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LAKELAND’S STEPHEN R. SENN HONORED WITH TOBIAS SIMON PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD

Stephen R. Senn

Stephen R. Senn is the recipient of the 2026 Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award, the Supreme Court’s highest recognition of a private lawyer for pro bono service. The award will be presented by Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz in a Jan. 22 ceremony streamed live by the Supreme Court of Florida.

In the past five years alone, Senn has donated more than 1,000 pro bono hours; however, this represents only a fraction of the cumulative pro bono work Senn has done over decades. Senn has been involved with pro bono work at this high level as far back as the 1990s, starting almost as soon as he became a lawyer in 1990. Senn’s history of pro bono service is not just remarkable for its volume or consistency but also for the breadth of cases he has taken over the years.

Senn’s list of notable pro bono matters is extensive and includes taking cases through Florida’s Children First, representing the state’s most vulnerable children — those in the dependency system. Senn has also represented homeowners in civil matters, defended the parents of Trayvon Martin in a defamation case, represented a state prisoner on appeal and represented another state prisoner in federal court on claims of constitutionally inadequate medical care.

Senn has also filed amicus briefs on behalf of various organizations that have fundamentally changed the practice of law, including one filed on behalf of Florida’s Children First which broadened the importance of the “best interest of the child” standard in adoption proceedings.

Senn is the current chair of the 10th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, on which he has served since 1999. Senn has done extensive work for The Florida Bar Foundation (n/k/a FFLA or Funding Florida Legal Aid), where he served on its board of directors until 2022, as president in 2020-21 and as the current chair and member of the Endowment Board of Trustees since 2021.

The Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award commemorates Miami lawyer Tobias Simon, who was a tireless civil rights attorney, a crusader for prison reform and an appellate authority. The award is intended to encourage and recognize extraordinary contributions by Florida lawyers in making legal services available to people who otherwise could not afford them, and to focus public awareness on the substantial voluntary services rendered by Florida lawyers.

This year’s awards ceremony, which also honors Circuit, Voluntary Bar, Law Firm, Young Lawyers Division, Distinguished Judicial Service, and Distinguished Federal Judicial Service pro bono efforts, takes place at the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 3:30 p.m. Watch it live on Facebook, WFSU: Gavel to Gavel and the Florida Channel.