Zuroweste to lead the YLD
Zuroweste to lead the YLD
Associate Editor
Zack Zuroweste of Clearwater has become the president-elect designate of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division.
He was elected without opposition at the recent YLD Board of Governors meeting in St. Augustine, and will be sworn in as president-elect at the Bar’s Annual Convention in June when current President-elect Katherine Hurst Miller is installed as the new leader. Zuroweste will begin his presidential term in 2017
After six years as a YLD board member, Zuroweste said his top priority as president will be to “brand the YLD.”
“Despite our efforts, many young lawyers still do not know who we are,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Or the incredible, free resources we offer. That must change. We must develop a comprehensive plan to brand the YLD so that young lawyers associate our programs with us, and look first to the YLD when they have a need.”
Zuroweste is a partner at The Persante Law Group, P.A., in Clearwater. He is a trial lawyer who focuses on probate litigation, the contests of wills and trusts, and general business litigation. He earned a dual J.D./M.B.A. degree from Stetson University in 2006. His wife, Elizabeth, is an assistant state attorney, and they have a 1-year-old son, Rhett.
Born in Albany, Georgia, Zuroweste’s parents worked in sales and traveled regularly during his upbringing. Franklin, Tennessee, is where he calls home; and as an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee, he was president of his fraternity and got involved in campus politics.
The future YLD leader said he isn’t afraid to promote positive change.
“I say ‘if this needs to be fixed, let’s fix it,’” he asserted. “I love being a young lawyer for a lot of reasons. I think the practice of law is a rewarding profession. When you look at communities, it’s generally attorneys who give up their spare time to work on projects that are needed by the community, whether it’s helping kids or helping with a local issue where citizens are unable to figure out how to affect change. Lawyers are able to do it.
“They get involved in clubs like Rotary and local bar associations where a big component of those groups is community service and helping others, and that’s what the practice of law is all about: helping other people. I love the practice of law because of the people. I have met so many amazing people through this profession.”
Zuroweste said promoting and supporting diversity in the legal profession during his term will remain a top priority.
“The more diverse, the stronger we are. We have worked hard for years to promote racial diversity. We need to continue that great work because it’s not done. We must also continue to support women lawyers. The [YLD] Commission on Women has made great strides this year promoting issues particular to women lawyers, and it deserves our full support.”
Keeping the momentum going on the YLD’s health and wellness for lawyers initiative will be on Zuroweste’s to-do list during his presidential term because he gathered invaluable information on the subject while serving as last year’s co-chair of the YLD Committee on Health and Wellness.
“Firms are losing men and women lawyers to jobs that better accommodate families and work/life balance. That does not make economic sense, and our generation demands more. We should be a leader in promoting change on that front,” he said.
He further added that the YLD “must continue to find new ways to use technology to expand the reach of our programs.”
“We must continue improving the search functions of the content we have already created so that young lawyers can easily find our incredible resources, including our CLEs, webinars, and how-to videos; our blog should become a spot young lawyers regularly check for important information; and we should continue using technology to create free, practical CLEs relevant to young lawyers. Free, practical CLE programming is a benefit young lawyers want, and we must continue to provide that content for them,” he said.
“It is a great time to be a young lawyer in Florida, and our board has never been stronger. There are so many exciting changes ahead.”
