His essay, “Awareness in Lawyering: A Primer on Paying Attention,” was published in The Affective Assistance of Counsel: Practicing Law as a Healing Profession (Marjorie A. Silver, ed., Carolina Academic Press, 2007).

“Don’t let grades define you,” Colón said. “You have to be willing to admit in law school what you don’t know. If you try to pretend, you’re just going to look more foolish. I was always happy to ask questions.” This philosophy served Colón well during his first summer clerking for a judge of compensation claims. Colón maximized this experience, making contacts and meeting with attorneys, and by the end of the summer, he had three job offers. Colón recommends asking questions, checking calendars for interesting events to accompany attorneys on and taking lots of notes. Be sincere, he said, don’t share your private life, and learn about billing. He also said it is important to take time to learn the dynamics between attorneys and their support staff, and listen to what secretaries say about attorneys and see what attorneys do for their secretaries. The focus should not be on impressing only the attorneys but rather everyone you work with. “One of the biggest make-you-or-break-you things as a young associate is your secretary,” he said.

Lessons learned while clerking helped Colón during his first job representing insurance companies with McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope & Weaver, P.A. He gained extensive litigation experience, and in 2005, Colón opened his own firm in Ocala and now puts his understanding of the insurance industry to work for the plaintiffs. “You can have a bigger impact on someone’s life on the plaintiff’s side.”

That’s why he headed home recently to speak to the children at Atlantic Beach Elementary School about the special place in which they live.

The school assembly was part of Marshfest 2006, a community-sponsored event to raise awareness and funds to aid the city’s pending acquisition of Dutton Island Preserve, a 346-acre parcel of marshland on Atlantic Beach’s western border. The project was spearheaded by November and fellow conservationist Lyman Fletcher, an attorney in Atlantic Beach.

“Children need to be made aware that the environment is something we need to protect, and that it’s not just a given,” November said. “I told them about the waterways, and that they live on a barrier island. I explained that to preserve the character of Atlantic Beach, it’s important that we protect not only the ocean, but the marshlands and the Intracoastal Waterway as well.”

Now a first-year student at UF Law majoring in environmental law and land use, November’s interest in conservation began in his undergraduate days at UF, where he majored in political science with a minor in environmental studies.

“As a college student I started to cherish the naturally beautiful places in Florida, and I began to understand how important it is to protect these places,” said November, who plans to live out his life in Atlantic Beach.

His solid commitment to conservation landed November the first internship of the Public Trust Environmental Law Institute of Florida in May, 2005, and in January of this year he became the organization’s new development coordinator.

As November’s awareness of the politics that often surround conservation issues grew, so did his realization that lip service wouldn’t preserve the Dutton Island Preserve from development. That’s when November and Fletcher decided to take action.

In July 2005 they co-founded the Marsh Preservation Society, with Fletcher acting as chairman, and began their grassroots camcampaign to keep the Dutton Island Preserve intact by having the city purchase it with help from state funding. To date the state has pledged 75 percent of the purchase price. When the appraisal is completed the city of Atlantic Beach will pitch in the remaining 25 percent.

“Our organization isn’t against development,” November said. “We’re against unwise development. There are special places in Florida that need to be protected because they’re one of a kind, and it’s not fair that these should disappear, preventing future generations from enjoying them.”