PRESIDENT’ S MESSAGE
PRESIDENT’ S MESSAGE
Jack Rice 2026-27 PBCBA President
October is National Pro Bono Month. While we celebrate this annually, the need for legal services for the less fortunate in Palm Beach County is a year-round reality. I encourage you each to contact Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County(“ Legal Aid”) and take on a pro bono case or see how you can become involved. We are each responsible for providing pro bono legal services to the poor or making a financial contribution to a legal aid organization each year. R. Regul. Fla. Bar 4-6.1. But giving back is not just a professional obligation; it is also the very soil from which many legal careers grow and in which all practitioners can learn.
My own career began at Legal Aid’ s Fair Housing Project under the tutelage of Tequisha Myles, and the mentoring of Bob Bertisch and our own Past President, Jean Marie Middleton. Although I landed at Legal Aid out of a desire to use my real estate development background to spur housing redevelopment, it was 2012, the nation was in the midst of the Great Recession, and Legal Aid was fulfilling its own role by helping our community navigate the foreclosure crisis. Although my background was in policy and transactions, I found myself representing clients in a myriad of litigation cases that ranged from foreclosure defense and landlord tenant matters to prosecuting those who scammed and defrauded individuals on the brink of foreclosure or homelessness with illegal solutions.
Legal Aid taught me many lessons. I represented individuals in situations that were unimaginable, and often very different than my initial assumptions( and of many of my colleagues across the aisle). In most cases, my representation was the only thing between the client and homelessness. I learned to be empathetic when meeting with clients; to listen more than I spoke. Although our days are often rushed, if we focus on listening to the human experience of our clients and the issues they are facing, you may be surprised by what facts reveal themselves and lead to a second and much stronger cause of action. I learned to look for practical solutions for my clients and, at all times, to remind them of the best- and worstcase outcomes of their case, which wasn’ t always a total solution, and to be aware of the network of government and charitable resources available to the less fortunate in our community, including the difficulty of navigating and shortfalls of this system. Most of all, I learned to always be aware of and relate to the human experience of every case and the inherent desire that I believe exists within all of us, which is to help one another as we navigate the challenges of daily life.
Today, I represent a wide range of clients in my land use and zoning and real estate practice at Gunster. My clients seek to develop property for its highest and best use and to protect their property rights in the face of government regulation or litigation. Although my practice today is very different than my practice at Legal Aid, both are fundamentally rooted in the built environment: how and where we live, where we build, and how our communities are structured. My experience representing clients at Legal Aid provided me with lessons that I still use on a daily basis and a crucial( and grounded) perspective when handling land use and real estate matters today. Ultimately, I’ ve found that listening more than I speak and understanding the“ human impact” of development and property rights makes me a more holistic and effective practitioner. Gunster is committed to pro bono work, and I’ ve been fortunate to have worked on a pro bono case this year. Like my initial experiences at Legal Aid, I’ m proud to report that it was not only a fulfilling experience but also an educational opportunity to revisit an area of law that I no longer practice on a daily basis and to represent clients facing issues that are more human and personal than some of the individuals, entities, and business decisions that I typically interact with nowadays.
This past year, Bloomberg ranked the cost of living for the Miami-West Palm Beach metro area as more expensive to live than New York City, citing a U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report. These rising costs have exacerbated the need for legal assistance in our community. Please consider taking on a pro bono case this month. You don’ t have to be a litigator to help. Legal Aid has a variety of projects that you can assist in. There are even opportunities for our friends in corporate and tax. Sign up by contacting Legal Aid at ejc @ legalaidpbc. org, www. legalaidpbc. org / pro-bono /, or calling( 561) 655-8944.
Our experiences with pro bono and public interest work help us grow as professionals. I hope you consider taking on a pro bono case this month. Who knows, you may even learn a thing or two.
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 5