by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The president-elect of the Florida Bar urged Jacksonville’s legal community Thursday to step up its contributions to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
Hank Coxe said every lawyer should be able to give time or money. The Jacksonville Bar Association’s monthly luncheon at the Omni recognized JALA for its work on behalf of Jacksonville’s poor and disenfranchised.
“How many times in your life have you closed the Pledge of Allegiance with ‘Liberty and justice for all?’” said Coxe. “Are we just saying the words, or do we really think about what that means?”
JALA Executive Director Michael Figgins said the organization is hoping for full participation from area attorneys in JALA’s fund raising campaigns. The Supreme Court recommends each attorney licensed by the Florida Bar contribute $350 in addition to pro bono hours to organizations like JALA.
JALA receives consistent contributions from 167 attorneys out of about 3,300 in the Fourth District, which comprises Nassau, Duval and Clay counties. That 5 percent participation rate lags behind some comparable legal markets. In Tampa, one out of five attorneys (20 percent) contribute.
A lack of funding leaves legal organizations stretched state wide. At JALA’s November Equal Justice Reception, Barbara Pariente — the chief justice of Florida’s Supreme Court – said the state had one legal aid attorney for every 6,861 low-income citizens.
Pariente called on attorneys to go beyond their required contribution.
“We call $350 the ‘buyout amount,’” said Pariente. “Really, is there any attorney at a reasonably-sized firm where $350 amounts to more than one hour of billing?”
But local efforts are heading in the right direction. Last year, Rogers Towers won JALA’s Equal Justice Award for matching its attorneys contributions. The offer to match sparked increased participation from the firm’s lawyers. More than 90 percent contributed and the firm raised more than $30,000 for JALA. Figgins hopes other firms will follow Rogers Towers’ lead.
JALA also received help from the City. The mayor’s office shifted $720,000 in excess recording fees to help cover shortfalls in state funding.
But money is still tight, said Coxe. As state and federal funding sources ebb, it falls on attorneys to make up the difference, he said.
“Each year it gets tougher and tougher,” he said.
Bar members heard first-hand about the impact their contributions can make. Melissa Kartalozi, a former JALA client, told the meeting how a pair of JALA attorneys had shepherded her through a messy divorce from an abusive husband and the resulting custody fight for her children.