by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid will honor the law firm of Pajcic & Pajcic at Thursday night’s Equal Justice Awards Reception.
This is the fourth year that JALA will honor an area firm for its service to the community, whether in the form of pro bono hours or contributions. JALA will also present an award honoring the individual or business with the most hours of pro bono work.
“We honor firms who have given countless hours of pro bono work and supported Legal Aid,” said Kim Ruotolo, the development coordinator of JALA.
Pajcic & Pajcic, the law firm started by brothers Steve and Gary Pajcic, was chosen as this year’s recipient because of its contributions of time and funds to JALA.
“They are very honored by this award. It’s very important to them,” said Inga Simmons, an assistant at the Pajcic firm.
Simmons said in addition to pro bono work, the Pajcics also started a scholarship at the University of North Florida and are working to better poorly funded schools in the area.
“We do a variety of pro bono work, and each of us has spent time volunteering. Steve and I have a basic belief that everyone has the right to good legal representation and we try to do our part,” said Gary Pajcic.
JALA board chairman Noel Lawrence said the decision to honor Pajcic & Pajcic with the “Justice for All” award was an easy one.
“They’ve been very supportive of us over the years. They are very gracious and offer the kind of support you can rely on over the years,” said Lawrence, who has served on JALA’s board for about eight years.
The other award will go to the Christian Legal Society for what Ruotolo calls “their countless hours of pro bono service.”
This year’s event will be slightly different from previous ones, said Ruotolo, because there will be other “surprise” recognitions to present.
Besides the pro bono and Justice for All awards, two JALA staffers will be honored for their work for JALA.
“I think it’s so important to say thank you,” said Ruotolo.
Entertainment for the event, which is sponsored by Spoher Wilner Maxwell & Matthews, will be provided by Douglas Anderson School of the Art’s Guitar Ensemble. It’s being held at The River Club, beginning at 6 p.m.
“We’re also very excited to have [Florida Supreme Court] Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead as our keynote speaker,” said Ruotolo.