Webinar: Trailblazers on the Federal Bench—Roads Travelled and Lessons Learned

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Presented by FBA’s Committee on Advancing the Legal Profession, Professional Development Committee, FBA Tampa Bay Chapter & FBA Broward County Chapter.

What will our Judges discuss?

• Experiences/Opportunities
• Mentorship
• Advice For Attorneys 
• Work – Life Balance

Presenters

The Honorable Robin Rosenbaum, 11th District Circuit Court of Appeals

Robin S. Rosenbaum was appointed as a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on June 3, 2014.

Prior to becoming a United States circuit judge, Judge Rosenbaum served as a United States district judge and a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of Florida.  Before joining the bench, Judge Rosenbaum served as the Chief of Economic Crimes at the Broward County office of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  She has also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley Marcus, United States Circuit Court Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  In addition, Judge Rosenbaum worked in private practice for Holland & Knight LLP and served as staff counsel to Independent Counsel Daniel S. Pearson in the investigation of former United States Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown.  Judge Rosenbaum began her legal career in the United States Attorney General’s Honors Program, where she served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice.

Judge Rosenbaum earned her undergraduate degree at Cornell University and her law degree at the University of Miami.

The Honorable Laurel Isicoff, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida

Laurel Myerson Isicoff took the oath of office on February 13, 2006 and became the first woman to serve as a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of Florida. On October 1, 2016 Judge Isicoff became the first woman Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, and served in that role until October of 2023.   Judge Isicoff served for seven years on the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System, the Committee charged with making recommendations to the Judicial Conference about all matters impacting the bankruptcy courts. As a member of the American College of Bankruptcy, Judge Isicoff serves as a vice-president of the College, as well as a member of the Pro Bono Committee of the College, and in 2021-2022 served as Co-chair of the College’s Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  In recognition of her work on the Commission, as well as her long-standing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Judge Isicoff, together with Judge Jeffery Hopkins, received the inaugural DEI Excellence Award from the College.  In further recognition of her contributions to DEI, Judge Isicoff was awarded the 2023 NCBJ DEI Leadership Award from the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.  Most recently Judge Isicoff received the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from M&A Advisors.

Judge Isicoff also currently serves as judicial chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar and is a member of the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Pro Bono. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Isicoff specialized in commercial bankruptcy, foreclosure and workout matters both as a transactional attorney and litigator for 14 years with the law firm of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, after practicing for 8 years with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, now known as Squire Patton Boggs. After graduating from University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, in 1982, Judge Isicoff clerked for the Honorable Daniel S. Pearson at the Florida Third District Court of Appeal before entering private practice.  Judge Isicoff is a past President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and of the Bankruptcy Bar Association (BBA) of the Southern District of Florida, and, until she took the bench, served as the Chair of the Pro Bono Task Force for the BBA.  Judge Isicoff speaks extensively on bankruptcy around the country, and is committed to increasing pro bono service, diversity, equity and inclusion, and financial literacy for all.

The Honorable Beth Bloom, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Beth Bloom is a United States District Judge in the Southern District of Florida, appointed by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 2014. She previously served on the Florida State Court bench in Miami-Dade County from 1994 – 2014. She was appointed by former Florida Governor Charlie Crist to the Circuit Court in 2010 after serving 15 years as a County Court Judge. She has served in the Circuit Court’s criminal and civil divisions and all divisions of the County Court, serving as the Associate Administrative Judge.

Judge Bloom received her Bachelor of Science degree in public relations from the University of Florida in 1984 and her Juris Doctor degree (cum laude) from the University of Miami School of Law in 1988. She practiced commercial litigation with the law firm of Floyd Pearson Richman Greer Weil Zack & Brumbaugh from 1988-1994 and was appointed as a Traffic Court Magistrate from 1993-1994 before her election to the State Court bench.

Judge Bloom is Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Ad Hoc Committee on Judicial Independence, and immediate past Chair of the Judiciary Division, previously serving as Chair of the Article III Trial Judges Committee. She is a member of the Federal Judges Association’s Executive Committee and Chairs the Judicial Independence Committee. She is a Board Member of the Federal Bar Association’s South Florida Chapter, Chair of the Southern District of Florida’s Local Rules Committee, Chair of the Jewish American Heritage Month Committee, and serves on the Southern District’s Ad Hoc Committee on Rules and Procedure.

In 2025, Judge Bloom and colleague Judge Robin Rosenberg created the Courts and Civility Program, that educates the public about the role of the courts and civility, now a national initiative of the Federal Bar Association. This followed their creation and implementation, with guidance from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions Program (CD3) in 2016, presented to high school, college, and law students in courtrooms and remotely in classrooms, a national initiative of the U.S. Courts and the Federal Bar Association.

