A VoiCe for CHildren in need : Volunteer for A guArdiAn Ad liteM AppeAl
Appellate practice section Chairs : Tom Seider – Brannock & Humphries and Joe Eagleton – Brannock & Humphries
As lawyers , we should all aspire to help the neediest among us . This is not just a moral imperative , but also a professional one : the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct recommend that every lawyer donate at least 20 hours of time to pro-bono causes . See R . Regulating Fla . Bar 4-6.1 .
This article offers a worthy cause for those hours : representing the abandoned and neglected children of our state ’ s dependency system . There is a tremendous need : over 32,000 children are currently under the jurisdiction of Florida ’ s dependency courts . See Statewide Guardian ad Litem Annual Report ( 2018 ), https :// perma . cc / AA3V-N3FZ .
Florida ’ s Guardian ad Litem attorneys appear in court to serve the best interests of these children . This is crucial , life-changing work , providing a voice to children who would otherwise be unable to advocate on their own behalf . But the Guardian ad Litem program can only do so much . There are still thousands of children who will go through dependency proceedings without a lawyer . See Fla . Children ’ s First and U . of Florida Levin of College of L . Ctr . on Children and Fam ., Legal Representation of Children , a 2012 Report on Florida ’ s Patchwork System ( Feb . 2012 ), https :// perma . cc / 4VRR-E8NF .
in the 2017-18 Bar year , lawyers from the florida Bar ’ s Appellate practice section donated over 1,300 hours to the project , resulting in 23 adoptions , four permanent guardianships , and 15 children reunified with their parents .
Now , there is an opportunity for appellate lawyers to help . Thomasina Moore , the Guardian ad Litem program ’ s director of appeals , has created the “ Defending Best Interests Project ” — a pro bono initiative that connects volunteers with children who are defending favorable dependencycourt rulings on appeal . Aware of the strain that a pro bono appeal can put on an attorney , Moore has done everything she can to streamline the volunteering process .
It really is very straightforward . To sign up , send an email expressing your interest to Joe Eagleton ( JEagleton @ bhappeals . com ), who chairs our HCBA Appellate Practice Section ’ s Pro Bono Committee . Once signed up , you will start receiving email blasts — just a few a month — that identify specific Guardian ad Litem appeals in need of briefing . You will also receive all the relevant information about the case : the size of the record and the trial transcript , the length of the initial brief , and the issues raised on appeal . Appeals are assigned on a firstcome , first-serve basis , so there is never any pressure to take a case
when you do not have the capacity . When you do accept a case , the Guardian ad Litem program makes your life easier by providing administrative support , which includes transmitting the electronic record , sharing templates and examples from the program ’ s brief bank , and filing the answer brief .
The “ Defending Best Interests Project ” — dreamed up just a year ago — is already a resounding success . In the 2017-18 Bar year , lawyers from The Florida Bar ’ s Appellate Practice Section donated over 1,300 hours to the project , resulting in 23 adoptions , four permanent guardianships , and 15 children reunified with their parents . More than that , the Guardian ad Litem program was able to take an additional 475 children as clients thanks to a lightened appellate workload .
But this is just the beginning . There is so much more that can be done , and thousands of children are still in need . So what are you waiting for ? Sign up today .
Author : Tom Seider – Brannock & Humphries
2 6 S E P T - O C T 2 0 1 8 | H C B A L A W Y E R
A VoiCe for CHildren in need: Volunteer for A guArdiAn Ad liteM AppeAl
Appellate practice section
Chairs: Tom Seider – Brannock & Humphries and Joe Eagleton – Brannock & Humphries
A
s lawyers, we should
all aspire to help the
neediest among us.
This is not just a moral
imperative, but also a professional
one: the Florida Rules of Professional
Conduct recommend that every
lawyer donate at least 20 hours
of time to pro-bono causes. See
R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-6.1.
This article offers a worthy
cause for those hours: representing
the abandoned and neglected
children of our state’s dependency
system. There is a tremendous
need: over 32,000 children are
currently under the jurisdiction
of Florida’s dependency courts.
See Statewide Guardian ad Litem
Annual Report (2018),
https://perma.cc/AA3V-N3FZ.
Florida’s Guardian ad Litem
attorneys appear in court to serve
the best interests of these children.
This is crucial, life-changing work,
providing a voice to children who
would otherwise be unable to
advocate on their own behalf. But
the Guardian ad Litem program
can only do so much. There are still
thousands of children who will go
through dependency proceedings
without a lawyer. See Fla. Children’s
First and U. of Florida Levin of
College of L. Ctr. on Children
and Fam., Legal Representation of
Children, a 2012 Report on Florida’s
Patchwork System (Feb. 2012),
https://perma.cc/4VRR-E8NF.
26
in the 2017-18 Bar year, lawyers from the florida Bar’s
Appellate practice section donated over 1,300 hours to
the project, resulting in 23 adoptions, four permanent
guardianships, and 15 children reunified with their parents.
Now, there is an opportunity
for appellate lawyers to help.
Thomasina Moore, the Guardian
ad Litem program’s director of
appeals, has created the “Defending
Best Interests Project” — a pro
bono initiative that connects
volunteers with children who are
defending favorable dependency-
court rulings on appeal. Aware of
the strain that a pro bono appeal
can put on an attorney, Moore
has done everything she can to
streamline the volunteering process.
It really is very straightforward.
To sign up, send an email expressing
your interest to Joe Eagleton
([email protected]),
who chairs our HCBA Appellate
Practice Section’s Pro Bono
Committee. Once signed up, you
will start receiving email blasts —
just a few a month — that identify
specific Guardian ad Litem appeals
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