by Kathy Para
JBA Pro Bono Committee Chair
Jacksonville is a big place — the largest incorporated city in the United States, in fact. It’s not the kind of place easily negotiated without the aid of motorized wheels.
“Anyone who’s driven around here for just a couple of days can understand that you have to have a car to live in a place like this,” said attorney Satasha Williston. That is why the former assistant state attorney has made it a big part of her private practice to help people remain on the road and continue to lead productive lives.
And that is why on Sept. 25 at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA), Williston will help other attorneys learn how to help even more people stay on the road and stay employed.
In the second part of JALA’s Employability Series, Williston will conduct a two-hour Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar on driver’s license reinstatement for attorneys wishing to learn this important and busy area of law.
Williston, who has seen most of the ins and outs of driver’s license reinstatement in her nine years of practice, says that while this might seem like a relatively light area of law compared to something like criminal defense – her primary specialty – it is fraught with pitfalls.
“It’s fairly complicated,” Williston says. “But it’s learnable. … In the course that we’ve put together, I’ve laid out all of the pitfalls that I can think of, as well as all of the statutes and case law.”
After that, she says, it’s a just a matter of practice.
And practice is where JALA can help. Attorneys taking this free CLE are asked to take on one pro bono case within the following year, but according to Williston, this is just as much an opportunity for the attorneys as it is for the low-income clients.
“I would very much suggest that after taking this CLE the attorneys take on some pro bono driver’s license reinstatement cases through Legal Aid because it’s a very good place to learn,” says Williston.
JALA offers its pro bono attorneys free malpractice insurance and support, including expert assistance from attorneys such as Williston, who can help them negotiate those many pitfalls.
Not only can driver’s license reinstatement expertise be a valuable asset to a law practice, Williston says, but it is also a very worthwhile endeavor for the more socially conscious lawyer.
“This isn’t the practice of getting people out of paying citations or doing their rightfully imposed sentences,” the University of Florida law school grad said. “This is about people who are on the very brink of making it; those who might have to face a decision such as ‘Do I drive to work and continue to feed my family? Or do I obey the law and lose my job?’”
“This is a win-win for everybody,” she said. “This keeps good people on the road so they can provide for their families and it keeps unnecessary cases from clogging our already overloaded criminal justice system.”
Williston will be conducting the free, two-hour Driver’s License Reinstatement CLE at JALA’s offices, 126 W. Adams St., Sept. 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Attorneys interested in attending this session can contact JALA Pro Bono Coordinator Kathy Para at [email protected] or call (904) 356-8371.
“It’s pro bono that’s manageable. It’s pro bono that matters.”