Dori Foster-Morales, President, The Florida Bar
This is a transcript from The Floridaville podcast. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence so it may not be an accurate account of what was recorded.
Rosanna Catalano 0:09
This is the Floridaville. Get to know the people behind the Florida names you know. I'm your host Rosanna Catalano. On this episode we get to know Dori Foster-Morales. Not only is she the president of the Florida Bar. She is a Board Certified attorney in marital and family law with a successful law firm in Miami. We are live video streaming today's episode remotely. I'm in my home office in Tallahassee and Dori is speaking to us from her office in Miami. Congratulations on becoming President and welcome to the show.
Dori Foster-Morales 0:40
Thank you so much for having me.
Rosanna Catalano 0:42
Now, the Florida Bar is the organization that regulates the practice of law in Florida and ensures the highest standards of legal professionalism for the more than 100,000 Florida licensed attorneys as president of this organization, what are your duties and responsibilities?
Dori Foster-Morales 1:00
Well, it is a huge organization. And first and foremost, I am the voice of the Florida Bar. I speak on behalf of the bar at a multitude of events, whether it's at the Supreme Court when we have arguments about new rules, whether it's lobbying for the Florida Bar, I also preside over the Board of Governors meetings, which is like the Board of Directors. And so all of the rulemaking all of the policymaking comes through the Board of Governors, and I act as the chair of that board, and I run the meetings and the committees and so forth. And we have all sorts of other aspects of running the bar, we obviously run all of the discipline. And so as part of the disciplinary process, everything goes through the Board of Governors again, which I preside over.
Rosanna Catalano 1:44
So for our audience members that are not attorneys, can you share with us how a person rises to become the president of such a large and prestigious organization?
Dori Foster-Morales 1:52
Well, that's probably an answer to a question that many people would have a different answer to. I can tell you how I did it. Generally speaking, people get involved with either their local voluntary organizations like the Dade County Bar in Florida in Miami, or maybe the Orange County Bar in Orlando, maybe you start as a young lawyer, and they're young lawyers division, and you work your way up through these local voluntary bars. Until you maybe you're president of that organization, after which you might start getting involved with the Florida Bar. Now, I'm talking about the voluntary organizations because that's a really traditional route. That was not my route. As is probably consistent with everything in my life. I never take the traditional route. And my route was I'd never been involved with a bar never been involved with active bar activities. I had been a government lawyer for the first 10 years of my practice, and government lawyers traditionally are not involved with the bar. When I went out into private practice, and I did get involved. I started with getting involved in the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, which is one of the many sections and committees of the Florida Bar and I worked my way up to through the Family Law Section and sort of doing some activities that involve the bigger bar meaning not just family law issues, but the bigger bar issues. I ended up chairing the annual convention one year. And from that I ran for the Board of Governors, never thinking that I would be bar president. Again, I've never been president of anything before. I hadn't been president by local bar organization. I'd come up a little bit of a different way. But I felt like where I came from, I had a little different perspective on the practice of law. And the type of leadership I thought I brought to the table was a little different than others, and I thought it was, you know, a flavor that would be good for the bar, and I ultimately decided to run for president and that's what I did.
Rosanna Catalano 3:43
Well, I'm glad you did. Congratulations.
Dori Foster-Morales 3:45
Thank you.
Rosanna Catalano 3:45
So you practice marital and family law as I mentioned earlier and this type of law practice is known for being very stressful, emotional, litigious. What personality traits Do you possess that make this type of practice manageable for you?
Dori Foster-Morales 4:03
So I'll share some personal information. Both of my parents were divorced multiple times. I personally have been married 31 years, but my parents were divorced a lot. And I think I was able to distance myself from my clients, provide good advice and guidance, not get overly personally involved. And I think one of the keys if you can't own your client's problems, you have to own their solutions. And so it is my belief that I want to leave someone in a little bit better place and I found them and I have to help them find some solutions to their problems, because clearly they've come to me in an unhappy marriage and a difficult place. And so it's my job to sort of create a resolution to help move them on to that better place. And I think if you look at your job, that way, you can manage the stress. You know, I laugh all the time because we know more than one lawyer in this office, sort of five or six lawyers all together, including me, me, my partner, the oldest of the six. And you know, will it'll be super hot or running into court, every all these young, they're all women, all these young women, they're sweating, and they're like, Oh, is it possible that you're not sweating? And I say, Well, you know, I just can't, I have to stay calm for everyone. I have to stay calm for my clients, for you all. So I just did sort of a mind over matter thing, but I feel like that really brings great comfort to the clients when I'm not agitated and upset. And if I can be a voice of reason, I think it helps them to be a voice of reason.
