by Annie Butterworth Jones
Associate Editor
Pro Bono Spotlight - Bringing you news of pro bono opportunities and accomplishments.
Legal services advocates flocked to the Supreme Court to kick off Florida’s Pro Bono Week with the official unveiling of a campaign promoting pro bono work among Florida lawyers.
“We can do better,” said Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince, as she introduced the premise of the highly anticipated One Campaign Oct. 26. “We hope through this program that we can link one lawyer with one client. We know that we can do this, and we are asking you to help.”
“One: One client. One attorney. One promise.” was developed by Tallahassee consultant Gary Yordon. Event attendees were treated to the first showing of the One video, designed to be a peer-to-peer marketing tool for attorneys already committed to doing pro bono work. The video features lawyers, judges, and advocates — many of whom were present at the unveiling — discussing both the challenges and the benefits of tackling pro bono cases.
“Just take one case; make one promise; represent one client,” said First District Court of Appeal Judge William VanNortwick, chair of the Pro Bono Legal Services Committee, at the video’s close.
The presentation came after Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp delivered the governor’s proclamation setting aside Florida Pro Bono Week. “Every attorney needs to realize as you go through the day-to-day, that sometimes it’s easy to forget how privileged you are to be a lawyer and to enter the courtroom and to fight for other people,” said Kottkamp.
Kris Knab, executive director of Legal Services of North Florida, admits the need for lawyers willing to do pro bono work is great and getting greater. “Nationally, we are only meeting 20 percent or less of the need, and we’re turning a massive number of people away,” said Knab. “That is not a great picture, and it’s a picture that’s been made worse by the economic downturn.”
The problem hits close to home. While membership in The Florida Bar steadily increases, a study funded by The Florida Bar Foundation shows that statewide, pro bono hours have remained flat. Foreclosures are on the rise statewide, and budget cuts have placed an extra burden on the courts. The One Campaign and other recommendations provided by the study are intended to increase pro bono participation, alleviating the caseload of both local legal aid organizations and the courts. “We seek to foster a strong relationship between bar associations in the community and local legal aid service providers,” said Adele Stone, president of the Foundation. “We want to engage the members of The Florida Bar as a whole to commit to a pro bono culture.”
The Foundation is currently following through on several recommendations, including $800,000 in grant funding provided to legal services agencies, pro bono organizations, and legal aid providers. Already $500,000 has been given to eight separate programs, with more grant money to be distributed in December.
Legal services advocates, though, agree: Funding can only do so much.
“For us to maintain a level of services, those checks are important,” said Knab. “But I think there’s a whole different level of satisfaction when someone advocates on behalf of another person.”
That’s why attorneys and advocates alike are counting on the One Campaign to convince Florida lawyers that pro bono cases are important.
“If we have 2 percent or 3 percent growth in pro bono work — or even 1 percent in this particular year — that will be more than Florida has had in a long time,” said Jesse Diner, president of The Florida Bar.
“Just the addition of 2 percentage points of nearly 90,000 lawyers will add up to a lot of cases helping a lot of people.”
More information about the One Campaign and pro bono opportunities can be found online at www.onepromiseflorida.org.
This article was previously published in the Florida Bar News