With support of lawyers, foster children bloom into successful adults

Ping-ponging between relatives’ homes as a child, Michelle Charles struggled to understand why she and her two sisters moved so often. When she was five, her mother died, and her father began constantly shuffling the girls’ living arrangements. When Michelle was eight, she moved from Miami into a home in

Innocence Project of Florida sees three men freed in one year

After spending a combined 76 years incarcerated, three Florida men regained their freedom with the help of Innocence Project of Florida (IPF). Dean McKee, Dwight Dubose and Jules Letemps were released recently. IPF receives the majority of its funding from The Florida Bar Foundation, which awarded it $380,000 through an

Florida Justice Institute case forces change in prison health care policy

When the pain began, Archie Green knew he needed to see a medical professional. Though the 40-year-old man was a prisoner of the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), he still expected to receive some kind of treatment for increasingly distressing symptoms. Feeling a knot bulging from his groin, Green asked

Pro Bono Innovation and Transformation grants awarded

by Jessica Brown Since the undertaking of the Foundation’s strategic reset, pro bono work has become a priority. In hopes of increasing the number of pro bono hours reported by Florida attorneys, which dipped 4 percent last year, the Foundation will enable legal aid programs to boost their support of

Keeping children with disabilities out of the school-to-prison pipeline

By the time she was 10, Ebony Townsend had been bullied at school and on the bus for years, handcuffed and taken away from school in the back of a police car when she cried out for help, and suspended from the bus for 45 days. Profoundly deaf in one

Keeping children with disabilities out of the school-to-jail pipeline

By the time she was 10, Ebony Townsend had been bullied at school and on the bus for years, handcuffed and taken away from school in the back of a police car when she cried out for help, and suspended from the bus for 45 days. Profoundly deaf in one

Pro Bono Partnerships in the news

The Florida Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Partnerships department is at the forefront of pro bono technology and innovation in the US. Check out recent coverage here: Orlando Sentinel: With website, lawyers can find pro bono matches Florida Bar News: New pro bono website puts lawyers in the driver’s seat ABA

Settlement helps seniors, disabled on Medicaid avoid nursing homes

by Stacey Singer DeLoye Following painful spinal surgery, Janet Cramer, 79, suffered a fall that left her a paraplegic. As upset as they were by her sudden disability, Cramer’s family members were completely devastated by the blow that came next. At the most vulnerable moment in her life, Cramer was

Pro bono collaboration supports U.S. veterans in North Florida

Though U.S. military veteran Jeff McCary found himself unable to work because of an injury, he continued to pay his child support as long as he could. Although McCary received rent assistance from Family Endeavors and Florida Veterans Foundation, he eventually exhausted his savings. A motion for contempt was filed

Nelson Joins The Florida Bar Foundation as Pro Bono Program Officer

MAITLAND, Fla. – Claud B. Nelson III has joined The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization whose mission is to provide greater access to justice, as its new pro bono program officer. The Foundation funds civil legal aid and projects to improve the administration of justice and increase the

Founder of Space Coast Community Law School Named Brevard County Legal Aid Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Seeing an unprecedented need for legal services in Brevard County as the economy continued to decline in 2010, attorney Brigitta Hawkins created the Space Coast Community Law School. Working to help people “get their lives back on track,” Hawkins said, “makes you feel like you actually accomplished something. Sometimes people

Foundation’s new pro bono website goes statewide

After a successful pilot in Miami-Dade County, FloridaProBonoMatters.org, a new website that enables pro bono attorneys to search for local pro bono cases that suit their interests, is being rolled out statewide. The Florida Bar Foundation, which has funded and overseen the development of the site, in June held training