Rosanna Catalano 5:32
That's a great perspective. So I know you grew up in South Florida. Can you share with us what your childhood was like?
Dori Foster-Morales 5:39
So I grew up in Miami Beach, before Miami Beach is what it is today. It was pretty idyllic. It was a small town feeling a small community. We all went to the public schools. Everyone went to public school and there was a public school feeder pattern. And you didn't get broken up. Everyone from your elementary school went to your middle school. Everyone who went to the middle school went to Beach High. So there was a real sense of community because you knew people for many years, I was a tennis player. So I played competitive tennis, and that was great. You know, it was a few. Again, it wasn't like everyone played in private clubs, even the wealthiest people because it was a lot of money, you know, great wealth and Miami Beach as there is now even back then there was, but everyone played at the public courts had tennis lessons in that environment. And my dad's, you know, office was down the street from the public tennis courts. And that's where we spent our days. You know, we woke up and on the weekends, we went and played tennis all day, and after school, I play tennis and you know, I wasn't in the malls. I was, you know, related to sports.
Rosanna Catalano 6:42
Were you ever on a debate team?
Dori Foster-Morales 6:44
So it's really interesting. I did today one year, but I ended up not doing debate and I interesting, my husband, you also want to be shy. He did debate, but I really never thought I'd be a lawyer. So why would I do to be funny how life works?
Rosanna Catalano 6:59
Exactly. Exactly where did you attend college and what was your major?
Dori Foster-Morales 7:03
I went to the University of Florida and I got a degree in economics.
Rosanna Catalano 7:07
Go Gators! As a double Gator myself, I'm glad we attended the same law school.
Dori Foster-Morales 7:12
Yeah.
Rosanna Catalano 7:12
Why did you choose the University of Florida for law school as well?
Dori Foster-Morales 7:15
Well, you know, I mean, I think um, University of Florida is a great university at the time, I went to college, you know, I come from a large family. There were four kids and my parents basically said, you know, you can go to Florida or Florida State. I mean, you know, financially that was what was affordable. So I went to the University of Florida, and had a great experience, but my dad really wanted me to be a dentist. And when I broke the news to him that I would not be a dentist and that the idea of my putting my fingers in someone's mouth for a living just repulsed me. Being the middle child. They were super upset. They thought for sure I would follow my father's footsteps. I was the obedient middle child. They then informed me that I would be going to law school because I wasn't going to be a dentist, I would be a lawyer. And I laugh all the time because I really didn't want to go to law school. No, I applied to Florida and I got into Florida. And so I went to Florida and I spent another three, you know, idyllic three years there. But I went there because basically, that's why parents wanted me to do.
Rosanna Catalano 8:20
That's a great story. I have parents that that said to me, basically, you're going either to med school or law school, which one you're going to be a lawyer or doctor, like Wait, what?
Dori Foster-Morales 8:35
My family there are three other siblings and neither no one else is either a doctor or a lawyer. I said to my mom, once I understand like, it was like the whole speech. You know, you have to be a doctor or a lawyer. And I go, but no one else is and my mom was like, no one listened to us.And I was like, okay, but I'm glad I did. I'm a middle child and island as well.
Rosanna Catalano 9:01
So with that, let's take a quick commercial break when we come back, we'll discuss your amazing career.
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Rosanna Catalano 10:04
And we're back with the president of the Florida Bar. So tell me about your first job out of law school.
