Each year, the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, and the Jacksonville Federal Court Bar Association recognize civil and criminal practice lawyers for outstanding service to the court and community by presenting the Spirit of Giving Awards.
The ceremony was Dec. 11 at The River Club Downtown.
The 2025 civil practice award was presented to James Hernandez by Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan.
Corrigan said Hernandez began his legal career in the U.S. Marine Corps, then embarked on a 30-year career in private practice.
“By our count, beginning in 1990, Jim has appeared in over 400 cases in federal court and countless more than that in state court,” Corrigan said.
He praised Hernandez’s willingness to take cases that other lawyers might decline.
“He routinely accepted appointments to some of our most challenging cases, often with equally challenging clients. Jim Hernandez is a lawyer’s lawyer in the proudest tradition of the Bar,” Corrigan said.
Chief U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida Marcia Morales Howard presented the Spirit of Giving Award for criminal practice to Clemente Inclan and his daughter, Angelica Inclan Lynch, who was unable to attend the ceremony.
Howard said three years ago, they accepted a pro bono case on her docket.
“In 2022, I had a problem. I had a pro se plaintiff who needed a lawyer. He was a convicted drug trafficker. A prisoner, he only spoke Spanish and he had shown himself to be – let’s say – difficult.
“As we always do, we sent out the call asking for a lawyer to volunteer but had no luck,” Howard said.
She made a call to Inclan, a shareholder at the Saalfield Shad Law Firm, asking for help. He responded positively and enlisted the assistance of his daughter, an associate at the firm.
“Over the course of the next three years, he and Angelica filed an amended complaint, engaged in discovery and and responded to motions for summary judgment. They rose to the challenge and represented their client admirably. They were diligent, prepared and professional and thanks to their efforts, the plaintiff’s claims were fully and fairly heard and justice was served,” Howard said.