Pro Bono

Local legal aid receives more than $7.7 million in grants

Two local organizations – Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and Three Rivers Legal Services – will receive a combined $7.72 million in grants from Funding Florida Legal Aid. The Funding Florida board approved a general distribution Jan. 14 of $89.74 million in Interest on Trust Accounts funds to 35 Florida civil legal aid organizations. “This funding is transformative for Florida’s network of legal aid providers, allowing them to retain and hire more highly qualified legal professionals, expand facilitation of pro bono volunteerism and ultimately increase the number of clients receiving legal assistance,” Funding Florida Legal Aid President Roberto Pardo said in a news release. JALA President and CEO Jim Kowalski said the organization will use its $4.83 million Interest on Trust Accounts grant to expand services by hiring a full-time attorney to help JALA clients in Nassau County and also to expand services in St. Johns and Putnam counties.

2025-01-27T09:28:37-05:00January 27th, 2025|News, Pro Bono|

Attorneys, judge to be honored for pro bono service

The Florida Bar will recognize lawyers for their work on behalf of low-income and disadvantaged clients at a ceremony Jan. 16 at the state Supreme Court. Established in 1981, The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Awards encourage lawyers to volunteer free legal services to the poor by recognizing those who make public service commitments and to raise public awareness of the substantial volunteer services provided by Florida lawyers to those who cannot afford legal fees. Florida Bar President Roland Sanchez-Medina Jr. will present the 2025 awards. Selected for the award in the 4th Judicial Circuit, comprising Clay, Duval and Nassau counties, Fred Cromwell Isaac has provided pro bono legal assistance to hundreds of clients over the years independently and through Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and the Jacksonville Bar Association for more than 50 years.

2025-01-17T16:20:19-05:00January 16th, 2025|News, Pro Bono|

Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and author Andrea Elliott to headline Jacksonville Area Legal Aid event honoring Pajcic & Pajcic

Robert J. Beckham Equal Justice Awards Celebration Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 Marriott Jacksonville Downtown JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 6, 2024 – Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and author Andrea Elliott will deliver the keynote address at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s 22nd Equal Justice Awards Sept. 18 at the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown. Elliott has documented the lives of poor Americans, Muslim immigrants and other people on the margins of power. She is an investigative reporter for The New York Times and the author of Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City, which won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Elliott also was awarded a 2007 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. She is currently a Writer in Residence at Princeton University.

Rinaldi to receive Florida Bar President’s Seventh Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Award

Longtime JALA pro bono advocate F. Susannah Collins will receive The Florida Bar President's 2024 Pro Bono Service Award for the Fourth Judicial Circuit at a ceremony at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee Jan. 18. A family law practitioner, Collins accepts family law cases pro bono through JALA and plays a significant role in JALA’s outreach. She makes presentations on Dissolution of Marriage, Paternity, Child Support, and Timesharing at the Northeast Florida Women Veterans Center, as well as at JALA’s monthly virtual family law clinics. She volunteers each month at JALA’s Veterans Legal Collaborative, participates in inner-city pro bono JALA Ask-A-Lawyer events, and serves as an expert resource for matters related to family law. Collins also received JALA's Kathy Para Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award in 2022 -2023.

2024-01-16T19:31:19-05:00January 16th, 2024|Pro Bono, Veterans Services|

Collins to receive Florida Bar President’s Fourth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Award

Longtime JALA pro bono advocate F. Susannah Collins will receive The Florida Bar President's 2024 Pro Bono Service Award for the Fourth Judicial Circuit at a ceremony at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee Jan. 18. A family law practitioner, Collins accepts family law cases pro bono through JALA and plays a significant role in JALA’s outreach. She makes presentations on Dissolution of Marriage, Paternity, Child Support, and Timesharing at the Northeast Florida Women Veterans Center, as well as at JALA’s monthly virtual family law clinics. She volunteers each month at JALA’s Veterans Legal Collaborative, participates in inner-city pro bono JALA Ask-A-Lawyer events, and serves as an expert resource for matters related to family law. Collins also received JALA's Kathy Para Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award in 2022 -2023.

