SHARE:
Florida Law
No More Robes for Kenneth Bell
Family responsibilities lead former high court justice Kenneth Bell back to the private sector.
 Kenneth Bell with wife Vicky, son Reed, daughter Stephanie and father Reed Bell [Photo: Ray Stanyard] |
Back home in Pensacola after nearly six years on the Florida Supreme Court, Kenneth B. Bell tells why he left the court, the challenges facing the state’s judicial system and his return to private practice.
| Kenneth Bell, 52 Partner: Clark, Partington, Hart, Larry, Bond & Stackhouse, Pensacola Experience: Real estate attorney, then trial judge before being appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2002 Early Start: At age 34, he became the youngest circuit judge in the history of the 1st Judicial Circuit of Florida. Role Model: “My father is my hero in life, and he always instructed us — I’m one of six kids — to use your talents to the best of your ability to help other people. That’s your primary purpose in life. He was proud that his son had made it this far, but he knew that I had to take care of my family first.” |
» On Stepping Down: “It was more about a pragmatic need than a desire to leave the judiciary. I have four children, one who is 23, doing well in Dallas as a financial analyst, and then I have a daughter at a private college and a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old, who will soon be following. It became an economic necessity to give them the education they deserve. Unfortunately, particularly at the justice level since I’ve been on the court, real income has gone down between 12% and 16% because of not getting cost-of-living increases, etc.
According to a Florida Bar survey in 2005, the average law partner in Florida, not senior partner, made $185,000, and my salary at the time I left was $161,000. My pay was significantly less than the average partner. I know I would still be on the court if it weren’t for the inability to meet the needs of my family as well as I could otherwise.”
» On Judicial Funding: “Ensuring adequate funding for the judicial branch, I think that’s the critical question going forward. We’re at about 0.7% of the state budget right now. The third branch of state government needs to be treated as a separate branch and not merely as another executive agency.”
» On Practicing Law: “I wanted to be in the Pensacola-northwest Florida area, and I picked Clark Partington (law firm) because I have known them since I began practicing law. They’re known to be excellent in what they do. I’ll be helping to develop an arbitration practice, and I’ll be working to strengthen the appellate practice and trial support. Probably, you get isolated as a judge because you have to remove yourself from close friendships and relationships in order to maintain your neutrality. One thing I am looking forward to greatly is being able to be more engaged both in the community and in a team-type effort to pursue the vision and goals of the firm and meet the needs of clients. The teamwork is exciting to me.”
» On What He’ll Miss: “To be able to sit in the middle and achieve justice is just a phenomenal responsibility, but also a great joy. It’s a purer practice of law, and I’ll miss that aspect of it.”
» On Trial Experience: “Right now, none of the (Florida Supreme Court) justices has any experience as a trial court judge, including the two recent appointees. You can witness, let’s say, a football game and read about it the next day in the newspaper, and you’ll get a glimpse of what happened and not understand all the dynamics of it. And that’s true with the cold records that are presented before appellate courts. I think having the perspective of a trial judge is extremely important because you can’t get everything from a cold record.”