Dori Foster-Morales 10:11
So my first job out of law school, of course, I told you that I didn't really think that I wanted to go to law school and believe it or not, when I graduated law school, I definitely didn't think I wanted to be a lawyer. So I didn't know what I was going to do. I was engaged to be married, and I got married right after law school. My husband wants to be Thai and he was also a lawyer. And he got a job in Washington DC, which was great. I wanted to leave Florida. I wanted to experience life outside of Florida, Gainesville in Miami, but I didn't know what I would do. So I figured I would just start pounding the pavement but my husband was coaching a T ball team. And he met a guy who worked at the EPA and who took a liking to me and he offered me a job at the Environmental Protection Agency a couple months after I moved to DC. I work at the Environmental Protection Agency first in DC and the Enforcement Unit. And then in New York City, which is called region two, it's New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico in the Virgin Islands, that's their area and, and work for them there as well. And it was, you know, a wonderful job that, you know, the federal government, it's no great place to work. It's a great place to get your feet wet as a young lawyer. I learned, you know, better writing skills. And my husband, who, you know, was very supportive of me, had said to me, I know you don't think you want to be a lawyer, but you went to law school, and I think you need to do it for two years. And in two years, you don't want to be a lawyer, then you can find out something else you want to do, but you least need to try it. And I'm so glad he did that because that is really why I'm still a lawyer because I had someone encouraging me and I you know, obviously ended up loving being a lawyer was so grateful for this career path. And it all started at the EPA.
Rosanna Catalano 12:03
So what did you do after you left the EPA?
Dori Foster-Morales 12:06
So after I left the EPA, we were living in New York City. My husband really wanted to come back down to Miami. We're both from here. I didn't really want to because I, at that point, love my job at EPA. And he ran into Janet Reno, who at the time was the state attorney for Miami Dade County. It was right before she was selected to be Attorney General by President Clinton. And they ran into each other at a funeral of a close friend of my husband, elderly gentleman who was his godfather. Janet ultimately offered me a job in environmental crimes at the State Attorney's Office in Miami Dade County, and it was great opportunity. I was a little nervous about leaving New York. I really enjoyed living there. But I did and I became a trial lawyer. I never did environmental crimes by the way. I just ended up being a trial lawyer and I prosecuted for five years and it was an incredible experience. Talking about being a lawyer. That's really being a lawyer and I loved it. And it really put me on my road to what I'm doing today. So I want to talk to you a little bit about that particular job.
Rosanna Catalano 13:08
When I worked as an assistant state attorney, I loved being part of a team. I think when you work as a prosecutor, it's one of the few times you really feel like you're part of a team when you're practicing law. So what in particular did you enjoy about your time at the State Attorney's Office in prosecuting?
Dori Foster-Morales 13:23
I love the partnership that I had with people, the community, my closest friends all came out of the State Attorney's Office and are all doing amazing things. You know, I always had a trial partner. I always try cases with people. I ended up loving evidence. And just the the, the act of putting a case together, putting it before a jury building something important and seeing it through to the end. You know, maybe having been a tennis player. I was used to being in a competitive environment and being self reliant, and I found it really exhilarating, nerve-wracking, exhilarating, exhausting, anyone who knows trial work. It's like the highs and lows. I always say, you know, when people say I've never lost a case, I'm like, then you're not really a trial lawyer because we've all lost cases, ball had heartbreaks, and it's Yeah, I don't know, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. But I would say that my closest, my dearest friends came from the State Attorney's Office. And, you know, I'm very, very grateful not just to Kathy Rondo, who ultimately was my supervisor, folks like Michael Band, who was the first assistant who I worked under is still a dear friend of mine to all the judges who mentored me, who gave me feedback in my trials, who I hear from today, you know, always so supportive of my efforts with the bar, just, you know, you really get to know everyone within the court system. When you when you're a prosecutor, you just don't get that in the private sector. Yeah, true adrenaline rush.
Rosanna Catalano 14:52
Yeah. So after the State Attorney's Office, where did you work?
