RICK AND SUSANNE SICHTA ATTORNEYS OF THE MONTH THE HONORABLE MOSE FLOYD JUDICIAL PROFILE LINDSAY TYGART JWLA 2020 WOMAN OF YEAR KATIE JOHNSON RISING STARA SECOND LOOK Every case deserves We have paid our co-counsel more than $ 15 million in referral fees. More Than O N E B I L L I O N Dollars Recovered WWW.SDLITIGATION.COM AVIATION ACCIDENTS CATASTROPHIC INJURY COMMERCIAL DISPUTES INSURANCE BAD FAITH MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PREMISES ACCIDENTS PRODUCT LIABILITY WRONGFUL DEATH AN ELITE PERSONAL INJURY LAW FIRM With A Reputation For SuccessA SECOND LOOK Every case deserves We have paid our co-counsel more than $ 15 million in referral fees. More Than O N E B I L L I O N Dollars Recovered WWW.SDLITIGATION.COM AVIATION ACCIDENTS CATASTROPHIC INJURY COMMERCIAL DISPUTES INSURANCE BAD FAITH MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PREMISES ACCIDENTS PRODUCT LIABILITY WRONGFUL DEATH AN ELITE PERSONAL INJURY LAW FIRM With A Reputation For Success Christopher Cobb & James Gonzalez are pleased to announce the grand opening of the new Cobb & Gonzalez office space. The firm has relocated to the 2nd floor of Quadrant 2. Cobb & Gonzalez, P.A. 4655 Salisbury Road, Suite 200 Jacksonville, FL 32256 (904)-822-8001 | www.cobbgonzalez.com TABLE OF Contents 8 FROM THE Publisher Dear Readers, Retired Marine Master Sgt. Wil- liam H. Cox kept his promise to stand guard at his friend’s funeral, Retired Marine First Sgt. James “Hollie” Hol- lingsworth on October 24, 2019, such a wonderful example of the lifelong camaraderie of the American mili- tary. As we approach Veteran’s Day, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the First Coast legal community, who served our country including; The Honor- able Mose L. Floyd and attorney Keith Maynard, both featured in this issue. We are also pleased to feature At- torneys of the Month Rick Sichta and Susanne Kaye Sichta. The Sichta Law Firm specializes in post-conviction and appellate law. Also featured in this issue are Rising Star Katie John- son and the JWLA 2020 Woman of the Year Lindsay Tygart. Happy Reading, THOMAS BRADY PUBLISHER 904-398-2234 TBRADY@ATTORNEYATLAWMAGAZINE.COM Attorney at Law Magazine is published by: Target Market Media Publications Inc. Ken Minniti PRESIDENT & CEO Howard LaGraffe VICE PRESIDENT Caitlin Keniston EDITOR Thomas Brady FIRST COAST PUBLISHER Susan Cushing Veronica Jauregui ASSISTANT EDITOR Nancy Kinnally LOCAL EDITOR Kate Quealy LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR Jaqueline Dávila GRAPHIC DESIGN Edmond Provder Robert Walker CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Paige Harriss Vivian Hood Nancy Kinnally CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Harris PHOTOGRAPHY Copyright ©2020, Target Market Media all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited. Advertising rates on request. Bulk third class (standard) mail. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Attorney at Law Magazine & Target Market Media cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by authors. Corporate Office : 5828 North 7th Street, Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ 85014 Phone (480) 219-9716 www.tmmpublications.com • info@tmmpublications.com Northern Alabama | Atlanta | Chicago | Dallas | Ft. Lauderdale Jacksonville | Los Angeles | Miami | Minnesota North Carolina Triangle | Ohio | Philadelphia | Phoenix | San Antonio Salt Lake City | Middle Tennessee | Washington D.C. 7 JALA’s New Veterans Legal Services Unit Makes Great Strides By Nancy Kinnally 8 Judge Mose Floyd Judicial Spotlight 11 Who Is Really Listening in Conflict Resolution? By Robert Walker 12 Rick & Susanne Sichta Attorneys of the Month 16 Katie Johnson Rising Star 18 Keith L. Maynard Litigator Spotlight 21 The Value of Life Care Plans to Proving Damages in Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Cases By Edmond Provder 22 JWLA Names Lindsay Tygart as 2020 Woman Lawyer of the Year By Vivian Hood AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 5JaxLegalAid.org/Donate You can protect and preserve with us. Give generously today. Consumers • Elderly • Workers • Families Children • Veterans • Neighbors Healthcare Access • Safe, Affordable Housing Economic & Food Security • Second Chances Community Well-Being • Dignity WE ARE PROTECTING WE ARE PRESERVING WE ARE JACKSONVILLE AREA LEGAL AIDIn its first year of operation, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Veterans Legal Services Unit and the statewide Florida Veterans Legal Helpline together have closed nearly 750 civil legal cases. By contacting the helpline at (866) 486-6161, Florida veterans can re- quest help with