Historical program set on B.K. Roberts
Special to The Sun
The Wakulla County Historical Society invites you to attend our program on the remarkable life of Wakulla’s own, Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court B.K. Roberts.
Attorney Fred Baggett will present the program on Tuesday, Sept 9, at 6 p.m., at the Wakulla County Public Library.
Fred has the unique perspective of having served as the Chief Justice’s Executive Assistant and subsequently his law partner for close to 20 years. While Fred’s talk will cover Judge Robert’s early life going from Sopchoppy to the Florida Supreme Court, the primary focus will be on the little known stories that made Judge one of the most interesting and dynamic jurist and lawyers of the 20th Century.
Fred was born at an Army base in Stuttgart Arkansas in 1945, the son of a career Air Force pilot. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Florida in 1967 and his Law degree from Florida State University in 1970. Prior to entering private practice, Fred served as Executive Assistant to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, the Honorable B.K. Roberts from 1970 through 1972. In this capacity, Fred was responsible for representing the Chief Justice and the Court before the Florida Legislature in the development, passage and implantation of the revision of Article V of the Florida Constitution in 1972 which restructured our court system by eliminating most local courts and creating a unified state court system.
Fred left the Court in January 1973 and entered private practice as a sole practitioner in Tallahassee. In 1976, Justice Roberts left the Supreme Court and joined Fred in establishing the firm of Roberts, Baggett, Laface and Richard which grew from six lawyers to 17 when, in 1992, it merged with south Florida firm and is now known as Greenberg Traurig. Fred served on the firm executive management committee, Chairman of the firm finance committee, Chairman of the government affairs practice group and Managing Shareholder of the Tallahassee office.
Fred retired from the active practice of law January. 15, 2023. Fred has been married to his wife Lyn for over 50 years and has two grown daughters and two grandsons. He and Lyn live on a lake in Tallahassee and enjoy the good life.
For more information call 850-926-1110.