Courtroom Pro Bono Ceremony Honors Attorneys
With over 100 lawyers and judges in attendance , the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee , hosted its fourth annual Pro Bono Awards Ceremony and Ice Cream Social in the ceremonial courtroom at the Palm Beach County Courthouse . Those in attendance included our Chief Judge Glenn Kelley , many circuit court judges , retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente , former Florida Bar Presidents Gary Lesser and Michelle Suskauer , and current Florida Bar Board of Governors and Bar President-Elect Designate Sia Baker Barnes .
The ceremony held this year on March 13 honored those who provide pro bono legal services through The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County . Pins , through a program authorized by the Florida Supreme Court , are awarded to attorneys based on their hours of service with a minimum of 20 hours . Over the past two years , the ceremony has expanded to include multiple awards for exceptional work performed to represent those who could not otherwise afford legal services .
This year there were 52 pin recipients , who collectively contributed a billable hour equivalent of $ 2,157,700 . The ceremony also included seven special awards : the Juvenile Law Award , won by Courtney Stafford Hickey ; Family Law Award , won by William Norvell III ; Probate Law Award , won by Brian Thompson ; Civil Litigation Award , won by Deam Xenick ; Real Property Law Award , won by Joshua Loren ; Voluntary Bar Association Award , won by the Palm Beach County Justice Association ; and Jurist Award , won by Judge Schosberg Feuer who has chaired the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee for a decade .
Several notable speakers expressed gratitude to the award winners for their selfless dedication to pro bono advocacy and encouraged others to handle pro bono cases . Chief Judge Glenn Kelley congratulated the award winners : “ This is really what symbolizes the best of being an attorney , the ability to give back ...” Retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente applauded the efforts of the award winners and noted “ More are donating and volunteering , but the need couldn ’ t be greater ”. Sia Baker Barnes , Bar President-Elect Designate , thanked attorneys “ for giving back in the most powerful and …. meaningful way ” to those who need “ our skills , talent , and time .”
The event was organized by the Pro Bono Awards Ceremony and Ice Cream Social Subcommittee co-chaired by Allison Oasis Kahn of Carlton Fields and Adriana Gonzalez of Gonzalez & Cartwright , P . A ., along with committee members Bob Bertisch and Kim Enright of The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County , Shelley Baker of the Palm Beach County Justice Association , and Adriana Lopez .
Several local voluntary bar associations sponsored the event : the Florida Association for Women Lawyers Palm Beach County ; the Palm Beach County Sheree Davis Cunningham Black Women Lawyers Association ; the South Palm Beach County Bar Association ; the Malcolm Cunningham Bar Association ; the Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association ; the Palm Beach County Justice Association ; the Palm Beach County Bar Association ; and the South Palm Beach County Florida Association for Women Lawyers . Both Carlton Fields , P . A . and Visual Evidence provided like-kind donations .
Video of the event , donated by Visual Evidence , can be found on the websites of The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit ’ s Pro Bono page . The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County is celebrating its Diamond Anniversary , its 75th Year Gala , at its Justice For All Celebration on May 11 , 2024 .
If you would like to donate your time or money to The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County , or if you would like more information on how you can help , go to www . legalaidpbc . org .