For students planning on going to law school, getting exposure to the legal field before signing on the dotted line for three years is invaluable. As helpful as a summer legal internship might be, most law firms don’t offer internships for undergraduate students. Feeling disappointed? FEAR NOT, NORTHEAST FLORIDA RESIDENTS OR STUDENTS SHOULD CHECK OUT THE NON-PROFIT LAW FIRM JACKSONVILLE AREA LEGAL AID (JALA). THE SCOOP ON JALA
It will be a long time before any of us forgets 2020. While the year has been rough on all of us, it has been especially hard on the low-income population Jacksonville Area Legal Aid serves, many of whom were among the first to suffer the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of the coronavirus were not only evident in our community’s medical facilities, but also its food banks, shelters and yes, at JALA, where we fielded more than 9,000 requests for assistance, a 40% increase over 2019. Two areas where the needs increased the most were in eviction prevention and protection from domestic violence. Our attorneys and staff rose to the challenge of serving thousands of clients while working remotely for everyone’s safety. When we succeed, we stabilize families and thereby the community at large. Your support will enable JALA to serve more of those who would otherwise not have access to civil legal aid, thereby increasing the community’s resilience as we all seek to emerge from the global pandemic and restore our collective prosperity. Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a healthy and happy holiday season, and thank you for your support.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a doubling of requests for help from domestic violence survivors, with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s staff handling nearly 300 domestic violence intakes through early December 2020, compared to 140 in all of 2019. “There has definitely been an increase in survivors requesting family law assistance since the pandemic,” said Michelle Broyles, division chief of JALA’s Family Law & Victim Advocacy Unit. “On a normal day, survivors live in fear, but when there is a lock down, ‘safe at home’ is not safe for everyone. Lockdowns force survivors to stay in close quarters with their abusers.”
With eviction filings having quickly resumed after the lifting of the statewide moratorium, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has seen a 50% increase in requests for help with landlord-tenant matters over 2019 levels. Mary DeVries, division chief of JALA’s housing unit, said she’s hearing from people who are thousands of dollars in debt after suffering the economic fallout of the pandemic. Having foreseen the surge in eviction filing, JALA last summer launched a new online tool to help Floridians create a legal response based initially on the state’s moratorium on evictions for nonpayment directly related to COVID-19, as well as the CARES Act, and later on the CDC eviction moratorium.
As a child in Kentucky, Michelle Broyles made a little book in school about how she wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up. “My friend actually saved my picture book,” said Broyles, division chief of JALA’s Family Law and Victim Advocacy Unit. “He kept it, and I didn’t even realize it. I actually made that decision in second grade but had forgotten about it by the time I got to law school until my friend called me to congratulate me on having achieved my life’s goal.”
A program launching this week will provide more than $5.1 million to Duval County residents and business owners at risk for losing their apartment, home or business location due to the economic impact of COVID-19. Applications will be accepted at JacksonvilleCares.com for residential properties starting Thursday, December 3 followed by commercial properties the week of Dec. 7.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With more than $1 million raised to endow Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership, Freed to
Attorney Suzanne Garrow, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Since Florida's eviction moratorium expired on Oct. 1, 716 eviction cases have been
My client, who is deaf, was jumped by a group of men while walking home from work. Two days later his apartment was burglarized. The case caught my attention after it was reported by Vic Micolucci at News 4 Jax. It was especially interesting to me because the victim (and my client to be) was a cook at a local restaurant in the Lakewood area where I am a fairly frequent diner. My client’s apartment complex made some temporary repairs to correct the damage from the break in, but not enough to make much of a difference. There were also serious problems due to roaches and rats and there had been a major water leak that was causing serious mold issues. It was a bad situation and my client wanted to find a new place to live without having to worry about an eviction on his record.
Susannah Collins is a family law attorney, social investigator, attorney ad litem, and Florida Supreme Court certified family law mediator whose law office is located in Jacksonville’s historic district of Riverside. Her practice focuses on all areas of family law, including divorce, paternity, domestic violence, child time sharing, alimony, enforcement, civil parental kidnapping, and extended family adoptions. Since her practice began nearly 20 years ago, Collins has also offered many legal services pro bono.
