Stewart next in line for Bar presidency: Nine contested Board of Governors races will involve 22 candidates.

John M. Stewart, veteran Board of Governors member from the 19th Circuit, has become president-elect designate of The Florida Bar.

Stewart was unopposed when filing ended December 15. He will be sworn in as president-elect at the Bar's June Annual Convention when President-elect Michelle Suskauer takes the oath as Bar president. He will become president a year later for the 2019-20 Bar year.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with President Michael Higer, President-elect Michelle Suskauer, Executive Director Josh Doyle, and the Board of Governors," Stewart said when his election became official.

The son and grandson of Florida lawyers, Stewart also appreciates his selection will bring a different kind of diversity to Bar leadership. It's the first time his father, William, can remember a lawyer from the 19th Circuit ascending to the Bar's top post. Stewart has practiced with his father his entire career and the two are partners at Rossway Swan Tierney Barry Lacey & Oliver, P.L., in Vero Beach.

"Small jurisdictions make up a large segment of our membership and it's nice to be able to bring a different perspective," Stewart said.

He is a past president of the Young Lawyers Division and combined with the automatic seats on the Board of Governors he had as YLD president-elect and president, Stewart has served on the board for 11 years.

"I never set out to become president of The Florida Bar. I think it was just a love for the institution that is The Florida Bar, coupled with some good opportunities--particularly in technology's impact on the law--to offer that experience to the Bar," he said.

Stewart sees several challenges facing the Bar.

"Obviously, we need to ensure the traditional core values of the profession are preserved while protecting the public, which is really the core mission of the Bar," he said. "More specifically, we're going to have to explore the impacts and benefits that alternative legal service providers can bring to our profession and do so in a way that helps expand legal access without compromising the ethical responsibilities we are bound to uphold.

"We want to continue to ensure the independence of the judiciary, both in practice and financially," Stewart added. "Beyond that, I think the Bar as an institution has to become more nimble for the benefit of our members and the public. That last one goes along with my priorities that we have to balance the...