legal issues relat- ing to housing, family law and child support, driver’s license suspensions, disability and veterans’ benefits, ex- pungement, and more. JALA, Bay Area Legal Servic- es and Legal Services of North Flor- ida handle cases coming through the helpline, which is funded through the Florida Department of Veterans Af- fairs. JALA Veteran Services Attorney Declan Duffy handled close to 100 cases on his own and co-counseled with other JALA units such as con- sumer and housing on about 60 oth- ers under the grant, while overall JALA staff attorneys together served more than 360 veterans and their families over the last year. An Army veteran who served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Divi- sion from February 2002 to Decem- ber 2006, Duffy was able to get the project well underway from late fall through early spring, when the COV- ID-19 pandemic stifled in-person cli- ent outreach. “I was able to put a lot of effort into making sure people know about our program,” Duffy said. “We get a lot of referrals now from the social workers and housing counselors at the VA.” Now that clients have to apply for assistance by phone or online due to the pandemic, the referral networks Duffy had already put in place have enabled him to continue serving vet- erans referred not only by the VA but by other veterans’ groups, including the Five Star Veterans Center. “Our mission is to help those plagued with serious PTSD, traumat- ic brain Injury, depression and other mental health issues that caused them to turn to alcohol and drugs for self- medication,” said Five Star Veterans Center CEO Colonel F.L. “Len” Lov- ing, a retired Marine. “JALA’s Veter- ans Service Unit has helped reduce much of their stress and has helped them tremendously in their daily struggles to be addiction-free and re- turn to independent living.” Duffy said being a veteran himself provides a great starting point, such as when he spoke to a group at Five Star Veterans Center on Pearl Harbor Day last December. “It completely flipped the script for them, from where I was just another attorney coming to tell them about a resource to, “I’m one of you, I’m just in a different position. I’m actually in a position where I can help,’” Duffy said. The program’s paralegal, Aylmar Thompson, is a Navy veteran. “He’s been a huge help to our pro- gram, compiling documents we need to move forward with our cases,” Duffy said. Studies conducted by the Veterans Administration found that 5 of the top 10 unmet needs for male home- less veterans, and 4 of the top 10 for female homeless veterans, require civ- il legal assistance. DECLAN DUFFY, DIVISION CHIEF FOR THE JALA’S NEW VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES UNIT, JALA CEO JIM KOWALSKI, BRIGADIER GEN. MICHAEL P. FLEMING (RET.) AND SEN. ROB BRADLEY, (R-ORANGE PARK) CUT THE RIBBON ON THE UNIT IN NOVEMBER 2019. JALA’s New Veterans Legal Services Unit Makes Great Strides BY NANCY KINNALLY AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 7JUDICIAL SPO TLIGHT Judge Mose Floyd Veteran and Public Servant Committed to Equal Justice BY PAIGE HARRISS Duval County Court Judge Mose Floyd has served both overseas and in the court- room. His dedication to country and community stems in part from his childhood experiences. “My father had no formal education but taught himself several trades and did what he had to do to support a family of 12 kids,” he said. “I’ve always felt an ob- ligation to pay back, to give to those who aren’t as fortunate as myself.” After attending the U.S. Naval Academy, Judge Floyd served as an of- ficer in the Marine Corps from 1977 to 1999 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. Among his several military awards, one of his three Meritorious Service Medals was the result of Judge Floyd’s instrumental leadership in the modernization of the Marine Corps’ ground weapons and equipment. “My leadership style has always been to lead by example, be support- ive of those who I lead, and inspire them to be their better selves,” he said. “I’d much rather lead those who genu- inely want to do the work and want to support me as their leader.” After retiring from the Marine Corps, Judge Floyd transferred his leadership style to the courtroom. His decision to become a prosecutor was influenced both by his own experi- ences and by former Marine and State Attorney Harry L. Shorstein. “I always harken back to where I was raised in the south as a young black kid where I noticed that many who looked like me weren’t getting the same breaks as others in the jus- tice system,” he said. “Those who were underprivileged didn’t get the same advantages as those who could afford