In 2021, Judge Bloom created the Judicial Intern Academy (JIA), a 20-hour per week summer program, offered remotely and in-person to incoming second year law students, providing internships to students who are personally or financially unable to devote themselves to a full-time, unpaid internship in chambers. The JIA provides robust learning experiences in and out of the courtroom and pairs each intern with a former federal judicial law clerk who serves as a mentor and assists in enhancing the student’s research and writing skills. The JIA is now a national program of the Federal Bar Association.

Judge Bloom serves as a visiting faculty member of Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop and an adjunct faculty member of the University of Miami School of Law’s Litigation Skills Program. She served on the faculty of the Florida Judicial College for 19 years, teaching 2 newly elected and appointed judges; the faculty of the National Judicial College, the College of Advanced Judicial Studies, and the Florida Conference of County Court Judges. She presents nationally on the topics of civility and civil discourse and is a frequent lecturer for the Florida Bar, local bar associations, law schools, and FBA chapters.

Judge Bloom was elected as the first woman president of the Florida Conference of County Court Judges, a member of the Executive Committee of the Florida Conference of Circuit Court Judges and a founding member of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society. She coordinated the University of Miami School of Law’s Judicial Internship Program for 17 years. In Miami[1]Dade County, she created the Lawyers Join Hands for Students Program, the DUI In-Jail Treatment Program, the Smoking Tobacco Offender Program (S.T.O.P.), the It’s Your Life Program for foster youth aging out of the foster care system, and the I’m Ready Program, an alternative to Boot Camp, for youthful offenders sentenced in adult criminal court. She coordinated the Artist in Residence Program with artist Romero Britto and students throughout Miami-Dade’s Visual and Performing Arts Academies, and she implemented the Eleventh Circuit’s Centennial Celebration’s county-wide poster, essay, and speech contests with the Miami-Dade County schools.

Judge Bloom has received numerous honors and awards that include the 2025 Edward B. Davis Award from the Federal Bar Association, South Florida Chapter, the 2025 Ryskamp Award from the Federal Bar Association, Palm Beach Chapter, the Supreme Court of Florida’s Distinguished Federal Judicial Service Pro Bono Award in 2024, the ABA Presidential Recognition Award, the Miami Beach Bar Association’s 2023 Legal Legend Award, the University of Miami School of Law’s 2023 Henry Latimer Award, the 2020 U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services Recognition Award for her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit, the Florida Conference of County Court Judges’ Trailblazer Award and Harvey Ford Leadership Award, the Fraternal Order of Police Citizen of the Year Award, the Dade County Bar Association’s Johnnie M. Ridgely President’s Award, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Historical Society’s “Silverman Award”, the University of Miami School of Law Alumni Association’s Thomas Davison III Service Award, the Miami-Dade Justice Association’s “Judge Steve Levine Award”, MADD’s Judicial Distinction Award, the Legal Services of Greater Miami’s 2015 Equal Justice Judicial Leadership Award, the Juvenile Judges’ Child’s Heart Award, the Miami Bridge Youth & Family Service’s Champion for Children Award, Our Kids’ Leadership Award, Mellon Bank’s Community Service Award, the Jewish Legal Society’s Rodef Shalom Pursuer of Peace Award, Judge of the Year from the Minority Chamber of Commerce, Miami Today’s 2019 Stars in Government Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Miami Women Who Rock.

Judge Bloom is married to Lyle Stern, and they have three children.

The Honorable Virginia Hernandez Convington, Middle District of Florida

Virginia M. Hernandez Covington was appointed a United States District Court judge for the Middle District of Florida in 2004, becoming its first Hispanic district judge. Previously, Judge Covington served on Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, the first Cuban American woman appointed to any of Florida’s appellate courts. Judge Covington is an honors graduate of the University of Tampa, where she received the Outstanding Graduate Award, and an MBA, as well as a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where she served on a law review. For close to 20 years, Judge Covington was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. There, Judge Covington managed both civil and criminal cases and in 1988 became the district’s first woman supervisor with her appointment as Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Section.

Long active in the community, Judge Covington has received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from her high school, college, sorority, and law and graduate schools. In 2003, she was Tampa’s Hispanic Woman of the Year, honored for more than twenty years of volunteer and community service to her hometown. In 2021, Judge Covington received the Florida Supreme Court Federal Judicial Pro Bono Award, and in 2021 she was one of three women inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame. Judge Covington has been recognized for her work and community activities multiple times by bar associations, schools, civic organizations, and government entities.

Judge Covington enjoys teaching and working with colleagues throughout the world. Most of her assignments have been collaborating with judges throughout Latin America, on subjects such as trial advocacy, judicial ethics, and court management.  In addition, she has taught colleagues throughout Europe and Asia on both criminal and civil subject matters.

As much as she has enjoyed her career, Judge Covington is most grateful for her wonderful and loving parents who made it possible for her to pursue her dreams and for her three children and four grandchildren, who make each day a blessing.

1.0 CLE credit anticipated for Florida

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