YLD’s 2025 Affiliate Outreach Conference embraces professionalism and networking
Justice Jamie Grosshans talked to those attending the YLD’s annual Affiliate Outreach Conference in Orlando about the importance of how lawyers present themselves and their reputations.
Hundreds of young lawyers packed an Orlando ballroom for the Young Lawyers Division’s 2025 Affiliate Outreach Conference, where a Florida Supreme Court justice, with an assist from a New York fashion expert, helped launch a major new professionalism initiative.
“One of the goals this year was to make sure that we’re engaging with the young lawyers that we’re serving,” said YLD President Ashlea Edwards. “The attendance was really, really great and for the professionalism showcase, we had a ballroom full of people.”
A keynote address by Justice Jamie R. Grosshans, the second annual “36 Under 36” awards, and a legal-themed “fashion show” were just a few of the highlights.
A Mississippi native and former trial judge, Grosshans was serving on the Fifth District Court of Appeal when Gov. Ron DeSantis named her to the Supreme Court in September 2020.
In her address, Florida’s 91st justice stressed the importance of professionalism, and joined Edwards in launching the “Professionalism Showcase.”
“She spoke a little bit about professionalism, and the importance of how you present, and your reputation, and I also spoke a little bit about the professionalism resources that the YLD offers,” Edwards said.
After the keynote address, 40 young lawyer leaders from across the state took to the stage to demonstrate professionalism in five different legal settings — “day-to-day in the office,” “mediations and depositions,” “client meetings,” “networking events,” and “court appearances,” both in-person and virtual.
Ashlea Edwards
“The impetus of the showcase was to assist young lawyers who began practice during and after COVID-19 in determining what professionalism means across the state, in differing offices, and at various events,” Edwards said.
Jeffrey Ampratwum, a stylist, creative director, and recent Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, skipped New York fashion week to help the lawyer leaders look their best for the demonstration.
YLD Board member Ashley Wright of Orlando, who has a “history with pageants,” and YLD Board member Valeen Hyde of Jacksonville, an FIT alum, helped recruit the New York talent, Edwards said.
The conference began with a Law School Affiliates meeting. Edwards was pleased to see attendance more than double.
“The earlier students begin networking with lawyers, the earlier they get integrated, the more professional and active they will be.”
Florida Bar Board of Governors members Lorna Brown-Burton, Paige Greenlee, and Jeffrey Rynor were available to meet with the students, Edwards said.
Jeffrey Ampratwm and Valeen Hyde.
AOC attendees also participated in annual presentations for YLD grants, including a Diamond CLE Grant Project, a Pro Bono Legal Services and Access to Justice Grant Project, and a Spring Forward with Ethics and Professionalism Grant Project.
At a “Voluntary Bar Leadership Think Tank,” veteran Jacksonville Bar Association Executive Director Craig Shoup discussed “how affiliate leaders could improve their local bar associations, including successful events, use of technology, membership innovation, professionalism, and the importance of judicial relations,” Edwards said. The presentation has been approved by The Florida Bar for CLE credit.
A Council of Affiliates meeting offered attendees updates on YLD resources, and an opportunity to highlight their success on an Affiliates Walk of Fame.
Started several years ago, the council is an opportunity to share ideas about how to get young lawyers more engaged, Edwards said. The communication is crucial, she said.
“Maybe someone from South Florida at the Miami-Dade YLD may be having a great success engaging with their young lawyers, but maybe someone in Daytona, in the Seventh Circuit, may not be having as much luck.”
Behind the professionalism showcase’s novel presentation is a sincere effort to address a concern about remote practice and the impact it is having on the next generation of lawyers, Edwards said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, veteran practitioners have expressed concern that remote practice denies beginning lawyers opportunities to interact with and learn from more experienced practitioners.
In an annual address at the Annual Florida Bar Convention last summer, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz challenged Bar leaders to consider ways to better train newcomers in the “unspoken rules of the profession.”
A labor and employment lawyer with Akerman in Jacksonville, Edwards agrees. She made it a priority during the year she spent traveling the state and meeting with experienced and young lawyers alike as she prepared to helm the 26,000-lawyer division.
“A lot of what I heard was they’re struggling with connecting, either in the office, or the legal community, or in court. That was our biggest takeaway,” she said. “Many of our CLEs, and our networking, were carefully cultivated to make sure that we were giving young lawyers the tools that they need to be successful in their practice, to engage post COVID.”
