Arti Hirani in line to lead the Bar Young Lawyers Division

Arti Hirani in line to lead the Bar Young Lawyers Division

‘We don’t work in law, we practice in law, and practice in law through our peers. Without these Bar service activities, the practice of law can be very lonely. And we need to lean on each other.’

Busy working the Orange County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section annual  tournament at Rio Pinar Golf Club on February 2, Arti Hirani, a fourth-generation lawyer, and Orlando native, graciously paused to take a call from the News, eager to discuss her latest leadership role as president-elect designate of The Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division.

Immersed in Bar work from an early age, Hirani asserts, “Bar service is something that I’ve been ingrained with since [I was] a child.”

Elected by the YLD Board of Governors, Hirani will be sworn in as president-elect in June at 2024 Annual Florida Bar Convention in Orlando. She will succeed Ashlea Edwards of Jacksonville who will become president during the same meeting and begin her one-year term as YLD president.

“I look forward to working with Arti and seeing her continue to be a leader of the YLD with her warm and dynamic style,” Edwards said.

Hirani is also the youngest president-elect of the Orange County Bar and will serve as president of that organization in the 2024-25 Bar year. She’s also serves as a member of the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar board and is a past president of the Central Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

“Arti is a much-loved and seasoned member of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors,” said YLD President Anisha Patel of Tampa. “She has assisted with numerous important initiatives over the past five years and has developed many meaningful relationships with the board and the YLD’s members across Florida. I am excited to see what she will do during her term as president and look forward to supporting her efforts.”

Hirani’s deep roots in profession underscore her extensive involvement in bar service. While many of her peers have only been exposed to the Bar and legal practice amidst the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, Hirani’s perspective is distinct. Having witnessed bar work through the lens of an earlier generation, she recalls attending events alongside her mother, Meenakshi Hirani, with whom she now works with as a shareholder at the Winter Park firm Meenakshi A. Hirani, P.A. That background has given Hirani insight into why having a professional network is so important, which not all young attorneys may appreciate today.

“Post COVID, some of my peers haven’t even appeared in person for hearings,” Hirani said. “I think it’s changing the landscape… Young lawyers need to be able adapt and adhere to the circumstances and be able to lead and make sure that our profession continues with honor.”

Hirani said that the best way to do that is to simply get more young attorneys involved in Bar service.

“We don’t work in law, we practice in law, and practice in law through our peers,” Hirani said. “Without these Bar service activities, the practice of law can be very lonely. And we need to lean on each other.”

But because of the rise in remote work, engaging new attorneys can be challenging.

“Six years ago, we wouldn’t even dream about, worry about, think about attendance at events,” Hirani said. “And now that’s a problem.”

There’s no one right answer to increasing engagement: “I think you have to lean on your board and your constituents to figure that out as you go along.”

Hirani is licensed to practice in both Florida and New York. She earned a J.D. from the Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando, an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Chicago, and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida, where she also earned an undergraduate degree in marketing.

Hirani is a member of the Bar’s Elder Law, International Law, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law, Solo & Small Firm, and Tax sections.