Miami pro bono attorney works to reunite teen with his aunt
By Rayven Wright After his parents lost their parental rights, “Jake,” 15, began the battle to find stability and permanency in a forever home. While living with his parents, Jake had been exposed to violence and drug use and experienced severe neglect. Jake was placed with his maternal aunt, but
Florida Bar Foundation hires South Florida pro bono program officer
MIAMI – Anais Taboas will join The Florida Bar Foundation Nov. 7 as its new South Florida Pro Bono Program Officer and will work out of space donated by top 100 U.S. law firm Akerman LLP in its Miami office. A statewide nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide greater
Mobile Law for All project sends volunteers into high-poverty neighborhoods
By Stacey Singer DeLoye Located within the Leon County Courthouse near the Capitol, the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee connects more than 120 volunteer attorneys per year to low-income Floridians faced with complex civil matters such as landlord-tenant disputes and child custody concerns. Getting to the foundation requires finding parking
Teamwork enables Miami veteran to keep longtime family home
By Stacey Singer DeLoye For 40 years the Rolle family had lived in the same modest home in the Miami area. Ten Rolle children grew up in that 1,200-square-foot house. But as the patriarch of the Rolle family grew older, he took out a reverse mortgage to help with living
Tampa man’s family homestead benefit secured with attorney’s help
By Stacey Singer DeLoye After losing his mother to Alzheimer’s disease, a Tampa-area man almost lost the homestead exemption on his family home because he mistakenly assumed he had automatically become the titled property owner and qualified for the exemption upon her death. After seeking to continue the homestead exemption
Jacksonville attorneys help disabled client resolve landlord-tenant dispute
By Stacey Singer DeLoye When landlords don’t keep up their property, the consequences for low-income tenants can be severe without the help of an attorney. Fortunately for a disabled woman from Duval County, Lanny Russell and Joseph Rogan of Smith Hulsey & Busey accepted her case pro bono, through Jacksonville
Pro bono lawyer helps wakeboarding harness inventor skim through patent application
By Stacey Singer DeLoye Florida beaches aren’t globally recognized for surfing, due to a continental shelf that dampens large waves. But plenty of people love wakeboarding behind a tow boat or skimboarding along the shore, among them, Matthew White, a 23-year-old electrical engineering student at the University of Central Florida.
Farmer Jaffe Weissing’s triple play of giving – legal aid is the real winner
Ask any non-profit organization or charity what type of contribution is most valuable – time, talent or treasure – and they will be hard pressed to choose just one. The law firm of Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L. has set the bar high in Broward County, contributing
Foundation upgrades online pro bono news and information
The Florida Bar Foundation is working to streamline and improve statewide online pro bono news and information in order to facilitate pro bono engagement and partnerships. The Foundation has created a new Web page, www.TheFloridaBarFoundation.org/probono, to share information about pro bono in Florida, including initiatives in which the Foundation is
Southern Legal Counsel forces change in policy of denying indigent litigants filing fee waivers
by Jennifer Etienne When Gainesville-based Southern Legal Counsel (SLC) took as clients of a group of homeless people arrested for being in a St. Petersburg park after closing time, they ended up securing access to the courts not only for their clients, but for all civil litigants who can’t afford
Florida Legal Services prevents Medicaid HMOs from limiting care based on family members’ jobs
For three years Mike Cornelius had run a daily race from home to his full-time job and back again so he could to take over from his wife Carol’s caregiver, but on April 8, 2014, he got a letter from Carol’s Medicaid HMO saying that it was reducing her care
Seminole County Legal Aid partners with library to serve more veterans
More than 43 years ago Juan Silva, 60, served in the U.S. Army in Korea, but today he is fighting an ongoing battle to gain custody of his grandchildren. His ally in this struggle is Silvia McLain, executive director of the Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society, who has