by Kathy Para
JBA Pro Bono Committee Chair
Susannah Collins’ pro bono involvement is grounded in a basic belief about her mission as a lawyer. Collins states: “I became involved in pro bono work because I’m an attorney. That’s it. Why go to law school and work so hard to gain knowledge and understand the law and how to apply it, if not to help people?”
Collins’ recent pro bono success story involved her representation of a male U.S. citizen born in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Twelve years prior, he caught his wife in the act of committing adultery with his brother. After a stormy scene, his wife got on a plane and left the U.S. Virgin Islands for places unknown.
His wife’s family, residing in Peru, refused to give him any information regarding her whereabouts. Her family did tell him that they would seek a divorce in Peru. For 12 years he had no contact with his wife and was uncertain whether her family had in fact gone through with a Peruvian divorce. To further complicate matters, he could not remember the date of his marriage and his marriage certificate was nearly destroyed from age and a few water soakings.
He was concerned that his wife might re-enter his life and seek ownership of the possessions that he was able to accrue in the 12 years since her initial disappearance. It was mainly for this reason that he decided it would be best to file for a dissolution of marriage in the continental United States, since he had lived in Florida since shortly after her departure.
“When JALA contacted me and asked me if I would like to take this case, I jumped at the opportunity,” states Collins. “Immediately the client and I had rapport and liked each other and I knew that we would work well together despite a slight language barrier.”
Collins conducted a two-month long search for his wife. The search spanned two countries, six islands and two states in the continental United States. She called 121 listings under his wife’s name, checked various newspapers in every region she could think of, searched DMV and military databases, marriage, divorce and death notices, Facebook accounts, incarceration facilities and every online database search tool she could locate. Yet, after all of this searching, the wife was still nowhere to be found.
Twenty-three days after filing the paperwork necessary for the petition to dissolve the marriage, the judge granted the divorce and Collins’ client was free at last!
“When my client and I left the Judge’s Chambers, he gave me a huge bear hug in the hallway,” said Collins. “When his longtime girlfriend saw our faces, she got in on the hug too, and wouldn’t let go!”
It is for experiences like this that Susannah Collins is involved in pro bono work, helping people one case at a time.
Susannah Collins graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2002 with honors. On top of it all, she managed to accomplish this while having the second and third of her four children. Therefore, it is no surprise to see her shuffling with her new law firm, taking care of her four kids, four dogs, four cats, a couple of dragons, coaching soccer, writing books, painting canvasses, and still managing to take on pro bono cases and make a difference in the lives of others around her. Collins practices family law exclusively. Her firm is located in Riverside.
Attorneys interested in assisting a low-income clients are encouraged to contact Kathy Para, The Jacksonville Bar Association Pro Bono Committee chair, at [email protected] or 356-8371, ext. 363.