PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_Oct. 2019 | Page 23

PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT CORNER
And What a Night It Was...
BARBARA PARIENTE
A year ago, Bob Bertisch and I discussed
honoring my Florida Supreme Court retirement
at the annual Legal Aid’s Pro Bono night.
He immediately agreed as did the Florida
Supreme Court Historical Society. You may
ask, why it was so important combine these
two events? The answer is simple. Equal justice
for all cannot be fulfilled without equal access
to justice. The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach
County, along with Florida Rural Legal Services,
has been the cornerstone in our county to
help ensure that promise is met and kept.
But without each of you, the lawyers, leaders
and judges in our community-promoting and
performing the critically needed pro bono legal
services and contributing financially to Legal
Aid, as well and encouraging others to do so,
our mission cannot be fulfilled.
The 2019 Legal Aid Pro Bono Night was a
resounding success. Not only was there a
record number of those in attendance but Legal
Aid raised more money than ever before, which
is absolutely critical to Legal Aid’s operating
budget. The additional funds raised will be
able to assist with child trauma services for
the children who are clients of both the Foster
Children’s Project and the Juvenile Advocacy
Project.
This is my continued “thank you” to each of
you who have contributed to Legal Aid and
performed pro bono hours. You honor me in the
most meaningful way possible. But even more
than that, you do this important work because
it is the right thing. We, who are so fortunate,
owe it to our community to give back, in every
way we can.
support these lawyers in our community who
donate a significant number of hours to help
those less fortunate.
In retirement, I made some promises to myself.
While many are personal (spending more time
with my grandchildren, getting in shape and
traveling), I made a promise to help Judge
Feuer’s committee and Legal Aid increase the
number of lawyers and law firms who both
contribute to legal aid and perform pro bono
work. There are several lawyers and law firms
who are leaders in our circuit who make legal
aid a priority. We will be highlighting those
lawyers and law firms in the months to come
in this Pro Bono Spotlight column. We will also
be highlighting and honoring the lawyers and
staff at Legal Aid who devote their time and
energy to their tireless work in helping those
less fortunate have equal access to justice. We
want you to know what these amazing men
and women do and the variety of programs
they support—but they couldn’t do it all without
your help. It takes all of us!
The Committee for Diversity
and Inclusion thank our
Legacy Dinner Sponsors
(as of 9.19.19)
So thank you again -family, friends and the
entire legal community-for making June 7,
2019 one of the best nights of my life. I have
been a member of the Palm Beach County
Bar for over 44 years and in my retirement I
continue to be a proud member of this amazing
legal and judicial community. Thank you!
I also want to give a shout out to Judge
Samantha Schosberg Feuer, who is Chair of our
Circuit’s Pro Bono Committee, charged by the
Florida Bar and the Supreme Court of Florida
with encouraging and promoting continuous
Pro Bono efforts and support in our Circuit. As
part of those efforts, the Committee is planning
a its inaugural Pro Bono Awards Ceremony on
November 7, 2019 at 3PM in the Ceremonial
Courtroom, and presided over by Chief
Judge Krista Marx, to honor those who have
performed over 25 pro bono hours annually. I
encourage each and every one of you to attend
this free ice cream social event, supported by
local voluntary bar associations, like the Palm
Beach County Bar and FAWL, to honor and
Retired Justice Barbara Pariente
& Retired Judge Fred Hazouri
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN
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