Dori Foster-Morales 14:57
So in 1998, I left the State Attorney's Office, my daughter had been diagnosed with autism has been had been elected to the county commission but was still you know, working as a lawyer in Miami Dade County, that's a part time job. And I had to figure out you know how to make more money and and even though I was not a money oriented person, I did child with special needs. And so I started doing a lot of informational interviewing, trying to figure out where I could land and I knew because of the political things my husband was doing, I didn't want to be at a big firm that created conflicts. I didn't want to do criminal defense work, and I just sort of did a lot of sort of soul searching a lot of people have lunch with me, and and sort of arrived at this thought that not a lot of people did from the State Attorney's Office, which was maybe Family Law. I could stay in court, I can continue to try cases. And Marsha Elser, who I had met over the years was the real joy in the family law part. At the time, first female president, the American Academy of matrimonial lawyers, I called her just to see if we could have lunch and asked her. If she thought there was room in this field. I never taken Family Law. It was just sort of a thought. And we went to lunch, and she looked at me and she says, if you want to do Family Law, I want you to do it with me. And I'm like, I don't even know if I can do it. And she's like, you, I know you have what it takes. And she mentored me and, you know, obviously, it's still a very dear friend. She's now retired. And that's how I ended up with Marsha. You know, it was a little bit of a journey.
Rosanna Catalano 16:34
Incredible. So you have your own firm. Now, what's the hardest lesson that you've learned by owning your own law firm?
Dori Foster-Morales 16:44
So I've been so lucky, because, you know, yes, it's my firm but, you know, I started with Marsha and sort of evolved. It was like I had to just open up a firm new Marsha has retired and so that that's the case. But it's sort of evolved into what this is, which is a pretty substantial practice. But I would say the hardest lesson I learned was, I think like most business people, you need to really watch what's going on your backroom operations, because you just, you can't be completely reliant on anyone and no one's ever stolen money from me. But there definitely have been transitions in my office managerial staff that taught me a lot of lessons about being sort of in tune with those things and asking a lot of questions. So I would say I avoided what you sometimes happen with firms where people, you know, people steal money and those sorts of things. I've never had that. But I have learned that you have to ask questions. You can't just trust. You need a good system of checks and balances. And you need some sort of enjoy what you do. I mean, I think if you don't enjoy what you do, you need to find something else to do. So. I think that's the case for me.
Rosanna Catalano 17:58
They say picking a business partner is just as hard as picking a spouse and you've had a friendship with your law partner that spans three decades. Why do you think this pairing is so successful?
Dori Foster-Morales 18:10
So, Bonnie and I mad is we're first day of law school. We are very different. But we're both very detail oriented lawyers, we litigate a little differently. We're working on a case together. Now, that's always interesting. I think the truth of any partnership is you gotta have thick skin. I mean, when you spend a lot of time with people, whether it's your spouse or your business partner, or any of the people in your office, you know, especially during this pandemic, everyone's under a lot of stress, and you just have to, like, give people some room to like, maybe disagree to deal with. I don't know conflict, I just think conflicts in really natural part of life. And what I think is the worst about conflicts is when people don't think it's normal and they try to avoid it and sometimes you have conflict and your ability to just sort of let it slide and both people need to be able to do that. So Bonnie and I have a lot in common. Our kids are very close friends last night we had dinner together because my son's moving, going off to college, going back to college this weekend, her daughter will go two weeks later, they're the same age. I just, I think it's about not just so much about who you pick, but how you manage that relationship. And just, you know, not being overly critical, I guess is the way to put it, recognizing everyone's doing their best and trying their hardest. Hopefully that's the case.
Rosanna Catalano 19:35
You've also been with your husband for more than three decades and as a divorce attorney that has seen a lot of broken homes. What do you think makes your union with your spouse so successful?
