege to be able to banter about ideas of law and policy and to understand how law is made. One individual really can influence the laws we will ultimately use in the courtroom. An example is the Parenting Statute, which was overhauled in 2008, the year I was Chair. The updated factors came from a Parenting Performance Agreement I had been using in my office for over 10 years.

5.     What’s the funniest memory you have from your Section involvement?

A funny time occurred at Anna Maria Island at the Ritz Hotel when the Executive Committee, Scott Rubin, and G.M. Diane Kirigin, were playing Trivial Pursuit and perhaps were laughing too hard. We had a visit by the Ritz “police” who said we needed to break it up. We piped down after much difficulty. We learned G.M. Kirigin had trouble maintaining an “inside voice.”