2024-01-09T11:10:43-05:00January 9th, 2024|Family Law, Pro Bono, Veterans Services|

Irving Reinvigorates JALA’s Pro Bono Initiatives in the Wake of the Pandemic

Growing up in the farming town of Lake Panasoffkee in Florida’s heartland, Aaron Irving was influenced by his grandfather, James Veal Sr., a local politician and environmental activist who could strike up a rapport with almost anyone. “At the end of the day he just wanted to help people, and he instilled that in me as well as my father,” said Irving, who joined Jacksonville Area Legal Aid as pro bono director last fall.

2024-01-04T11:24:50-05:00June 27th, 2023|News, Pro Bono|

Legal Services For Those In Need of Assistance

The Yulee News considers it important to bring to its readers the many organizations whose services are available to them. We spoke with Jim Kowalski Jr., Esq. who is the President and CEO of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA). Nassau County is one of the 17 counties that are covered by JALA in North Florida. JALA is the oldest legal aid firm in Florida founded in 1937 as a pro-bono outreach of the Jacksonville Bar Association. Through the years it has become a more formal legal aid organization through the process of hiring attorneys and staff. Currently, there are 40 lawyers and staff making it the 8th largest civil law firm in Northeast Florida. The mission of JALA is, “A nonprofit civil legal aid firm focusing on delivering economic, social, and housing justice to low-income and at-risk individuals and families on the First Coast.”

St. Johns County Legal Aid recognized for its service to the county’s Drug Court

As part of its 20th Anniversary Celebration, St. Johns County Drug Court recently recognized St. Johns County Legal Aid for its service to the court, a judicially-led program for non-violent addicted people with drug-related felony charges who reside within the county. The program involves regular court appearances before the judge, substance abuse treatment counseling, frequent random drug testing and supervision by probation. Five years ago, the treatment courts in St. Johns County, which include the Drug Court as well as a Veterans Treatment Court, asked St. Johns County Legal Aid to join their court team.  “The treatment court model was designed with prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, and probation officers, as well as therapeutic counselors for mental health and addiction treatments, but the team was missing the civil legal issues that were holding down their success rates,” said Megan Wall, St. Johns County Legal Aid managing attorney. 

2023-05-24T10:13:04-04:00May 22nd, 2023|Children's Health, Family Law, News, Pro Bono|

Presentation of the Pins honors pro bono attorneys for service

Attorneys in the 4th Judicial Circuit who contributed 20 or more hours of pro bono service were honored March 24 for their commitment in promoting access to justice. Held annually at the Duval County Courthouse, the William A. Van Nortwick, Jr. Presentation of the Pins Ceremony is a luncheon wherein attorneys are recognized by their peers as well as members of the judiciary. This event is aptly named for the late William A. Van Nortwick Jr., a well-respected Jacksonville attorney and retired member of the judiciary.

2024-01-04T11:33:41-05:00May 4th, 2023|News, Pro Bono|

2023’s Class of 40 Under 40: Alessandro Apolito of Lippes Mathias LLP

What has been your biggest accomplishment over the course of your career? My biggest accomplishment so far has been receiving the 2020 Florida Young Lawyers Division's Lynn Futch award for the most productive young lawyer. This is a statewide award presented to the most productive young lawyer in the state. How are you involved in the community outside of work (board positions, etc.)? I have previously been active in the community through my involvement with the Young Lawyers Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association, where I have held various positions, including the role of president in 2020. As part of my involvement with the Young Lawyers Section I have volunteered and helped to raise money for a number of local charitable organizations that include Rethreaded, the Anthony Stinson Association for Change, Clarke School for Hearing and Speech, and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.

2023-05-22T10:21:46-04:00April 21st, 2023|News, Pro Bono|
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