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Downs Steps Up

Twenty-seven years ago, Mayanne Downs was working as a real estate broker when she was sued by a former client. Her real estate attorney told her to get a litigator. "As awful as it was to be sued, I thought the lawyer we hired was just unbelievable," Downs says. "She just dazzled me. The papers she filed were really hard to understand, but when I read them enough, I finally kind of got to understand them and I just fell in love with everything about the process. I decided to sell my company and go to law school."

Today, her career shift has her in position to shape and influence Florida's legal profession. She began serving a one-year term as president of the 87,000-member Florida Bar this summer, simultaneously holding two other jobs: She's the city attorney of Orlando and also a shareholder at King, Blackwell, Downs & Zehnder in Orlando. Saying she likes to keep busy and noting that she needs less sleep than most people, the single mother of two teenagers knows she's in for a challenging year.

Following are her plans as Bar president for the year ahead:

Mayanne Downs
Mayanne Downs

Downs switched careers after hiring an attorney almost 30 years ago
when she was still a real estate broker. "I just fell in love with everything
about the process."

Funding

Like previous president Jesse Diner, Downs will tell anyone who will listen that the state's judiciary system is underfunded. The result, she says, is overworked judges and support staff, job and program cuts, low salaries and the courts muddling by with outdated equipment. She says at .6% of the state's budget, Florida's judiciary spending is among the lowest per capita in the nation. "Any measure you can come up with, we're at risk," she says. Her solution: "Keep lobbying. Keep pushing."

Technology

Downs thinks the state's lawyers and judiciary system could do a better job of embracing technology. She'll be pushing for enhancing methods of electronic filing and electronic communication between lawyers, clients and clerks of court, so information and data can be delivered quicker. For her part, she's using social media, including Twitter, to communicate with Bar members. One of her first Tweets encouraged lawyers to do more e-filing.

Trials

Concerned that fewer cases are going to trial, Downs has created a Florida Bar committee to study the declining numbers of both civil and criminal jury trials. First, she wants to know the specific numbers and then she wants to know what's behind the numbers. For example, she wants to know if criminal cases are being dumped prematurely just because the court system is so overburdened. "It may well be that there is nothing we can or should do about this, but I think we should think about it," she says. "We have shaped and developed law for centuries through the jury-trial process, and cases that don't go to jury trial can't make appellate law."

Balance

Downs is aware of the trend in the legal profession in which attorneys, particularly younger ones, are working toward a more desirable work-life balance. In other words, fewer attorneys are working 80 hours or more a week. This would not apply to Downs. She says she still puts her children first over her career but maintains that putting them first doesn't mean she's home with them all the time. "When I do spend time with them, I want it to be meaningful time and not just plopped down in front of a TV," she says. "It means you have to be more focused and careful about how you make decisions about your time and resources. For me, I work all of the time that I'm not with them, and I don't mind that. I'm very fortunate to have everything that I have to do."

Lessons

In 2007, Downs nearly died. She was in a hospital, suffering from sepsis, a severe infection she developed as a result of a kidney stone. To save her life, doctors put her in a medically induced coma. Fully recovered, she acknowledges the experience changed her.

"I hope I am more passionate about the people around me and the opportunities I have and the importance of doing good work, being kind and serving others," she says.

But not everything changed. Downs remains an unusually rabid fan of all Florida Gator sports teams. One of the last things she remembers before going into the coma was that the 2007 Gator basketball team was in the midst of the NCAA men's tournament. When she woke up, her first words were, "Did the Gators win?"

Mayanne Downs, 53

Education: Bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Florida

Career: Shareholder at King, Blackwell, Downs & Zehnder in Orlando; city attorney of Orlando; 62nd president of the Florida Bar

Children: 19-year-old Barry Rigby; 17-year-old Savannah Rigby

Mayanne Downs 15 rules of life:

  1. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
  2. Never underestimate the power of a simple “I’m sorry,” and be sure to look the person in the eye when you say it.
  3. Talk slowly, but think quickly.
  4. Always remember the three Rs: Respect for self; respect for others; responsibility for all of your actions.
  5. Smile when you pick up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
  6. Spend time alone — without time alone, how will you reflect upon who you are and what you should be?
  7. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
  8. Read more books and newspapers and watch less TV.
  9. Read between the lines in conversations in the office, the courtroom and at home.
  10. Remember that NOT getting what you want is sometimes a great gift.
  11. Learn the rules, and follow them.
  12. Remember that your character is your destiny ... and your legacy.
  13. Develop guiding principles for life, and check them frequently.
  14. Become indispensable, in every part of your life.
  15. When you get mad, figure out why. Anger is your psyche’s clue to self-awareness.