In December 2023, The Florida Bar Foundation changed its name to FFLA. Posts prior to this date contain our former name.

Lakeland lawyer Stephen R. Senn took office Sept. 16, 2020, as president of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization whose mission is to provide greater access to justice.

Stephen R. Senn

Board certified in appellate practice, Senn is a senior shareholder with Peterson & Myers, P.A., where his practice includes appeals and federal litigation, as well as employment and business disputes.

Senn earned his bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from Florida State University. He served for 10 years on the board of Florida Rural Legal Services and was its president for three years. He is a founding member of the board of directors of the Florida Equal Justice Center and served as its president for three years.

Senn was first appointed to The Florida Bar Foundation board in 2012 and has chaired the budget and finance committee and the building committee. He is a Florida Bar Foundation Fellow and a member of the Foundation’s Gold Society for lifetime giving. Senn has been a member of the 10th Circuit Pro Bono Committee since 1999 and has had an active pro bono practice throughout his career.

He earned the Jon Anderson Pro Bono Award and The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award in 2006, 2011 and 2018. Senn was honored with the Jerry A. Devane Award for Exemplary Scholarship, Professionalism, and Collegiality in 2018. Most recently, he was honored by the Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar with the John R. Hamilton Pro Bono Award.

The Florida Bar Foundation accomplishes its mission by funding programs that expand and improve representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons in civil legal matters, improve the fair and effective administration of justice, and promote public service among lawyers