YOUNG LAWYER MICHAÈL’S DÉBORAH SAINT-VIL OF MIAMI TO BE HONORED FOR PRO BONO SERVICE
Michaèl’s Déborah Saint-Vil
Michaèl’s Déborah Saint-Vil is the recipient of the 2024 Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Pro Bono Service Award. The award recognizes public service or legal aid performed by a lawyer who is 35 or younger or who has not practiced for more than five years. The award will be presented in a Jan. 18 ceremony streamed live by the Supreme Court of Florida.
Saint-Vil is a native of Brooklyn, New York, who was raised in Haiti. Her family immigrated to the United States in the early 2000s and settled in Northern California.
Saint-Vil is a passionate advocate for fellow immigrants, serving as supervising attorney for Catholic Legal Services, ADOM Inc. (CLS). CLS provides legal services to immigrants of any faith or national origin who cannot otherwise afford representation. In her role at CLS, Saint-Vil trains newer attorneys, provides legal services, and educates the vulnerable immigrant population about their rights. She represents clients from the immigration court, the Board of Immigration appeals, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Asylum Office, and Immigration Customs Enforcement.
Beyond her work at CLS, Saint-Vil also serves as manager of the Immigration Legal Services in the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade (ONA). She has been recognized for leadership and selfless work with Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., Florida Immigrant Coalition and Legal Services of Greater Miami Inc. She received the 2022 Young Haitian American Professionals Top 20 Under 40 award.
Saint-Vil is committed to serving the legal community and beyond. She is currently president-elect for the Haitian Lawyers Association and as treasurer for the Haitian American Professional Coalition.
This year’s awards ceremony, which also honors Individual, Circuit, Voluntary Bar, Law Firm, Distinguished Judicial Service, and Distinguished Federal Judicial Service pro bono efforts, takes place at the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 3:30 p.m. Watch it live on Facebook, WFSU: Gavel to Gavel and the Florida Channel.
EDITORS: Please note The Florida Bar is not an association and "Association" is not part of our name. Proper reference is "The Florida Bar." Local bar organizations are properly termed "associations."