2019 Presented by The Chief Justice - The Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service
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2019
Presented by The Chief Justice
The Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service
Award
Distinguished Judicial Service Award
Distinguished Federal Judicial Service
Award
Voluntary Bar Association
Pro Bono Service Award
Law Firm Commendation
Presented by
The Florida Bar President
The Florida Bar President’s
Pro Bono Service Awards
Presented by
The Florida Bar Young Lawyers
Division President
Young Lawyers Division
Pro Bono Service AwardJustices of
The Supreme Court of Florida
The Honorable Charles T. Canady
Chief Justice
The Honorable Ricky Polston
The Honorable Jorge Labarga
The Honorable Alan Lawson
The Honorable Barbara Lagoa
The Honorable Robert J. Luck
The Honorable Carlos G. Muñiz
2018 - 2019
Officers of The Florida Bar
Michelle R. Suskauer, President
John M. Stewart, President-elect
Dori Foster-Morales, President-elect Designate
Joshua E. Doyle, Executive DirectorTOBIAS SIMON
(1929 - 1982)
“He opposed capital punishment, pressed for criminal
reform, fought to improve the jurisdiction of the
Florida Supreme Court, taught scintillating law
school classes and wrote books on appellate review.
He made enemies doing so — but also a lot of friends.”
In those few words of tribute, Roberta Simon summed
up much of her illustrious father’s career that ended
with his death from cancer at age 52, on Feb. 25, 1982.
Toby Simon was well-known throughout Florida
and beyond as a tireless civil rights attorney,
a crusader for prison reform, and an appellate
authority. During his 30 years of law practice, he
represented such divergent interests as major land
developers, communists, Nazis, teachers’ unions, and
governmental agencies. In between causes, there were
intervals as a visiting professor at the Florida State
University College of Law and at Nova Southeastern
University’s Shepard Broad College of Law. He died
while serving as a representative of his fellow 11th
Judicial Circuit lawyers on The Florida Bar’s Board
of Governors.
He counted Martin Luther King, Jr. among his clients,
having provided legal counsel for King during the
1960 civil rights marches in Florida and throughout
the Deep South.
“He defended everyone,” his daughter added in
tribute. “He believed that every client, especially the
underdog, deserves a competent lawyer.” Toby Simon’s
spirit lives on in the chief justice’s award that bears
his name and honors those other Florida lawyers who
have unselfishly carried on his work.THE TOBIAS SIMON PRO BONO
SERVICE AWARD
Presented by the Chief Justice
The Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award com-
memorates Miami civil rights lawyer Tobias Simon,
who died in February 1982. It is intended to encour-
age and recognize extraordinary contributions by
Florida lawyers in making legal services available to
persons who otherwise could not afford them, and to
focus public awareness on the substantial voluntary
services rendered by Florida lawyers in this area.
The award was created in 1982 and is believed to
be the first of its kind in the country conferring
recognition by a state’s highest court on a private
lawyer for voluntary, free legal services to the poor.
A permanent plaque listing the names of all award
recipients is displayed in the lawyers’ lounge of the
Florida Supreme Court Building in Tallahassee.
2019 RECIPIENT
Patricia A. Redmond
MiamiP atricia A. Redmond is a full-time bankruptcy at-
torney and a shareholder in the Miami office of
Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson.
It can be hard to remember that when you look at all
the time she spends helping others. As one member
of the Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Advisory Committee
put it, “She has her hands in everything!”
Redmond began taking pro bono cases two years after
she graduated from the University of Miami School of
Law in 1978. Over the years, she has committed 200
to 400 hours each year to pro bono service.
Redmond works closely with the Dade County Bar As-
sociation and its ally Dade Legal Aid/Put Something
Back, the oldest civil legal services provider in South
Florida. Redmond serves on the bar association’s
Board of Directors and has been an active volunteer
for decades. Stephanie L. Carman, president of the
Dade County Bar Association, says Redmond “never
says no to any cause, case, committee or consider-
ation. She just shows up, does her work and leads by
extreme example.”
A few cases illustrate the depth of that commitment.
For seven years, Redmond has represented a Chapter
13 debtor seeking to retain a residence in Homestead,
where the value of the property had plummeted. The
case is ongoing.
She currently represents a client in her early 80s who
had filed for bankruptcy six years ago. Upon a refer-
ral by the court, Redmond researched, advised the
client to convert the case from Chapter 7 to Chapter
13 and appeared before the court last year to present
the new plan.
Then there were the wedding dresses.
In a story covered in the Wall Street Journal and
elsewhere, Redmond went above and beyond the
call of duty after Philadelphia retailer Alfred Angelo
filed for bankruptcy in July 2017. Redmond, who was
representing Alfred Angelo, was flooded with desper-
ate emails from brides whose gowns, accessories and
bridesmaid dresses were locked inside closed stores.
“I felt I had to do something to get the dresses to these
women,” she said.
Working with former store managers and employees,
Redmond gained limited access to the stores. She then
arranged for local customers to come in quickly and
pick up the gowns and accessories they had already
purchased. She even arranged a short-term loan to
have a shipment from China off-loaded on the West
Coast to fill the brides’ orders.In addition to providing direct pro bono legal services, Redmond also works to promote those services. In 1999, Redmond and the Hon. Laurel lsicoff started the bankruptcy clinic at St. Thomas University School of Law, where Redmond still mentors students while serving pro bono clients. A similar clinical program was added to the Univer- sity of Miami in 2003, and Redmond now serves as director of the Eleanor R. and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic at that university – without compensation. Redmond has mentored hundreds of law students in bankruptcy through her involvement in the clinic. As an adjunct professor of law at the University of Miami and St. Thomas University schools of law, Redmond also recruits students to participate in the pro bono programs of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida. In 2017, Redmond was part of Judge lsicoff ’s Pro Bono Bankruptcy Summit to revamp and modernize pro bono services in the Southern District of Florida. Redmond received The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the 11th Judicial Circuit in 2002.
THE DISTINGUISHED
JUDICIAL SERVICE AWARD
Presented by the Chief Justice
A judge is in a unique position to contribute to the
improvement of the law, the legal system and the
administration of justice. The support of pro bono
services improves the judicial system as a whole.
