by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
The Fourth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee’s 4th annual Pro Bono Competition is in full swing and with six months left before the winner is announced, it shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
The contest runs from May to April each year and involves teams comprised of either an individual lawyer or members of a law firm. The winning team is recognized at the Jacksonville Bar Association’s Law Day luncheon and a trophy goes to the team that provides the most pro bono hours during the competition year.
The competition is officiated by referees designated by the committee. Teams receive points monthly that are calculated by the number of pro bono hours divided by the number of eligible attorneys on each law firm’s team.
The team with the most points at the end of the season will be declared the “Public Good Champion.”
For the past three competitions, John Mills of the Mills & Carlin Firm in Riverside has taken home the trophy.
“Every firm has an equal chance to win, regardless of the size of the firm,” said David Barksdale of Bedell Dittmar DeVault Pillans & Coxe, spokesperson for the Pro Bono committee. “No one firm is at an advantage because they’re smaller than another firm.”
The idea for the competition came about four years ago when the committee was trying to come up with a creative way to encourage lawyers to become more involved with pro bono work.
“This competition is a fun way to encourage and promote pro bono work,” said Circuit Judge Jean Johnson. “As Chair of the Fourth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, I encourage all lawyers to participate.”
More information on the competition is available from Barksdale at 353-0211.
The Florida Bar is also in the process of taking nominations for the 2007 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award. The award is given annually to an outstanding attorney in each of the state’s judicial circuits.