Rosalyn “Sia" Baker-Barnes is a Shareholder at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A., and the Chairperson of the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Ms. Baker-Barnes is Board-Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar, and is recognized by US News & World Report as one of the “Best Lawyers in America,” by Lawdragon as one of America’s “500  Leading  Plaintiff  Consumer  Lawyers,”  by Florida  Super Lawyers magazine as a top lawyer in the state, by Florida Trend magazineas  a “Legal  Elite,”  and  by  the Daily  Business  Review as  one  of  South Florida’s Inaugural “Top 20 Women in Law.”

Committed to professionalism, civility and service, Ms. Baker-Barnes is the President-Elect of The Florida Bar, the first African-American female to serve in this role in The Florida Bar’s history, dating back to 1889. Ms. Baker-Barnes will begin her term as President in 2025.  She is the Chair of the Strategic Planning committee and Chair-Elect of the Executive Committee. In her five years of service on The Florida Bar Board of Governors, she served as Chairperson of the board’s Legislation Committee, Program Evaluation Committee and Co-Chair of the COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery Task Force. For the past three years, she has received the Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit for exemplary service on the board.  Ms. Baker-Barnes is also active in The Florida Bar’s Trial Lawyers Section, where she served for many years as a member ofits Executive Council. In 2023, the Florida Bar Young Lawyer’s Division awarded her the Woman Lawyer of Achievement Award for outstanding service to the profession. She is also the 2022 recipient of one of the Florida Bar’s highest honors, the Henry T. Latimer Diversity Award, for her long-time commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

This year, JWLA is continuing its efforts of community outreach and giving back to the local community.  For each luncheon, we will spotlight a local charity or other nonprofit organization and will conduct a donation drive, to be collected at that month’s luncheon.  This luncheon, we will be spotlighting and collecting donations for Foster Closet, which provides resources to families in need. Please visit go to the Amazon wish list or https://fostercloset.org/home/donate/ to donate.

Any questions can be directed to Jess Lefebvre at [email protected].