Dori Foster-Morales 19:47
So Jimmy and I met in high school, I was 15. He was 17. We did not date in high school, but we didn't know each other and have a great head. You know, we met we had a great friendship but he went off to college pretty quickly. After we met, you know, within the year. So I think we have a great shared history. We're both incredibly supportive of the other. So there's not ever been a lot of When are you coming home to cook dinner? Or when are you coming back? No, me to him. We both had incredibly demanding careers. I think that the sum of the parts is greater than each individual part. I mean, I just think that we're better together. Again, I think nothing's perfect. So I think the other thing is recognizing that no one's going to make you happy. You have to make yourself happy. No one's going to live your life for you. They can only be a good part of your life. And I think, no, you should again, you know, like a, like a business partner. You need to sort of give people a lot of room. I mean, this weekend, it looks like there might be a hurricane. So he's a city manager at Miami Beach. So he's been dealing with a pandemic. He's been dealing with racial unrest, and I was dealing with a hurricane. Well, he's under a lot of stress. You know, I'm trying to manage being President of the Florida Bar remotely, run a practice, get a child ready for college. I mean, there's a lot going on life is complicated. And once you accept that life is complicated, and everyone's doing their best. I think that that really helps.
Rosanna Catalano 21:16
I'm sure life has dealt you some hard blues along the way. How do you stay resilient?
Dori Foster-Morales 21:24
I think when you look back at the, the knocks along the way you realize that's how you became resilient. You know, I would say the hardest thing that we faced was our daughter's diagnosis of autism. But it was the thing that made me the strongest it made me leave the State Attorney's Office and become a family lawyer that resulted in me getting involved with the bar. I wouldn't be bar President if it weren't for that. So I think when you look at what difficulties bring you the strength that brings to you you end up being grateful for them I I was laughing the other day and saying how you know, in this day and age where kids have you. You've heard the the term helicopter parent, even if you're not a helicopter parent, we, you know, our kids have lived these idyllic lives in good economies. My you know, my husband and I were never divorced and my husband, my son's never gone through that. I kind of said, as much as I hate the pandemic, because it's so disruptive to their lives. They've had to become resilient, more resilient, maybe than they would have become otherwise my son had a great internship and that fell through and other things that fall through and he had to figure out sort of what he needed to do to find happiness this summer, what do you do to find fulfillment? So I think some of the struggles are what makes you resilient in and of itself. So I would say, you know, the struggles of having parents that were divorced multiple times or having a child with a special need, those are the things that made me resilient, and also seeing, you know, the reality is life worked out really well. So it makes me realize that those struggles along the way, are really what created maybe some of the success along the way, and so seeing the good enough.
Rosanna Catalano 23:02
What do you hope to accomplish this year as Florida Bar president?
Dori Foster-Morales 23:05
Wow, such a wild year on what? When I started getting really involved in the leadership aspect of the bar, my main goal, my my, my singular focus was the mental health and wellness of Florida lawyers. And I had seen friends and colleagues commit suicide and and not manage their lives well, and I really felt like lawyers were used to helping people with their problems or not getting help for their own problems. So my focus has always been that right before I was sworn in a few months early, we kicked off a free health and wellness line for Florida lawyers along with a program of three, three free sessions of mental health therapy if needed. And so I'd really like to continue pushing that out to encourage people to get help. I have to say that the pandemic has just made life a lot more stressful for many people. There are economic issues that didn't exist childcare issues that didn't exist so many pivots and how we have to practice law. So my hope as our president is, I can help people through the pandemic, that I can provide services that needed services for people to assist them in in pivoting where they need to pivot, you know, and that I could basically, you know, keep the trains running on time to keep the everything afloat. And so while maybe I would have had a special program or a special plan this year is about our resiliency as Florida lawyers and our resiliency of our profession. So my focus is really on that, you know, not just so much mental health and wellness of lawyers, but the resiliency of our profession overall because you know, the pins that Mike has clearly showed us some ways that we really need to make sure that we can practice law whether there's a hurricane or a pandemic because not only do we need to practice law for our professional well being and our financial well being, but people in the state of Florida need us to help them solve their problems in the legal context. So it's really important that the third branch of government works and lawyers really need to be there to help accomplish that.
Rosanna Catalano 25:19
We'd like to end our show with a little fun by asking all of our guests the same seven questions.What would people be surprised to know about you?
Dori Foster-Morales 25:29
So people that know me know that I'm like this hard charging lawyer, and I work really intensely? My clients certainly know that. But at home, I pretty much I'm not like that. I mean, I'm very organized but I love to cook for my family. And a lot of people are surprised by that. They think someone like me wouldn't be that kind of nurturing person, but I really enjoy cooking for my family and bringing my family together for family events and holidays and I'm sort of my husband and I are the I think the I'm the one couple in the extended family that does that for everyone.