This award is for outstanding and sustained service
to the public, especially as it relates to support of pro
bono legal services.
2019 RECIPIENT
Honorable Nina Ashenafi-Richardson
Leon County
T he Hon. Nina Ashenafi-
Richardson, known fondly
as “Judge Nina,” has served
as a judge in the Leon County
Court system since 2008.
The purpose of the Chief Jus-
tice’s Distinguished Judicial
Service Award is to recognize
outstanding and sustained
service to the public, whether
through legal or civic service
or a combination of them, es-
pecially as it relates to the support of pro bono legal
services.
In the words of one nominator, Ashenafi-Richardson
“not only exemplifies judicial excellence but also per-
sonifies the ideals that this award seeks to recognize.
She has, throughout her career, demonstrated an
exceptional commitment to pro bono legal services
and the improvement of law and the administration
of justice throughout the state.”
In addition to the demands of her court docket,
Ashenafi-Richardson averages 15 to 25 hours a week
in service to various legal or judicial programs, orga-
nizations and committees. She is teaching faculty forAJS, FJC, CCCJ and DUI Adjudication Lab. She also serves on several statewide committees, including the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee and the Judicial Management Committee. Her leadership on the JMC resulted in the adoption of a statewide Branch Communication Plan that expanded the courts’ use of social media. Ashenafi-Richardson, who is the first Ethiopian-born person to serve as a judge in the United States, also was the first African-American elected president of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and the Tallahassee Bar Association. She is immediate past-president of the William H. Stafford American Inn of Court. During her term as president of the Tallahassee Wom- en Lawyers, the organization served the community in many ways, including providing legal assistance through programs such as Law School for Laymen and Living Will workshops. TWL also offered legal counseling to battered women and their children, and mentorship programs for local students. With the Tallahassee Bar Association, Ashenafi-Rich- ardson is a regular leader in a diversity symposium, aimed at high school students in Leon County. The students visit the courts and enjoy a lunch at which they meet local leaders. Another signature event is the Table for Eight, at which TBA members talk about the legal profession with law students. “Judge Nina is the go-to star,” said Eric Milles, current president of the TBA. “She just lifts everyone up.” Ashenafi-Richardson helped in a recent collaboration between the Stafford Inn of Court and the Tallahassee Bar Association, to help the St. Andrews Bay Ameri- can Inn of Court commit to more pro bono hours in the wake of Hurricane Michael. She is a member of Founders of Justice of North Florida Legal Services, helping educate the bench, bar and community about the importance of access to justice for all. She recently served on a subcommittee of the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice. One of the members of the Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Advisory Committee, in reviewing nominations in- cluding the one for Ashenafi-Richardson, exclaimed: “I don’t know how any of these judges do all this work.” Ashenafi-Richardson came to the United States from Ethiopia as a young child. Her father was a renowned musicologist who served as director of the Center for African-American Culture at Florida State University, the same university where Ashenafi-Richardson later would earn her law degree. In 2001, before she was elected to the bench, Ashenafi-Richardson received The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the 2nd Judicial Circuit.
THE DISTINGUISHED
FEDERAL JUDICIAL SERVICE
AWARD
Presented by the Chief Justice
The purpose of the Chief Justice’s Distinguished
Federal Judicial Service Award is to recognize an
active or retired federal judge for outstanding and
sustained service to the public, whether through legal
or civic service or a combination of them, especially
as it relates to the support of pro bono legal services.
The award is given to a judge who exemplifies the
ideals embodied in the Code of Conduct for United
States Judges, furthering the goals of equal justice
under the law and encouraging pro bono service by
Florida lawyers.
2019 RECIPIENT
Honorable Roy B. Dalton, Jr.
United States District Court
Middle District of Florida
Orlando
T he Hon. Roy B. Dalton, Jr.,
also known as “Skip,” was
handed a herculean task in
2013 by the Bench Bar Fund
Committee of the U.S. District
Court for the Middle District of
Florida: Examine and improve
the court’s resources available
to pro se litigants.
One of the biggest challenges in
our court systems is the increas-
ing number of self-represented
litigants. The National Center for State Courts found
in a 2015 survey that at least one party was self-
represented in three-quarters of cases.
Over the last five years, Dalton has spent countless
hours leading the pro se assistance subcommittee,
resulting in many improvements in how the court
provides unrepresented individuals with improved
access to the judicial system.Dalton first undertook a “listening tour,” examining programs and resources offered by other courts and organizations. From that, he determined that his subcommittee should focus on two main projects: im- proving resources available on the court’s website and in the clerk’s offices, and creating a legal assistance program for pro se litigants. By 2014, the court had implemented the first project, launching a redesigned website and new written materials. The “Litigants Without Lawyers” area on the district’s website offers pro se litigants a civil case flowchart, answers to frequently asked questions, a glossary of legal terms, assistance on where to file, frequently used forms, information about lawyer re- ferral services and a 33-page “Guide for Proceeding without a Lawyer.” Dalton pressed others into service. The website and written materials were developed with assistance from the Eleventh Circuit librarians as well as the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Through the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Missouri, the court made available an E-Pro Se program, essentially a “complaint builder” that assisted pro se litigants in preparing a complaint. To monitor the use of these self-help materials, Dalton receives updates from the court’s IT staff on the num- ber of “hits” some of the materials get. After the successful launch of the self-help resources, Dalton asked the subcommittee to consider a free per- son-to-person resource. The subcommittee ultimately asked the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, with support from the Federal Bar Asso- ciation Chapters in Orlando, Tampa and North Central Florida, and the Southwest Florida Federal Court Bar Association to undertake a pilot project in Jacksonville. In 2015, the Jacksonville Division opened the Legal Assistance Program, which is available every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. just outside the Clerk’s Office intake counter. Lawyers staffing the program answer general questions and provide procedural guidance to pro se litigants, but do not undertake representation. After great success in Jacksonville, in 2016, Dalton spearheaded the expansion of the program to the Or- lando and Tampa divisions. All were operative in 2017. Dalton, who received his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, was appointed to the district court in 2011. He explained the basis of his court’s commitment to the pro se dynamic: “All of the judges in the Middle District agree that improving ac- cess to justice is a very worthwhile goal. As information technology advances, the court needs to continue to update resources available to pro se litigants. While no substitute for qualified legal representation, providing direction to the pro se litigant is in keeping with our shared commitment to public service.”
