Jacina Parson

Please Welcome 2021-22 Section Chair Jacina Parson

Senior Assistant Pinellas County Attorney Jacina Parson has been elected to serve as 2021-2022 chair of the Solo & Small Firm Section. She is a former director and assistant director of The Florida Bar Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism and has served on the Solo & Small Firm Section’s Executive Council since 2018.

Jacina’s goals for the year are inclusivity and engagement. “The Solo & Small Firm Section offers its members a great deal of return on investment through free and discounted CLE, committee service, opportunities to write articles and more,” she said. “We hope to reach as many current and potential members as possible this year to ensure that they are taking advantage of the many benefits of section membership.”

As a former staff attorney for Legal Services of North Florida, Jacina values the importance of service to the community and to other Bar members. She plans to launch a new “How to Solo Small Firm” video tip series so that solos and small firms can benefit from the wisdom of their colleagues. “Each solo or small-firm practitioner has a unique business model,” she said. “We hope to tap into the wealth of resources that Florida Bar members can offer to each other, so the section is giving back to the larger Florida Bar community and not just to our members.”

Jacina earned a B.A. degree in Criminology from the University of Florida and a J.D. degree from Stetson University College of Law. She is a licensed Florida realtor.

Contact Jacina at jparson@pinellascounty.org or 727-464-3354.

Microsoft Word Reading Tips

Tricks for Reading Documents in Microsoft Word 

You probably spend more time reading documents in Microsoft Word than actually drafting them—especially if you’ve gone paperless. Since onscreen reading can exhaust your body and your brain, it’s time to try out a few Office 365 features that can boost your efficiency and drafting accuracy. This article shares tips on how to  use Microsoft Word Read Aloud and Immersive Reader and how to adjust your settings for side-to-side viewing (like a book instead of up and down) and page thumbnails.

Professionalism Before the Court CLE

August 4 FREE CLE: Professionalism Before the Court—From Practice to Procedure to Everyday Courtesies

August 4 Wednesday Wisdom Zoom webinar open to all members of The Florida Bar. Course number and CLE credit pending approval.

Moderator: 2021-22 Solo & Small Firm Section Chair Jacina Parson, Senior Assistant County Attorney, Pinellas County Attorney’s Office; former director of The Florida Bar Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism.

Panelists:  General Magistrate Jennifer Kuyrkendall Griffin, Third Judicial Circuit, Lake City; County Judge Daryl Manning, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, Tampa; Circuit Judge Barbara Leach, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, Orlando. REGISTER

LAWCLERK Video: "The Best Ways to Grow a Small Law Firm"

Learn How to Build Your Firm Using Freelance Attorneys

Here’s a great video by our colleague Kristin Tyler at LAWCLERK that offers advice about how to grow your law firm (and boost profits) by limiting expenses and increasing billable hours through delegation, freelance lawyers and virtual associates.

Reminder: You can hire—or become—a freelance attorney through the section’s partnership with LAWCLERK. Solo & Small Firm Section members earn rebates when they hire freelance attorneys through LAWCLERK and the section receives a share of the revenue for each member who signs up and uses an account.

Using Arbitration/Mediation to Accelerate Your Case

August 17 Ethics CLE:  Using Arbitration/Mediation to Accelerate Your Case: Keys to Progress

August 17, 12 – 1 PM live GoToWebinar presented by Christina Magee and Glenn Waldman, and moderated by Jake Schickel.

Looking for a way to speed up your case even as post-COVID court dockets present obstacles to resolution?  Is your case bogged down as court dockets are too big to advance? Are your motions and litigation strategies delayed or ineffective due to competition for the court’s time with unprecedented and unresolved civil matters and hearings in only virtual formats? The Alternative Dispute Resolution and Solo & Small Firm Sections invite you to spend an hour to learn from an expert-moderated panel including a mediator and arbitrator about inventive ways arbitration and mediation are being used to move cases forward even in post-pandemic times.

Course number 5227. Approved for 1.0 General CLE credit, 0.5 of which may be applied toward Ethics. Section members register for only $45.

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Lots and Lots of CLE (Some Free!)

  • Visit our calendar page to register for upcoming monthly live audio webcasts and free Wednesday Wisdom Zoom webinars.
  • Join our section’s members-only Facebook group to access a video library of previously recorded Wednesday Wisdom webinars.
  • Purchase previously recorded section CLE through The Florida Bar, available 24/7 as on-demand seminars and podcasts.
  • Purchase previously recorded section CLE through The Florida Bar in CD or DVD format.

If you are interested in getting involved on the Continuing Legal Education Committee or presenting a CLE seminar, please contact CLE Committee Chair Linda Calvert-Hanson.

Thank you to our 2021-22 section sponsors.