Rosanna Catalano 26:07
That's nice. When you have guests in town, where is your favorite place to take them?
Dori Foster-Morales 26:14
So I could say Miami Beach. Everyone wants to go to Miami Beach and of course I grew up on Miami Beach and my husband's city manager from Miami Beach. So of course people want to go to Miami Beach they want to go to just don't crap but my favorite place to bring them is the Florida Keys because there's nothing as unique as the Florida Keys and we have a home there. And we have a home in the middle keys which is kind of low Florida and I think it's an area that if you've never been it's one of the most unique places in the country. So I love to take people to Florida Keys and boating and fishing and eating seafood in a completely unique environment.
Rosanna Catalano 26:52
I love the Florida Keys as well. So what is the name of a book you recently read that you could not put down or the name of a show you enjoy binge watching.
Dori Foster-Morales 27:02
I haven't read a book in a long time I wish I had. But I binge watched Killing Eve and I loved it. I thought it was a great show. I mean, my husband did not like it didn't want to watch it. We don't necessarily have the same taste in television. But I thought it was great. I mean, I love the characters, the uniqueness of it, the creativity.
Rosanna Catalano 27:21
So that's what I watched recently, among your close family and friends, what are you best known for?
Dori Foster-Morales 27:29
What everyone says about me, and I think it has something to do with the legal practice. And what I told you about the cooking and the hostess saying is that I'm incredibly competent. And they always say you're incredibly competent, you can do whatever needs to be done. And some friends of mine were talking about like going to Lake Powell and let's rent a houseboat and do one of those big house boats. I'm like, I know what's going to happen on that house, but I'm going to be cooking every night for you people. So I know I'm really competent. You love that about me, but I you know, I'm not. You're on where to go in the house, but with the people. So everyone says I'm very competent. I'm not sure exactly what that means other than if something needs to be done. I, I kind of know how to get it done. You're the one that steps up, I step up,
Rosanna Catalano 28:12
If you have a nickname, who gave it to you?
Dori Foster-Morales 28:17
I have a nickname. My husband gave it to me.
Rosanna Catalano 28:20
If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt?
Dori Foster-Morales 28:26
If I knew I couldn't fail. The one thing I miss is the practice of trial law in front of a jury. And of course, I'm known for being a family lawyer and I have a wonderful practice and great clients and you can't really necessarily close close your door at this stage in my career to that, but I would love to be able to go back to doing some trial work in front of a jury, quite frankly, right now. There are no juries I'm grateful. I can still try cases because my trial lawyer friends who are jury trial lawyer, folks, they're stuck with the pandemic that. The one thing that they really can't do remotely or virtually, but I would love to do another jury trial.
Rosanna Catalano 29:06
What are the top three things you love about living in Florida?
Dori Foster-Morales 29:12
I love the weather. It's not to like about the weather. I know like when it's really hot. Okay, you're alone there on that one. Yeah, I do. I don't know why, you know, maybe because I'm just used to it. I don't know, jump in the pool. It's hot. It's okay with me. I have what I love personally about Florida or Miami and particularly, I love the people just you know, very warm, welcoming people because people come from all over Europe, Latin Americans in Miami and you have people from all over the country. And so it's a really diverse place. The restaurants are great when they're open, of course, and it's just a really eclectic place to live. And the architecture is beautiful here. It's really beautiful. You have you know, obviously, you have the Art Deco district, you have the Old Spanish homes, I just think the architecture and the poles. Which is beautiful. I think it's just a beautiful place.
Rosanna Catalano 30:03
Well, thank you so much for your time today. This has been a wonderful way to get to know you as the Florida Bar president. I wish you a very successful year and hopefully it'll get better and we'll have less stress.
Dori Foster-Morales 30:17
Thanks for having me I really appreciate I've got you. Glad I could connect with you. Thank you.
Rosanna Catalano 30:24
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