ACCESS TO JUSTICE TASK FORCE
Honorees reflect on rewards of Pro Bono service
By ROBERT YOUNG , Esq . Young Lawyers Division Liaison for the Access to Justice Task Force Band , Gates , Dramis , P . L .
Every year , the Florida Bar awards
the President ’ s Pro Bono Service
Award to an outstanding attorney for each of the state ’ s 20 judicial circuits and to an outstanding attorney among the out-of-state Florida Bar members . In the Twelfth Judicial Circuit , the recipients have provided pro bono service in various areas of law for years .
I was fortunate to receive the award in 2018 for working as a Guardian ad Litem in high-conflict family law cases , and even now , acting as a Guardian ad Litem remains the favorite aspect of my law practice . My own experience sparked my interest in learning about my fellow recipients of the President ’ s Pro Bono Service Award and their experiences with their pro bono service . I was able to meet with the five most recent recipients of the Award ( excluding myself ) to learn more .
The 2021 President ’ s Pro Bono Service Award recipient , James
Turner , started into a new area of law through his pro bono service . After working in insurance defense for 34 years consisting almost entirely of trial work in both Michigan and Florida , he began volunteering with Legal Aid of Manasota in the areas of criminal rights such as expunging criminal records , landlord tenant law , and consumer law . He had no prior experience in any of these areas , but he was able to learn with the oversight of Legal Aid . Now , he does intake meetings with clients , writes letters to landlords and credit card companies , and makes phone calls to make a direct and immediate impact for his clients .
He has found that clients are overjoyed at having someone on their side . In his experience , the practice of law is great ; it is the business side of law that is filled with pitfalls . When he was able to take a case without the business strings attached , he found true joy in his work and has been able to give that joy to someone who absolutely appreciates it .
The 2020 President ’ s Pro Bono Service Award recipient , Jesse
Robert Young , Esq . Band , Gates , Dramis , P . L .
Butler , said that he has always incorporated pro bono service into his practice . Jesse has a general civil litigation practice , and his pro bono service has focused on appeals for the guardian ad litem program . Jesse stated once he finishes one pro bono case , he is ready for the next one . But once he found out about the Defending the Best Interests Project through the Florida Bar , he said he was addicted to taking those cases specifically .
The program allows attorneys to volunteer as appellate counsel for the statewide Guardian ad Litem program which handles dependency , guardianship , and termination of parental rights cases . Jesse had no prior experience in those areas of practice but was willing to jump in and received assistance and training to learn this area of law while volunteering his time . As an appellate attorney , he still receives the emotional rewards by helping clients truly in need , but unlike many pro bono attorneys , he does not get to meet them , as his work focuses on upholding the ruling of the trial court to protect children from abusive or neglectful situations .
His takeaway from his service is that it has made him a better lawyer by to learning something outside of his practice area . It put him in an uncomfortable space in order to do something he cares about and introduced him to new professional connections and just overall great people through his pro bono service that he would not have met otherwise .
The 2019 President ’ s Pro Bono Service Award recipient , Neil Lyons , put it this way when talking about his pro bono service : “ Things don ’ t feel right if I don ’ t have a pro bono case .” As an elder law attorney , he believes it is expected to engage in pro bono work and sign up with the Court due to the high volume of need in that area of law . Neil ’ s pro bono service consisted of guardian advocacy for parents of children with developmental disabilities , guardianships for wards with no expendable income , and pro bono probate cases , which he says are the fun part of his work in clearing title for a client ’ s residence .
Neil began his law career at Gulf Coast Legal Services as an intern and was eventually able to transition his pro bono cases into private practice . He credits the transition from a pro bono / public practice to his private practice with the open-mindedness of the law partners of the firms he has joined . He continues to incorporate his pro bono service into his private practice today , and in his experience , his pro bono cases have become even easier to handle during the pandemic with Zoom and other remote services .
Neil ’ s top takeaway from his pro bono service is like that of Smokey the Bear : only you can help that pro bono client at that point in time , and the satisfaction one receives from making an impact on a personal level is unparalleled in the practice of law . The 2017 President ’ s Pro Bono
Service Award recipient , Michele
Stephan , received her award through her work with the Resurrection House , which is a local shelter for the homeless . She helped her clients regain their identity and self-respect through a half-day legal clinic that she held every week to assist clients in obtaining birth certificates so they could obtain a valid ID card and qualify for various services , such as applying for Social Security disability benefits and filling out paperwork for family court .
Michele ’ s most notable case was for a client who was living out of a motel while she was the beneficiary of a half million-dollar trust . With the assistance of other Sarasota Bar members , she was able to change the trust so that the client received proper care and improved lodgings . Michele also went to Court on several occasions as part of her pro bono service to fight tickets for out of door lodgings levied against the homeless , including a man who could not communicate due to suffering a series of strokes .
Since 2017 , Michele changed jobs such that her schedule does not provide enough time to continue her clinic with Resurrection House . Currently , Michele volunteers her time with the Family Law Clinic , Teen Court , and the A2J Task Force due to her work schedule . Her efforts highlight the various avenues that one can provide pro bono services regardless of one ’ s time commitments .
See PRO BONO , Page 18
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