First DCA Judge Ross Bilbrey offers advice on civility, professionalism, and zealous advocacy
In the latest edition of the Center for Professionalism’s “On Civility” podcast, Bilbrey advises that zealous advocacy on behalf of a client is fine — but he says true professionals work with their opponents to settle as many issues as possible without court intervention.
First District Court of Appeal Judge Ross Bilbrey has some advice for lawyers who test the limits of zealous advocacy — “Don’t fight the extraneous stuff,” and remember the “Cowboy Code.”
In the latest edition of the Center for Professionalism’s “On Civility” podcast, Bilbrey advises that zealous advocacy on behalf of a client is fine — but he says true professionals work with their opponents to settle as many issues as possible without court intervention.
“You fight over what matters, you don’t fight just for the purpose of fighting, or just to give the other side a hard time…or just to run up some billable hours.”
Civility is summed up nicely in Hollywood legend Gene Autry’s “Cowboy Code,” Bilbrey quipped. An Autry biography notes the tenets begin with always being truthful, never going back on one’s word, never violating a confidence, and never taking unfair advantage.
“If you give somebody your word, stand by it,” Bilbrey said. “Be a happy warrior…that doesn’t mean being a pushover. You can fight about the things that matter.”
Host Maggie Ozarowski, a Tallahassee lawyer with Ausley McMullen, once prosecuted Medicaid fraud as an assistant attorney general, and more recently served as deputy general counsel for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In the second podcast of her new series, Ozarowski asks Bilbrey to share his thoughts on professionalism and civility, and to trace the milestones of his career.
Bilbrey initially wanted to pursue a military flying career, and then go to law school, but a flight surgeon diagnosed him with mild color blindness, and “accelerated” his plans. Bilbrey graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1993.
Bilbrey spent the first seven years of his career with a Jacksonville firm.
“I was at a small firm, we did civil and commercial litigation, both plaintiffs and defense work, which would be a little unusual now,” he said.
He left Jacksonville for his native Northwest Florida, where he and a law partner practiced from 2003 to 2006.
From May 2000 to October 2003, Bilbrey served as a legal assistance attorney for the Judge Advocate General Corps at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Also serving NAS Whiting Field in Milton, and NCSS Panama City, Bilbrey assisted some 3,000 military personnel, retirees, and their family members, earning him “Civilian of the Year” honors for helping to mobilize reservists for active duty after the 9/11 attacks.
Some of the work, Bilbrey said, was helping soldiers prepare wills prior to their deployments.
In 2006, Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Bilbrey to the Santa Rosa County Court bench, where he served until 2012, when Gov. Rick Scott named him a First Judicial Circuit judge. In 2014, Scott appointed Bilbrey to the First District Court of Appeal.
Asked by Ozarowski to describe what “gets your goat,” Bilbrey hesitates.
The lawyers who practice regularly before the First DCA are a relatively small, closely knit group and lack of professionalism is rarely a problem, Bilbrey assures.
But Bilbrey acknowledged that he has been occasionally frustrated by a lawyer’s lack of preparation, including a familiarity with key points of the trial record. Telling an appellate judge “I didn’t try the case” won’t cut it, Bilbrey says.
“I don’t expect the attorney to memorize, some of these records are thousands of pages,” Bilbrey said. “But when we ask about a motion for summary judgment and you say, ‘Judge I don’t know,’ that’s not right.”
Lack of civility and lack of professionalism have been top concerns in Florida Bar member surveys in recent years, but Bilbrey said he thinks the climate is improving.
“I think civility has gotten better because there’s more focus on it, the Bar’s been focusing on it,” he said.
Bilbrey advises beginning lawyers who want to find a mentor or sharpen their skills to follow his example and consider Bar service work. Bilbrey has long been active in the American Inns of Court and served as president of the Pensacola chapter until his appointment to the First DCA.
“Inns of Court allowed me as a young attorney to meet other attorneys, [and] form relationships, learn how things were expected to be done, and interact with a lot of people.”
“Noting his years of experience on the bench, Ozarowski asked Bilbrey “is impartiality hard?”
Sometimes, Bilbrey acknowledged. He recalled that while serving as a county court judge, he was required to rule in favor of landlords seeking eviction, even though the results would be dire for the other side.
“That was hard that those people were going to be put out in the streets, dispossessing them of their property. That’s the part that’s hard, you’ve got to follow the law, even though you don’t like the results. It’s the same thing for an appellate judge.”
His advice for young people contemplating a career?
“If you’ve got a liberal arts degree, don’t go to law school unless it’s what you really want to do.”
