New officers were selected recently for the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, which implements the Florida Supreme Court’s constitutional authority to oversee and regulate admissions of new attorneys to The Florida Bar.
The changes involve members from the Panama City and the Miami areas. They are:
Elizabeth J. Walters, of Panama City Beach, Florida, was named Chair of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Ms. Walters was elected Vice Chair in 2016 by her fellow Board members at a meeting of the Board held in Tampa, Florida on October 15, 2016. Her term of office with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners began November 1, 2013. Ms. Walters will serve as Chair through October 31, 2018.
Ms. Walters was born in Panama City, Florida. She attended the University of West Florida where she received her BA degree in Political Science and her MA degree in Political Science, and The Florida State University School of Law where she received her Juris Doctorate degree. Ms. Walters is a partner at Burke Blue Hutchison Walters & Smith, P.A. She was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1995 and the Alabama Bar in 1996, and is a member of the Bay County Bar Association and the St. Andrews Bay American Inn of Court.
In addition to serving on the FBBE, Ms. Walters has undertaken numerous civic endeavors, including currently serving as the Chair of the Panama City Port Authority, Chair of Bay Medical Center/Sacred Heart Health System Board of Directors and Chair of Alignment Bay County. She also serves as a Director of Summit Bank, N.A. and is a Trustee of the Florida State University Foundation.
Scott L. Baena, a founding partner at Bilzin Sumberg Baena, Price & Axelrod LLP in Miami, Florida, was elected Vice Chair of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners by his fellow Board members at a meeting of the Board held in Coral Gables, Florida on October 19, 2017. Mr. Baena’s term of office with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners began November 1, 2014. Mr. Baena will become Chair of the Board on November 1, 2018.
Mr. Baena attended George Washington University, where he received his BBA and Juris Doctor degrees. He was admitted to The Florida Bar in December 1974, and is a member of the following associations: Dade County Bar Association (Director), Legal Services of Greater Miami (Director), American Bankruptcy Institute, South Florida Bankruptcy Bar Association, American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association. Mr. Baena was a member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors from 1987-1995; served as Chair of the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar 1986-87; and currently serves on the Senior Lawyers Committee of The Florida Bar. Mr. Baena additionally served on the board of The Florida Bar Foundation from 1997-2000.
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court charged with the responsibility of enforcing the Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to The Bar. This involves the supervision of character background investigations as well as the administration and grading of the Florida Bar Examination.
The Board’s website, located at www.floridabarexam.org, has the Board’s computerized Bar Application forms available to applicants free of charge. The website also features the full text of the Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar, Frequently Asked Questions and links to other agencies, including The Florida Bar and the Supreme Court.