THE LAW FIRM COMMENDATION
Presented by the Chief Justice
The purpose of the Law Firm Commendation is to
recognize a law firm that has demonstrated a signifi-
cant contribution in the delivery of legal services to
individuals or groups on a pro bono basis.
2019 RECIPIENT
Foley & Lardner LLP
Tampa
F oley & Lardner LLP is an international law firm,
with five offices in Florida. This year’s Law Firm
Commendation goes specifically to Foley & Lardner’s
Tampa office, which opened in 1981, but the commit-
ment to pro bono service is a hallmark of a firm that
traces its origins back to 1842.
Foley & Lardner “is committed to providing meaning-
ful pro bono opportunities for our attorneys and qual-
ity legal services to those who most need our help.”
The firm also notes that its attorneys “gain not only
professional experience through exposure to areas of
law … not often available in their day-to-day work,
but also a deep, personal satisfaction that comes from
achieving justice for those who otherwise would have
been powerless to protect their legal rights.”
In its nomination of the Foley & Lardner Tampa
office, the Volunteer Lawyers Program of Bay Area
Legal Services praised the firm for its help with VLP’s
Case Referral Panel, Intake Clinic and Mentor Panel,
as well as the Community Counsel Program, which
provides pro bono transactional legal assistance to
nonprofit organizations that serve the poor. From
2011-2017, Foley attorneys donated more than 1,900
hours to the Volunteer Lawyers Program and worked
on at least 140 cases. Foley & Lardner attorneys also
regularly participate in the Project H.E.L.P., a clinic at
Metropolitan Ministries where lawyers assist people
who are homeless with a variety of legal issues.
From 2015 through 2017, Foley & Lardner’s Tampa
attorneys donated 5,598 hours of pro bono hours to
countless clients and projects. All Foley & Lardner
attorneys participate in pro bono service, but here
are a few stellar examples:Special Counsel Debra Smietanski has accepted 24 VLP cases for representation since 1996 and served as co-counsel on four others. Her most noteworthy pro bono project, Wills for Heroes, was launched in Tampa in 2011 and continues today, serving hundreds of first responders and their spouses in the completion of estate planning documents. Partner Olin Shivers, the Pro Bono Chair of the Tampa office from 2006-2016, spent hundreds of hours each year administering the office’s pro bono program in addition to his direct pro bono services to clients (he donated 137.9 hours in 2017). Partner Mark Wolfson took over as Pro Bono chair in 2016. He has recently taken a special interest in guardianship/guardian advocacy cases and, as of late 2018, had 11 open guardianship or guardian advocacy cases that he was handling through VLP. Of Counsel Natalie Annis helped draft by-laws and review contracts, and did tax work for the Tampa Bay Foundation for Mental Health. Special Counsel Marina A. Choundas recently ad- vised on tax exemption issues for an organization that provides tech job opportunities for women and an organization providing religious, cultural and educational after-school activities. Partner Nathaniel M. Lacktman helped two clients aligned with the expertise of Foley & Lardner’s Telemedicine Industry Team: The MAVEN Project, which offers free medical consulting via telemedicine to low-income patients at community health clinics, and Gynuity Health Projects, which is dedicated to transformative research projects to improve access to health care for women around the world. Partner Michael Matthews and Associate Nicholas Williams worked together on a police brutality case against a police officer who was a KKK member and a freedom of speech and freedom of religion case against the Arkansas Supreme Court, which barred a judge from hearing death penalty cases because he attended a prayer vigil. Senior Counsel Lauren Valiente is representing a transgender student, challenging a school board policy that prohibits transgender students from using the restrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identity.
THE VOLUNTARY BAR
ASSOCIATION PRO BONO
SERVICE AWARD
Presented by the Chief Justice
The purpose of the Voluntary Bar Association Pro
Bono Service Award is to recognize a voluntary bar
that has demonstrated a significant contribution in
the delivery of legal services to individuals or groups
on a pro bono basis.
2019 RECIPIENT
Young Lawyers Section of the Orange
County Bar Association
T he Young Lawyers Section of the Orange County
Bar Association offers its 750 members many ways
to get involved in their community.
Those members, who must be under the age of 35 or
practicing law five or fewer years, can enjoy more than
40 events per year; a monthly luncheon; opportunities
for mentoring, relationship-building and professional
growth, as part of the 3,500-member Orange County
Bar Association; and a chance to serve on public
service committees and help with charitable projects.
Over the past two years, the Young Lawyers Section
has planned and presented a signature pro bono
service event: Wills for Heroes.
The YLS recognized that there was a great need for
estate planning by firefighters, emergency medi-
cal personnel, police officers, sheriff’s deputies and
members of the armed services. The YLS further
recognized that its members had the legal skills to
fulfill this need.
With help by a grant from the Young Lawyers Divi-
sion of The Florida Bar, the YLS held its inaugural
Wills for Heroes event in April of 2017. There were
more than 30 volunteers and more than 80 “heroes”
served, including members of the Florida Highway
Patrol, Orange County and Seminole County sheriff’s
offices and fire departments, and military members
and veterans.A year later, the second Wills for Heroes event drew more than 50 volunteers and served more than 100 people. Those served came from a wider range of organizations, including the police departments of Apopka, Belle Isle, Maitland, St. Cloud, Winter Park and even the University of Central Florida. For 2019, the Young Lawyers Section will have its hands full: There already is a waiting list of more than 200 people for the April event. Planning for the Wills for Heroes starts months in advance. The young lawyers must obtain a venue, advertise the event, make sure they have the neces- sary legal document templates and laptop computers, and then train volunteers. They also stay in contact with those seeking help and work to set up convenient appointment times. At the event, members of the Young Lawyers Section, along with volunteers from the Orange County Bar Association’s Estate, Guardianship & Trust Com- mittee and others, help attendees create a Last Will and Testament, a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney. Witnesses and notaries ensure that the documents are properly executed. Other volunteers assist with miscellaneous tasks such greeting at- tendees, setting up refreshments (attendees were offered breakfast, snacks and lunch, depending on their appointment time), and providing other logisti- cal support. LaShawnda K. Jackson, president of the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter National Bar Association and a past president of the OCBA Young Lawyers Section, noted the rapid growth of the event and said, “This is something that they’ve owned as their project.”
