Marks Gray Attorneys Participate in JALA Estate Intake Night

Six Attorneys and Staff from Marks Gray help the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Group further their Pro-Bono efforts

Pictured L to R: Michael Bittner, Jared Wilkerson, Michael Kendall,
Crystal Broughan, Lisa Grosskruger-Edler, and Ed Birk at the JALA night

Marks Gray was proud to support JALA on Tuesday, October 11th at their Estate Intake Planning evening. This month JALA is hosting several community events to support and bring awareness to the  National Pro-Bono Celebration Week being held October 23 - 29, 2016 throughout Northeast Florida. For more information about upcoming Legal Aid events, please visit their website. 

Ten Attorneys Named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers List and Two Named to 2016 Florida Rising Stars List

Marks Gray Attorneys Named Super Lawyers and Rising Stars 

We are pleased to announce that ten attorneys from Mark Gray, P.A. have been selected to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers list. This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than five percent of attorneys in Florida. Two of our attorneys were named to the 2016 Florida Rising Stars List.

The Marks Gray Attorneys on the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers list and their categories of selection are as follows:

                                Jeptha F. Barbour, Personal Injury General: Defense

                                Jill F. Bechtold, General Litigation

                                Edward L. Birk, Communications

                                Giselle Carson, Immigration: Business

                                William M. Corley, Personal Injury Products: Defense

                                John R. Crawford, Estate Planning & Probate

                                Susan S. Erdelyi, Employment & Labor

                                Frederick H. Kent, III, Real Estate

                                Nicholas V. Pulignano, Jr., Business Litigation

                                Gerald W. Weedon, Business Litigation

The Marks Gray Attorneys on the 2016 Florida Rising Stars list and their categories of selection are as follows:

                                Meagan L. Logan, Civil Litigation: Defense

                                Heath L. Vickers, Civil Litigation: Defense

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Attorneys are selected from more than 70 practice areas and all firm sizes, assuring a credible and relevant annual list.

The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes:

• Peer nominations
• Independent research by Super Lawyers
• Evaluations from a highly credentialed panel of attorneys

The objective of Super Lawyers is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys to be used as a resource for both referring attorneys and consumers seeking legal counsel.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country, as well as the Florida Super Lawyers Digital Magazine.

Please join us in congratulating all of the attorneys on their selections. For more information about Super Lawyers, go to SuperLawyers.com.

Marks Gray, P.A. to Co-Sponsor the 2016 Media Law Conference

Marks Gray commits to Silver Sponsorship of Event at the Annual Florida Bar Convention in June 2016

Marks Gray, P.A. has signed on to be a Silver Sponsor of the Annual Media Law Conference being held at the Florida Bar Annual Convention in Orlando, FL on Friday, June 17, 2016. Edward Birk, a First Amendment and news media partner at Marks Gray, said the co-sponsorship is a chance to support the good work of the Florida Bar Media and Communications Law Committee and its mission of furthering a free press.

The theme of the 2016 Media Law Conference is “The Privacy Machine v. the Press: Surveillance, Drones, Body Cams and Hulkamania.” The conference will address issues in an engaging discussion with key thought leaders from the law and media. The conference will feature four panel discussions: access and privacy, the highly publicized Gawker trial involving former pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan, drones and body cams and some of the most controversial First Amendment cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015-2016. Registration is complimentary and open to the public. Attendees who wish to receive CLE credits will need to register for The Florida Bar Annual Convention. 

Edward L. Birk Appointed to Florida Bar Media and Communications Law Committee

Edward L. Birk, Shareholder at Marks Gray, P.A. begins another term on the Media and Communications Committee

Marks Gray Shareholder, Edward L. Birk

Edward Birk, a First Amendment and media partner at Marks Gray, P.A., has been appointed to another term on the Florida Bar Media and Communications Law Committee.  The committee provides attorneys a forum for exchanging information and educating the public about free speech, free press, and the ever-developing world of electronic communications.  Committee members often represent news organizations as well as government agencies involved in public records and open government issues.  The committee engages in activities touching the full spectrum of communications methods, including print, broadcast, cable, the internet, and emerging technologies. The committee also promotes better understanding among members of The Florida Bar, the news media, and the public. The committee plans the annual Media Law Conference, Reporters' Workshop, Media Awards and produces and updates the Reporter’s Handbook.

Mr. Birk has served on the committee for several years, including in the positions of vice-chair and chair.  Before entering the practice of law, he worked as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press in Massachusetts and Florida. For nearly twenty years, he has been representing clients in matters related to the First Amendment, privacy, open government, access to courts, news gathering torts, copyright and trademark infringement.  Clients call on him during all stages of newsgathering, from conception of story ideas, to source development, research, writing, script and story review, broadcast and publication to post-broadcast responses and defenses against legal action when the arise.