JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A model posing on the front of this month's cover of Jacksonville Magazine has some local attorneys disapproving.
The young, attractive woman striking a seductive-type pose isn't on the cover for a department store, but is instead previewing an article inside on Jacksonville's best lawyers.
Recommended Videos
Though what's inside the issue may be meet local lawyers' approval, what's on the cover is definitely stirring up some legal opinions.
"The cover of the magazine is intended to bring attention to successful, accomplished female attorneys," private attorney Rose Marie Preddy said. "Instead, I find that it makes mockery out of what we do."
Preddy and other local attorneys say the cover is not a proper representation of Jacksonville lawyers and judges. They feel the cover model does not properly portray the way most attorneys in Jacksonville would look or act.
Jacksonville Magazine publisher Joseph White said he never intends to offend anyone, but he said pleasing everyone is never possible.
"You're trying to produce a product that appeals to a wide group of people," White said. "There's a lot of factors that go into it. Sometimes you'll do great. Sometimes maybe not so much. It's a difficult thing."
White said the model is not intended to represent all attorneys in Jacksonville, but she is instead intended to represent the cover of a magazine.
Jacksonville Bar Association president Mike Freed said he doesn't want readers to get the wrong view of lawyers after seeing the cover.
"My concern as the president of the Bar Association is that the public would think that, to be a successful Jacksonville lawyer, you need to dress like that or pose like that or adorn yourself like that," Freed said.
The magazines are available at most local grocery stores and bookstores.