THE FLORIDA BAR
YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION
PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD
The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Pro Bono
Service Award recognizes the public service or legal
aid performed by a young lawyer (younger than 36 or
who has not practiced for more than five years in any
jurisdiction) who provides outstanding contributions
to those in need of legal services.
2019 RECIPIENT
Tori Simmons
Tampa
T ori Simmons has a gift for
the law. She earned her
J.D. in 2013 from the Duke
University School of Law and
is an associate in the Litigation
Group of Hill Ward Henderson
in Tampa, where she focuses
on complex commercial busi-
ness litigation. In 2016, she
was named one of the Tampa
Bay Business Journal’s Up and
Comers Under 30.
Simmons also has a passion for using that gift to help
others. She consistently donates more than 150 hours
per year in pro bono legal services on matters such as
guardianship, eviction/landlord tenant disputes, dis-
solution of marriage, child support, domestic violence,
general representation for nonprofit organizations
and representing children in foster care.
“As an attorney, I feel that I have a responsibility
to provide legal services to those in my community
who lack access to representation,” she says. “Even
though sometimes it feels as though providing legal
representation is not enough, it is the way that I can
help the most.”
Every year Simmons finds a new way to help.
In 2013, fresh out of law school, Simmons became
a volunteer for the Bay Area Legal Services Volun-
teer Lawyer Assistance Project. Since then, she has
handled guardianship and family law cases for BALS.In 2014, she began coordinating her firm’s involve- ment in Project H.E.L.P., which offers free weekly legal clinics at Metropolitan Ministries for people who are homeless or impoverished (Hill Ward Henderson staffs the clinic two months each year). Simmons seeks and trains volunteers and attends each clinic during the months her firm staffs it. In 2015, Simmons became a volunteer attorney for Crossroads for Florida Kids, and she currently represents two siblings in foster care. That year, she also became the pro bono coordinator for Hill Ward Henderson. In 2016, she began volunteering at the Domestic Violence Injunction Clinic at the Hillsborough County courthouse. Simmons also takes on other pro bono projects and cases referred to her outside of a formal program. In 2017, she handled a child support enforcement case and an eviction matter. In 2018, she worked on the merger of two nonprofits – Trinity Cafe, Inc., merging into Feeding Tampa Bay as of Jan. 1, 2019. Simmons had represented Trinity Cafe since 2016, handling a zoning application, revi- sion of the corporation’s bylaws and review of employ- ment agreements and conflicts policy. She served on the board of Trinity Cafe and now is on the board of Feeding Tampa Bay. Simmons also supports pro bono legal services. She is a member of the 13th Judicial Circuit’s Pro Bono Committee and represented that committee to assist in launching the Pro Bono Matters website in Tampa. She worked with The Florida Bar Foundation to encourage local pro bono organizations to partici- pate and helped plan a launch party to promote the website. Simmons also is a member of the Pearl Society, a group of women dedicated to financially supporting Bay Area Legal Services. The society provides a yearly gift to Bay Area Legal Services through member dona- tions and fundraising. In 2018, Simmons received the 13th Judicial Circuit’s Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Young Lawyer Award. “Tori Simmons is an extraordinary young lawyer, with a fierce desire to give of herself for the benefit of others in need,” said Fredrique “Dika” Boire, her co-counsel in two cases. “She is insightful and caring for the kids we work with and always willing to go to bat for them. Tori asks for nothing in return for her work. She is most deserving of this award and the recognition that goes with it.”
THE FLORIDA BAR
PRESIDENT’S PRO BONO
SERVICE AWARD
The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award
was established in 1981. Its purpose is twofold: “to
further encourage lawyers to volunteer free legal
services to the poor by recognizing those who make
such public service commitments; and to communicate
to the public some sense of the substantial volunteer
services provided by Florida lawyers to those who
cannot afford legal fees.”
This award recognizes individual lawyer service in
each of Florida’s specific judicial circuits, as well as
one Bar member practicing out-of-state.
The Florida Bar President’s Pro
Bono Service Award Recipients
2019
Choung Mi Lim Akehurst, Inverness
Dia Teresa Colbert, Davie
James Russell “Rusty” Collins, St. Augustine
John B. Daly, Malabar
Elisa D’Amico, Miami
Kelly L. Fayer, Fort Myers
Crystal Freed, Jacksonville
Nancy Lynn Carty Hartjen, Navarre
George B. Howell III, Tampa
Karen Chuang Kline, Boca Raton
Jennifer LaVia, Tallahassee
Dougald Leitch, Oviedo
Neil T. Lyons, Sarasota
Julia K. Maddalena, Panama City Beach
Richard August Malafy, Marathon
Kevin A. McNeill, Lake City
Ashley N. Minton, Fort Pierce
Howard M. Rosenblatt, Gainesville
William Denton Slicker, St. Petersburg
Matthew James Vaughn, Lakeland
Jaime Rich Vining, Miami
Kristin M. Whidby, Washington, D.C.Nancy Lynn Carty Hartjen
1st Circuit
N ancy Lynn Carty Hartjen
has given more than 1,200
hours of pro bono legal service
in her 10 years as a lawyer in
Florida. She has a particular
interest in helping first re-
sponders, teachers, and retired
and active military personnel,
but her most significant pro
bono project reached out to the
entire community.
Hartjen was co-team leader
of Justice on the Block, a pilot program in 2017 and
2018 that was part of the Escambia Project. JOTB
partnered with community centers and churches to
host legal clinics, with lawyers able to attend in person
or via Skype. Clients received a smile, refreshments
and assistance from student volunteers with the Uni-
versity of West Florida’s Legal Studies program. Legal
issues were solved, voices were heard and students
learned about law and life. JOTB survived past its
pilot status, and Hartjen, who has spent more than
225 hours on the project, still attends the clinics and
continues to represent some JOTB clients in family
law matters.
