William A. Van Nortwick, Jr.
When William A. (Bill) Van Nortwick Jr. passed away this week, JALA felt his loss deeply, as did many organizations and institutions around the state of Florida.
Bill was not only a former president of JALA’s board (1979-80), but a friend, a role model, and a steady warrior for the Rule of Law and equal access to justice.
As fellow attorney Hank Coxe said when Bill received The Florida Bar Foundation’s Medal of Honor Award in 2015, “While other people are getting all the attention and making all the noise, he’s the anchor that makes sure things get done.”
Whether practicing law or serving as a judge on the First District Court of Appeal, Bill was always engaged in what his friend and colleague Paul Doyle called “two careers side-by-side: consummate attorney and jurist, but also a leader in legal services.”
The son of a doctor who dedicated many of his Saturdays to providing free health care at a public hospital, Bill took it upon himself as a young transactional lawyer to help establish health clinics for the poor in Jacksonville. It was an early sign of what his partner at Akerman, Katherine Giddings, called “a never-ending drive to do good.”
Bill quietly, humbly and persistently pursued a better system of justice ever since graduating from law school at the University of Florida. As a young lawyer in the early 1970s, he volunteered countless hours with the Duval County Legal Aid Society, the precursor to JALA. He continued to promote legal aid and pro bono after becoming a judge.
“Judges need to be spokesmen for the Rule of Law and access to justice,” Bill once said. And that is who he was every day.
Besides The Florida Bar Foundation’s highest award for a lawyer, he was presented with the American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award in 1995, the inaugural Florida Supreme Court Distinguished Judicial Service Award, The Florida Bar Pro Bono Award for Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit, the Thurgood Marshall Award for Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit, The Florida Bar President’s Award of Merit, and, of course, JALA’s Robert Beckham Equal Justice Award in 2013.
He and his wife Maria Henderson worked together at Akerman LLP, where he was partner-in-charge of the national pro bono program and she is director of insurance services. But they also strived together in their free time to improve the lives of others.
Each served as president of The Florida Bar Foundation. Bill was also longtime co-chair of The Florida Bar Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services and a member of the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice by appointment of the Chief Justice. He also served as president of the Florida Legal Services board and chaired The Florida Bar Business Law Section.
Everyone who knew Bill knew him to be not only smart and effective but also kind and unassuming. We were privileged to work with him.
“Bill had a way of gently showing you that your comfort zone was much bigger than you thought it was, and that you could do more than you thought you could. He changed the direction of my life,” reflected Jim Kowalski, JALA President and CEO.
Our hearts go out to Maria and to all of Bill’s family at their time of loss.
