Florida Bar leaders honored in UF Law’s Heritage of Leadership Ceremony
UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees Chair and Florida Bar Board of Governors member Brian Burgoon presents an award to Celeste Phelps, sister of the late Florida Bar President Jay White, while past Florida Bar President Dori Foster-Morales looks on at the 2025 Heritage of Leadership induction ceremony at the University of Florida Levin College of Law on May 15. Also honored were former Bar President Patrick Emmanuel and Board of Governors member Russ Divine.
The University of Florida Levin College of Law inducted two past Florida Bar presidents, Patrick Emmanuel and John G. “Jay” White, and past Board of Governors member Russ Divine into the UF Law Heritage of Leadership during its 2025 Past, Present, and Future Ceremony.
The induction, held May 15 as part of UF’s annual law school graduation festivities, was led by UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees Chair Brian Burgoon, who also sits on the Bar’s Board of Governors.
The Heritage of Leadership is a posthumous recognition of prominent UF law alumni who provided leadership and service to the Levin College of Law, the University of Florida, the state, and the nation. The UF Law Center Association Board of Trustees, which created the recognition, selects the honorees.
Patrick Emmanuel served as 1985-1986 Florida Bar president and was a distinguished World War II veteran as well as a pillar of the Pensacola legal community. Growing up during the Great Depression, he was among the troops who landed at Omaha Beach and served in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war ended, he earned his JD from the University of Florida. The News commemorated his life in the article, “Patrick Emmanuel, WWII hero and former Florida Bar president, dies at 104.”
Jay White served as the 2008-2009 Florida Bar president and was known for his thoroughness and intensity in addressing complex legal issues. He was consistent in his service to the profession and his community, serving numerous roles with local, state, and federal commissions and Bar committees. He died unexpectedly in 2022 at the age of 67. The News article celebrating his life is “Former Florida Bar President Jay White passes away.”
Russ Divine served on the Florida Bar Board of Governors from 2001-2005 before passing away in 2022. More about his life is available in his obituary.
Also inducted to the UF Law Heritage of Leadership during the May 15 ceremony were former First District Court of Appeal Judge Richard Ervin III, Karen Dyer, and Steve Uhlfelder.
Former Bar President E. Dixie Beggs (1947-1948) was in the first class of UF Law Heritage of Leadership inductees in 2004. Among previous inductees are past Florida Bar Presidents Wm. Reece Smith ( 1972-73) in 2014, Mark Hulsey, Jr., (1969-1970) in 2013, Clyde Atkins (1960-1961) in 2007, and Chesterfield Smith (1964-1965) in 2005; and past members of the Board of Governors Margaret Mathews in 2022 and Austin Peele in 2015. Other past inductees include former Florida governors, Florida Supreme Court justices, and state and federal judges. For a full list of past recipients, click here.