Maintaining connections with clients is business as
usual for Hartjen.
At a VA Stand Down, Hartjen helped a retired Navy
cook resolve a matter with the title of a vehicle she
inherited. Later, Hartjen prepared a will for the vet-
eran, represented her in a small claims matter and
protected her veteran’s assets from garnishment. She
still helps the veteran with income taxes and other
legal matters.
In 2014, Hartjen helped a grandmother in Fort Wal-
ton Beach gain guardianship of two grandchildren
after her daughter died. Hartjen continues to work
with the family on annual guardianship reports and
meets several times a year with the guardian and the
younger granddaughter.
Hartjen – who once painted T-shirts and motorcycle
gas tanks for a living – came late to the legal pro-
fession, though she had long dreamed of being an
attorney. After the death of her husband in 2000, she
dove back into her studies and eventually earned her
J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law
in Rhode Island. She has been a solo practitioner in
Navarre since 2008.Jennifer LaVia
2nd Circuit
J ennifer LaVia, a faculty
member at the Florida
State University College of
Law, knows that one thing
leads to another with pro bono
service.
In 2011, she began work as
a volunteer special assistant
public defender, a position cre-
ated in Florida statute. Over
the past seven years, some-
times working with her law
students at FSU, LaVia has taken on nine appeals
pro bono for the Second Circuit Public Defender’s
Office, in cases ranging from homicide to drug crimes
to civil commitment of sexual offenders. In fact, one
appeal, involving jury selection, was scheduled to be
heard by the Supreme Court on the same day as this
pro bono awards ceremony.
In 2012, she added civil cases to her pro bono rep-
ertoire when she was asked to help create a legal
clinic for residents of Tallahassee’s homeless shelter.
Working with Legal Services of North Florida and
the Renaissance Community Center, which offers
services to people who are homeless, she founded a
weekly clinic, seeing clients for two or three hours
each week and providing anything from advice to full
representation.
Her more than 200 hours of service with the clinic left
her with many memorable clients, including a truck
driver who had lost his license – and thus his liveli-
hood and his home – for failure to pay child support.
LaVia renegotiated the payments, and he regained
his license and a place to live. The two have stayed in
touch, and LaVia continues to mentor him.
From her experience with that clinic, LaVia became
involved in the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collabora-
tive, working with, among others, Dan Hendrickson,
last year’s pro bono honoree from this circuit, to
establish a civil legal clinic for veterans. Now she
serves as the paid director of the FSU Veterans Le-
gal Clinic, though she still offers pro bono services
through the homeless shelter and veterans’ clinics
and as a graduate of Thunderdome, a program of the
Tallahassee Bar Association that trains attorneys to
handle family law cases pro bono.
LaVia earned her J.D. at the University of Florida
Levin College of Law.Kevin A. McNeill
3rd Circuit
K evin A. McNeill under-
stands how a seemingly
simple matter – such as having
a car towed – can have a large
and lingering impact on the life
of somebody who can’t afford
legal representation.
In 2014, McNeill was contacted
by Three Rivers Legal Services
and asked to represent a wom-
an who had been victimized
by a roam towing scheme. The
towing company used the excuse that the woman’s car
had a flat tire and had been abandoned. There was
a problem with that, because she had used the car
previously that day to get to her dialysis appointment
– the tires were not flat, nor was the car abandoned.
However, the woman, who was disabled and had a
very low income, couldn’t afford to pay the towing fee
and so lost her car.
McNeill spent more than 65 hours over the next three
years fighting for the client. In the end, she was able
to recover the value of her lost vehicle – and McNeill
managed to stop a practice that had victimized low-
income residents of her neighborhood.
In his professional life with McRae & McNeill in
Lake City, McNeill focuses exclusively on injury and
death cases, including product liability cases against
major corporations. But in providing direct pro bono
services to clients through Three Rivers Legal Ser-
vices, he has been valuable in handling housing and
consumer matters.
McNeill has been an active board member of TRLS
since 2013.
A graduate of the Shepard Broad College of Law at
Nova Southeastern University, McNeill also is active
in the legal community.
He serves on the Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono
Committee and has participated in providing com-
munity education to low-income seniors in Suwan-
nee County. He also is involved in The Florida Bar,
having served as chair of the Bar’s Committee on
Diversity and Inclusion and vice-chair of the Third
Circuit Grievance Committee, and as a member of
the Leadership Academy Committee and the Third
Circuit Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee.Crystal Freed
4th Circuit
C rystal Freed followed a tra-
ditional path after earning
her J.D. in 2003 from George-
town University Law Center,
finding success in big-name
firms by helping commercial
clients.
But Freed, a native of Trinidad
and Tobago, realized her passion
was to help victims of human
trafficking, and in 2008 she
formed the Freed Firm, P.A., in
Jacksonville. There, she has focused almost exclusively
on being an advocate, champion and friend for victims
of modern-day slavery.
Freed co-chaired Northeast Florida’s first Human
Trafficking Task Force from 2007-2009, boosting active
participation and quadrupling membership.
As chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Jack-
sonville Bar Association, Freed piloted the Attorneys
for Human Trafficking Survivors pilot project. Working
with law enforcement and the Florida Coastal School
of Law, the project identified victims, worked on strate-
gies for their recovery and routed civil legal matters to
pro bono attorneys and legal aid. She also co-founded
a statewide effort, Florida Attorneys for Survivors of
Human Trafficking.
Freed has brought national speakers to the local stage,
including U.S. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, anti-traffick-
ing experts Laura Lederer and Terry Coonan, author E.
Benjamin Skinner and attorney Martina Vandenberg,
founder of the Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal
Center. The energy created by Vandenberg’s visit in
2015 led Freed to spearhead creation of the Jackson-
ville Human Trafficking Pro Bono Working Group, a
collaboration with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Florida
Coastal School of Law and private attorneys
In 2014, Freed helped organize the North American
launch of Artworks for Freedom, using art to raise
awareness of trafficking. In 2016, she raised $40,000 for
victims of trafficking in India by holding a Bollywood-
themed benefit.
She organized a continuing education event to train
law enforcement officials, social services providers and
attorneys. Sixty attorneys attended, and many of those
later joined Freed as pro bono champions for clients
affected by labor and sex trafficking.
