Pro Bono

Pro Bono Awards were presented January 8th to the lawyers who did the most pro bono work in 2022. St. Johns County lawyers reported over 1,975 hours of free legal work assisting the poor, disabled, and low-income people in our community (and that is just the hours that were disclosed, so the actual number is much higher).

Joseph “Joe” Clay Davis Meux died on November 21st, 2022 at the age of 94. He was born in Memphis, TN on October 10th, 1928 to William Leigh Meux and Doris Davis Meux. He is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Elizabeth Freitag Meux; children, Joseph “Clay” Davis Meux Jr (Elizabeth) and John Edward Meux; grandchildren, Olivia and Davis; brother-in-law, John William “Bill” Freitag (Donna); nieces, Bette “Lou” Meux Solomon (William), Doris Ann “Dee” Meux, Christina Freitag Martin (Patrick); and great niece, Ella Greer Martin.

Most practicing attorneys are aware of the moral and ethical duties we have, as members of The Florida Bar, to “never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed,” included in the Oath of Admission. It is no coincidence that this language is specifically placed at the end of our oath. It is that important. Many, myself included, sometimes neglect this part of our oath. That said, I commend anyone that donated their time and energy assisting those in need. We can do better. We as a community must, because pro bono matters. On Sept. 1, I left behind my private practice at Integrity Law P.A., to join Jacksonville Area Legal Aid as its new director of pro bono.

St. Johns County Legal Aid presented its 2021 Pro Bono Awards via zoom to the following attorneys and “Most Helpful Clerk” of the year. On the top row from the left are legal aid staff Megan Wall, Savannah Stevens and Elizabeth Teelon. In second row from the top are honorees Vincent Sullivan and Pam Holcomb, staffer Michael Pelkowski, and Judge Kenneth Janesk. In the next row down are Jim Kowalski, director of Jacksonville Legal Aid, Judge Howard McGillin, and honorees Tania Schmidt-Alpers and Carol Daniels. On the bottom are honorees Tom Pycraft, Jay Grife, Christina Collins (winner of the Most Helpful Clerk of Court Award), and Jim Middleton. Others recognized but not pictured are Donato Ronaldi and Eva Paulk.

The Florida Bar will recognize 20 lawyers for their work on behalf of low-income and disadvantaged clients at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Supreme Court of Florida. Established in 1981, The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Awards are intended to 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 Mike Tanner will present the 2022 awards.

While the past months changed so many parts of our lives, the need for pro bono civil legal assistance has not diminished and in many cases has increased. Our community is lucky to have so many attorneys who are willing to meet this challenge and volunteer their time and expertise to assist those in need. Each year, the 4th Judicial Circuit and the Jacksonville Bar Association pro bono committees celebrate local attorneys who provided at least 20 hours of volunteer civil legal service in the previous calendar year at an appreciation ceremony. For the second year, the William A. Van Nortwick Jr. Presentation of the Pins Pro Bono Awards Ceremony was a virtual webinar event open to the legal community.