the better attorneys when they came to court, and I wanted to try to level the playing field and ensure equal jus- tice.” Although initially planning to be- come a defense attorney, it was Mr. Shorstein who convinced Judge Floyd to become a prosecutor. “Mr. Shor- stein explained that I could do so much more to achieve equal justice by being a prosecutor because I would be dealing with a larger number of cases and I’d be making very impor- tant decisions up front including what the charges would be (if any), what sentence to seek, what bond recom- mendations to make, and the ability to ensure that the police officers in- volved with the cases were doing the ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · FIRST COAST · VOL. 5 NO. 5 8At a Glance EDUCATION Master of Military Studies, Marine Corps University, 1995 Juris Doctorate, Georgetown University Law Center, 1993 Master of Science, Systems Management, University of Southern California, 1984 Bachelor of Science, Oceanography, United States Naval Academy, 1977 LEGAL HONORS Rookie of the Year Award, State Attorney, 2001 Trial Award, State Attorney, 2002 Promoted to Division Chief, State Attorney’s Office, 2003 Selected for Homicide Gun Unit, Duval County Promoted to Director County Court, Duval County Selected as Managing Attorney, St. Augustine State Attorney’s Office Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, 1991 County Court Judge Appointment, 2011 MILITARY SERVICE AWARDS Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal (Three Awards) Navy Commendation Medal Joint Service Achievement Medal Navy Achievement Medal National Defense Service Medal (Two Awards) Korean Service Medal Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (Two Awards) Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon right thing,” he said. “Mr. Shorstein won me over and the rest is history; I didn’t make it out of his office.” Judge Floyd’s hard work and meticulous attention to detail allowed him to become division chief before promotion to di- rector of Duval County Court in the State Attorney’s Office; then managing attorney for the St. Augustine State Attorney’s Office. “I peeled back every layer of the onion and made sure that no one knew more about what was going on with a case than I did,” he said. “I did my research, went to the crime scenes, visited with officers and I was very rarely surprised in court.” These efforts resulted in a 96% conviction rate in his felony trials. One of his proudest achievements as judge has been the Veterans Treatment Court (VTC), which has connected his military and legal careers in a meaningful way. The program allows veterans who have committed a crime due to PTSD, injury, or addiction brought on by the stress of war and the rigorous demands of military life to enroll in a yearlong rehabilitation program with mentors. “I try to get them back to the mental state they were in when they were defending our coun- try and protecting their families and communities,” he said. “Some of them have been on drugs for so long that they’ve forgotten what that was like. I try to remind them that they were establishing their lega- cies for their families to follow, and that if they wanted better for their family they have to stand up and be their role model and their rock.” The VTC program has garnered positive reactions from both mili- tary and civilians. “The military really respects what we’re doing in VTC and when we make recom- mendations, they generally go along with us,” he said. “We’ve saved lives, salvaged careers, and restored families. That’s why I’m so proud about what we do in VTC.” Today, Judge Floyd is looking forward to overcoming the chal- lenges the courtroom has had to face in the midst of the COV- ID-19 pandemic. “That interper- sonal relationship is something I miss most because I get a better sense of the people on both sides of the aisle in order to determine what is just in each case,” he said. “I’m looking forward to retrieving those interpersonal relationships and getting out of this Zoom en- vironment.” In the meantime, he continues to live by values inspired by the Marine Corps and his legal hero Harry L. Shorstein. “Mr. Shor- stein’s only instruction to us was to do the right thing for the case, never throw low blows in court, and be a man of your word,” he said. “Even when doing the right thing means hurting your case, you still do the right thing.” THE HONORABLE MOSE L. FLOYD AND DECLAN DUFFY, DIVISION CHIEF FOR JACKSONVILLE AREA LEGAL AID’S NEW VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES UNIT, CUT THE RIBBON ON THE UNIT IN NOVEMBER 2019. AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 9Next >