All of this is in addition to Freed’s own pro bono cases,
which have involved dependency issues, immigration,
foreclosure defense, wage claims and landlord-tenant
matters. She has logged more than 1,000 hours in
individual case representation.Choung Mi Lim Akehurst
5th Circuit
C houng Mi Lim Akehurst
has been volunteering in
one way or another since she
was a teenager.
“Volunteering has been an
important aspect of my life
since high school, finding it as
a way of contributing to the
community,” she says. “I have
volunteered for organizations
that addressed homelessness
in New York, environmental
issues, and after-school programs for at-risk children.
After law school, I recognized that, as attorneys, we
have a duty to help people, and volunteering provided
an opportunity for me to give back to the community
and fulfill that responsibility.”
Akehurst took the long road to Inverness, where she
has been a trial court judicial staff attorney for the
5th Judicial Circuit since 2010.
She was born in South Korea, grew up in New York
and attended college there, then earned her J.D. at
the Stetson University College of Law. She also has
a masters in law degree in international crime and
justice from the University of Turin, in Italy, and her
resume includes seven months as a contractor for
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in
Vienna, Austria.
Akehurst began volunteering with Community Legal
Services of Mid-Florida in 2007, conducting pro se
dissolution of marriage workshops in Lake County
while she was a senior attorney with the state De-
partment of Children and Families. She still conducts
workshops, today working out of the Citrus County
Courthouse.
She was instrumental in helping develop protocols
used to expand clinics and workshops using tech-
nology, with her workshops now being broadcast to
Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida offices in
Palatka, Kissimmee and Orlando.
Akehurst has conducted more than 100 workshops,
providing assistance to more than 500 people in group
settings. In addition to assisting clients there she
also has trained law students and other volunteer
attorneys.
Akehurst’s work has led to the development of forms
review clinics in the circuit, where she and other
volunteer attorneys meet one-on-one with clients rep-
resenting themselves in dissolution-of-marriage cases
and review the clients’ forms before they are filed.William Denton Slicker
6th Circuit
W illiam Denton Slicker,
or “Will” as he likes to
be called, has been a reliable
volunteer with the Community
Law Program in St. Petersburg
almost since its inception in
1989.
Family law remains the great-
est unmet civil legal need
among the poor, and over the
years, Slicker has been invalu-
able, participating in countless
family law advice clinic sessions, handling countless
cases, donating money to the organization and serving
as president of the Board of Trustees in 1999-2000.
Slicker’s pro bono efforts were particularly notewor-
thy in 2018. With two months left in the year, he
had spent more than 220 hours handling family law
cases – all of them representing victims of domestic
violence seeking civil injunctions for protection or in
related family law proceedings.
These are never easy cases, and in three of them,
Slicker took appeals to the 2nd District Court of
Appeal.
One case involved a single mother raising a young
boy with special needs, whose father filed a paternity
action in 2014. Four years later, the case is still pend-
ing because of the father’s litigation, but Slicker has
helped the mother obtain a final judgment awarding
her ultimate decision-making authority and majority
time-sharing with her son.
Slicker also advanced litigation costs on behalf of his
pro bono clients of more than $7,300, with little expec-
tation of being reimbursed by the opposing parties.
The Community Law Program has a small litigation
budget, and the fact that Slicker would make such
a personal and financial investment into the cases
he handles is further testament to his dedication to
the cause.
In addition to his pro bono work, Slicker advocates
for victims of domestic violence in other forums. In
the 1990s, he helped prepare legal arguments for the
second woman to receive clemency in Florida because
she acted in self-defense.
Slicker earned his J.D. in 1976 from the Florida State
University College of Law. He has been in solo practice
in St. Petersburg since 1987.James Russell “Rusty” Collins
7th Circuit
J ames Russell “Rusty” Col-
lins dove into pro bono work
so quickly that it scared the
legal aid staff.
In late September 2008, a
sharp young man went to St.
Johns County Legal Aid to
volunteer. He was comfortable
with probate, estates, property,
eviction, collections/debt de-
fense, foreclosure, family and
even criminal cases. He said
he had just been admitted to The Florida Bar and
this would be a good way to start his practice – gain
experience and give back at the same time.
Some of the consumer and foreclosure cases he ac-
cepted were “on fire,” and he went straight into court
with the clients within days. The staff marveled at
this new lawyer with such a big heart and amaz-
ing knowledge, talent and confidence. Until they
checked the Bar’s website and saw that he wasn’t
listed. Had they just handed a dozen clients over to
a non-lawyer – who was already representing them
in court?
Staff phoned the Bar. Indeed, “Rusty” Collins really
was a lawyer – with a J.D. from Florida Coastal School
of Law and a Bar number so new it hadn’t been listed.
Collins continued to astound. When he had accepted
his 150th pro bono case, his office begged legal aid to
please stop giving him cases. When they tried to steer
him away from cases, saying they had all the help they
needed, he would show up for advice clinics. He’d be
spotted talking to new pro bono clients at the court-
house – people he’d seen representing themselves in
court and felt compelled to assist. Then there were
email links to newspaper stories about Collins spon-
taneously accepting a pro bono foreclosure case in the
Duval Courthouse hallway, or in the Putnam, Flagler,
Clay or Volusia county courthouses.
Fast forward 10 years and Collins is still ready with
a smile and a hug, donating hundreds of hours each
year – and that’s just what legal aid can get his
Rusty Law LLC office in St. Augustine to report.
St. Johns County Legal Aid has given him a local
pro bono award every year since he walked into the
office in 2008.Howard M. Rosenblatt
8th Circuit
H oward M. Rosenblatt has
seen first-hand how pro
bono legal service can change
the life of one needy person – as
well as the lives of those con-
nected to that person.
In 2014, Rosenblatt agreed to
help a woman in a complicated
probate case. Her 94-year-old
aunt had died, leaving her as
the personal representative
of the estate. The estate was
small, but the task was huge. Rosenblatt went on a
two-year search for members of a large, splintered
family, finding relatives in Alaska, Montana, Texas
and New York, as well as closer to home in Alabama,
Georgia and Florida. A family tree was created, with
the help of high school records, online sites and an
heir-search company. Rosenblatt helped discover 52
heirs, and in the end those heirs not only shared in
the estate but also discovered each other as well as
the legacy of the aunt.
