S P E C I A L F E A T U r E: P r O B O n O A W A r D S Authors: Antina Mobley – Hillsborough County Public Defender’ s Office & Tori Simmons – Hill Ward Henderson
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Jimmy Kynes Pro Bono Service Award: Traci Stevenson
Traci Stevenson was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1992. She has spent most of her career practicing in the area of bankruptcy, serving as a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee, a certified mediator, and as a consumer bankruptcy attorney. Over the course of her career, Ms. Stevenson has consistently contributed pro bono legal services to debtors involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Ms. Stevenson was one of the founding volunteers for the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association’ s Bankruptcy Pro Se Clinic. Through the clinic, volunteer attorneys provide legal services to individuals who are not represented by an attorney in their bankruptcy cases. Ms. Stevenson has been one of the clinic’ s longest and most consistent volunteers, volunteering at the clinic at least every other Friday for many years.
Ms. Stevenson’ s dedication to serving individuals facing bankruptcy in our community is unmatched. For example, in 2023, the pro se clinic provided 504 consultations. Ms. Stevenson provided 285 of those consultations, serving more than half of the individuals who came to the clinic for advice. She was also involved in developing the Mortgage Modification Mediation program in bankruptcy courts throughout Florida, which aims to provide homeowners with an opportunity to modify the terms of their mortgage. She also serves as a pro bono mediator for that program. Ms. Stevenson’ s long-standing commitment to pro bono bankruptcy work has helped vulnerable individuals regain financial stability and rebuild their lives with dignity and confidence.
Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Lawyer: Sandy Weinberg
Morris“ Sandy” Weinberg is the founder of the Tampa office of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. Over the course of his 50-year legal career, he has become one of the most prominent white-collar criminal defense attorneys in the nation, focusing on the defense of civil and criminal fraud cases, including health care fraud, defense and government contractor fraud, and securities fraud. Mr. Weinberg has been steadfast in his commitment to pro bono service. He worked with the Innocence Project and Clemency Project 2014, including working hundreds of hours to successfully overturn the conviction of two men who wrongfully sat on Florida’ s death row for 9 years. Mr. Weinberg also co-founded Crossroads for Florida Kids, a non-profit organization that trains and mentors pro bono attorneys to provide pro bono legal services to disadvantaged youth in their dependency, delinquency, criminal, and other legal proceedings. Mr. Weinberg has continuously served as a volunteer attorney, officer, and director for Crossroads. In 2024 alone, Mr. Weinberg contributed 152 pro bono hours as a Crossroads attorney, providing legal services to an autistic child living in an unstable home. Mr. Weinberg has dedicated his life to the legal profession in
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