Rosenblatt has been a pro bono volunteer for more
than 20 years with Three Rivers Legal Services, for
which he has provided more than 275 hours of pro
bono service over the last five years. He also accepts
referrals from the Ocala Office of Community Legal
Services of Mid-Florida.
In another case Rosenblatt accepted, the mother of
a developmentally disabled child who was turning
18 needed to become a guardian advocate to secure
treatment, medical care and other services. She
had no concept of the law – she only knew that she
wanted to care for her son. When the same client was
suspected of child abuse, Rosenblatt’s own investiga-
tion revealed that an appointed caretaker was the
problem. The case against the mother was dropped,
allowing her to move forward.
“The average consumer is not aware of the benefits
they can derive or the costs they may have to pay
without the advice of counsel,” said Rosenblatt, who
earned his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin
College of Law and is of counsel with Bogin, Munns
& Munns, P.A., in Gainesville. “By having a pro bono
option and having a means by which people can
qualify, it allows us to provide service to those who
are underserved.”Dougald Leitch
9th Circuit
D ougald Leitch has been a
Guardian ad Litem volun-
teer since 1986, so he knows
there are no automatic happy
endings.
In an early experience as a
GAL, Leitch was appointed to
be the guardian for a 10-year-
old whose mother could not
care for her. After about two
years, the girl was put into
foster care, but she confided to
Leitch that she feared her foster father, who would
touch her inappropriately. Law enforcement stepped
in and a civil action was settled with the state’s child
protection agency. The girl bounced to a few more
foster homes and finally to a group home, where she
thrived, and she went on to receive an athletic schol-
arship to college.
“I don’t know what would have befallen (the girl) had
she not confided in me,” Leitch said. “I did see how
one person being in the right place at the right time
can make an impact.”
In another case, the parents of two boys were in con-
stant combat and battling addictions. Leitch recom-
mended termination of parental rights, but acquiesced
when the grandparents wanted to step in. However,
the parents kept coming into the boys’ lives, and the
two – now young men – have been unable to establish
stable lives.
Most recently, Leitch was assigned as guardian for
two children whose parents were behind bars. The
younger child, an infant, was adopted, and Leitch
filed a petition for termination of parental rights
for the older child. But the parents worked on their
substance-abuse problems and other issues, and today,
the girl is with her parents and doing well, and Leitch
remains on good terms with the family.
Leitch has handled more than 85 cases and currently
is assisting six children. He has donated more than
1,150 hours on closed cases. He earned his J.D. from
Drake University School of Law and has been in solo
practice in Oveido since 2014. In 2018, he received
the Judge J.C. “Jake” Stone Distinguished Service
Award, presented by the Legal Aid Society of the
Orange County Bar Association.Matthew James Vaughn
10th Circuit
M atthew James Vaughn has
been involved in pro bono
work since he became a lawyer
in 2011, after earning his J.D.
from the University of Florida
Levin College of Law.
In 2013, he helped Stephen
R. Senn – himself a three-
time Bar President’s Pro Bono
Service Award honoree – with
a case that went to trial, and
then continued with the case
through bankruptcy court to ensure the judgment
was enforced.
In 2015 and 2016, he helped a grandparent adopt a
baby born to two minors, one of whom had a history
of drug abuse.
In 2016 and 2017, Vaughn worked on an appeal of a
custody case referred by Florida Rural Legal Services.
Vaughn helped with the research and the drafting
of a legal argument that mirrored what the Florida
Supreme Court later agreed with in Simmonds v. Per-
kins in 2018 – that a biological father has standing to
challenge the presumption that the mother’s husband
is the legal father of a child born to an intact marriage.
In the past year, though, Vaughn took his pro bono
work to a new level, donating more than 300 hours
of legal assistance.
He spent almost 70 hours on a divorce case, represent-
ing a mother with two children under the age of 3.
The divorce involved child support, time-sharing and
equitable distribution issues.
In a contested time-sharing matter, Vaughn repre-
sented the unemployed mother of a special-needs
child against a father who was delinquent in child
support. The case was resolved in October after a
five-day bench trial, and Vaughn donated more than
140 hours for a woman who otherwise would have
had no legal representation.
Finally, Vaughn worked on a contested estate, part of
which was the home of the personal representative.
Vaughn represented the woman against a brother and
sister who had been intentionally left out of the will.
The case involved more than 110 hours from Vaughn,
included a two-day trial, but his client prevailed and
was able to keep her home.
In his daily practice, Vaughn handles family law,
bankruptcy and general business and probate litiga-
tion for Peterson & Myers, P.A., in Lakeland.Elisa D’Amico
11th Circuit
E lisa D’Amico moved to Mi-
ami less than 10 years ago,
and in the short time since she
has become a community lead-
er and a pro bono superhero in
the fight against image-based
abuse, better known as cyber
harassment or revenge porn.
She is an example of how one
person can make a difference.
In late 2014, D’Amico co-found-
ed the Cyber Civil Rights Legal
Project (CCRLP), after seeing a void that needed to
be filled. Victims whose intimate photos or videos
had been exposed online did not have adequate legal
resources to help them navigate those murky waters.
CCRLP was founded on the principle that people have
a right of privacy when it comes to their intimate
images and that public dissemination of that mate-
rial without consent is an invasion of privacy that
amounts to a “cyber civil rights” violation.
The CCRLP fuses the elite cyberforensic skills and
legal acumen of its volunteer attorneys. CCRLP is now
recognized as a leading legal resource to protect the
rights of revenge porn victims worldwide.
The CCRLP has provided pro bono legal help to
thousands of people, with volunteers donating tens
of thousands of hours to help victims of sexual cy-
ber harassment. In addition to several significant
litigation wins, the CCRLP has removed thousands
of nonconsensually distributed explicit images and
video from the Internet and has helped to empower
victims of online privacy violations to take back their
reputations and their lives.
In 2016, D’Amico received The Florida Bar Young
Lawyers Division’s Pro Bono Service Award.
She earned her J.D. in 2006 from Fordham Law
School, and in 2009 joined K&L Gates LLP in Miami,
where she is now a litigation partner.
In 2018, D’Amico co-founded a new practice area at
the firm: Digital Crisis Planning & Response. As part
of that practice, she counsels corporations, educational
institutions and high-profile individuals on planning
for and effectively managing digital crises. In that
role, she also fights Internet-based abuse such as
invasions of privacy, cyber harassment and fraud.Jaime Rich Vining
11th Circuit
J aime Rich Vining is Board
Certified in Intellectual
Property Law, specializing in
trademark, copyright, enter-
tainment and Internet law
with Friedland Vining, P.A., in
Miami. You might think there
would be limited opportunities
for pro bono legal service in
those areas, but you’d be wrong.
Vining works extensively with
Dade Legal Aid’s Volunteer
Lawyers for the Arts/Arts & Business Council of
Miami, leading legal clinics and one-on-one legal
consultations for artists, and with Cannonball Miami
(formerly known as LegalArt), a nonprofit dedicated to
supporting artists. Her pro bono clients have included
a designer who needed copyright protection for tote
bags, with all proceeds to be donated to charity, and
an art collective made up of former stay-at-home
mothers and entrepreneurs re-entering the workforce.
Vining has donated at least 350 hours per year pro-
viding pro bono intellectual property, trademark and
transactional legal services directly impacting Dade
Legal Aid, its clients and other underserved individu-
als and groups across South Florida.
Vining may be best known for the Patently Impos-
sible Project, something only a trademark lawyer
could dream up. About 10 years ago, after learning
that funding for legal services was rapidly declining,
Vining created an opportunity to engage hundreds of
people in supporting legal aid.
In the Patently Impossible Project, competitors race to
accurately assemble a patented invention – perhaps a
catapult made of tongue depressors, rubber bands and
clothespins – while more than 300 lawyers, judges,
law students and members of the business community
cheer them on and “bet” on their favorite contestants.
Vining does it all, from soliciting contestants, spon-
sors and silent auction donors to dealing with the
myriad other details involved in running a successful
charitable event. The Patently Impossible Project has
raised more than $150,000.
In 2017, Vining received the Pro Bono Services Award
from the International Trademark Association. In
2016, she received the Lynn Futch Most Productive
Young Lawyer Award from The Florida Bar’s Young
Lawyers Division. That honor recognizes a young at-
torney who has worked diligently in Bar activities and
law-related public activities. Vining earned her J.D.
from the University of Miami School of Law.Neil T. Lyons
12th Circuit
N eil T. Lyons didn’t wait to
become a lawyer before
diving into pro bono legal ser-
vice. At the Stetson University
College of Law, where Lyons
received his J.D. in 2011, he
was the recipient of the Wil-
liam F. Blews Pro Bono Service
Award, given to students who
perform outstanding pro bono
service beyond that required
for graduation.
Lyons began taking pro bono cases from Legal Aid of
Manasota in 2015, showing what a young, passion-
ate attorney can do by donating time to those less
fortunate. In less than four years, he has donated
almost 500 pro bono hours. Many of the cases he
has taken are complex guardianship and guardian
advocate cases, though he also has handled several
probate matters.
Lyons rarely turns down a pro bono case when called
upon; in fact, he often will call Legal Aid of Manasota
asking if there are any cases on which he could help.
In addition to his support of legal aid, Lyons also
answered a call from a local judge spearheading
the Comprehensive Treatment Court. That program
within the 12th Judicial Circuit’s Mental Health
Court is designed for people who are charged with a
qualifying offense, suffer from a serious mental illness
that likely led to the criminal charge and are unable
to meet their basic needs. Lyons has volunteered
many hours of service to the clients who have gone
through the program.
Lyons has been recognized before for his pro bono
service, receiving both the Sarasota County Bar As-
sociation’s Distinguished Community Service Award
and the Exemplary Service Award for pro bono legal
services in connection with Sarasota Mental Health
Court in 2018. He also has been recognized for the
last three years for performing 100 or more hours of
pro bono legal services.
Lyons has been with Boyer & Boyer, P.A., in Sarasota
since 2014. He is an elder law attorney practicing
in the areas of guardianship, trust administration,
probate administration and estate planning.George B. Howell III
13th Circuit
G eorge B. Howell III, Of
Counsel in Holland &
Knight’s Tampa office, has a
long history of service to the
Tampa Bay community and
especially its military com-
munity.
A signature achievement was
establishing Mission United, a
program launched in January
2018 that assists veterans and
their families, with a special
focus on active duty service members who are transi-
tioning back to civilian life. Services include pro bono
legal assistance, as well as navigating the Department
of Veterans Affairs health system, GI Bill assistance,
housing and homelessness and emergency financial
assistance.
Working with United Way Suncoast, Howell recruited a
21-member Advisory Council, raised substantial funds,
hired a program director and brought the community
and veterans together to understand veterans’ needs.
Howell also is leading an effort with Bay Area Legal
Services to seek a $500,000 recurring appropriation
for a five-county regional Veterans Legal Helpline with
four full-time attorneys.
Howell doesn’t just organize pro bono service; he
provides it. Through Mission United, he represented
an Army captain who had spent three years in a mili-
tary hospital, where she had multiple surgeries from
two separate bomb blasts. Howell helped her with a
contract to purchase a home in Clearwater, and then
helped her avoid a breach-of-contract penalty when
the Army changed the date on which she would receive
a medical discharge. Howell continues to assist her,
working with the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital
to arrange for her physical therapy and oxygen treat-
ments and signing her up for AmVet, a local social
program.
Howell’s commitment to the military also involved pro
bono representation of three families at MacDill Air
Force Base on guardianship issues. One case involved
a woman who was caring for her son, who suffers from
cerebral palsy and seizures, while preparing to begin
treatments for breast cancer.
Howell also has represented True Faith Inspirational
Baptist Church pro bono for over a decade.
In November, Bay Area Legal Services named Howell
as the first recipient of the General James B. Peake
Award for pro bono services to veterans. Howell
received his J.D. from South Texas College of Law
Houston.You can also read
