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HALLISKY & DAVIS LAW FIRM TO RECEIVE COMMENDATION FOR PRO BONO WORK

Hallisky & Davis, with offices in Daytona Beach and Sanford, will receive the 2018 Law Firm Commendation at the annual Pro Bono Awards ceremony. The commendation honors significant contributions in the delivery of legal services to individuals or groups on a pro bono basis. The commendation will be presented by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga on Jan. 25 at the Supreme Court of Florida.

Hallisky & Davis has pro bono service in its DNA.

Jimmy Allen Davis was the recipient of The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the Seventh Circuit in 2015, honored for donating hundreds of hours, primarily in Volusia and Flagler counties through Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida. Deborah M. Hallisky was an affordable housing preservation attorney with Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida from 2008 through 2015 and was a mentor for Davis, who saw in her a driven advocate for the poor and under-represented.

Watching the working poor seek legal representation only to be turned away because they made a few dollars too much was frustrating for them both. Hallisky & Davis formed in 2016 as an evolution of two solo practices, when, as Davis put it: “A pro-bono volunteer and his mentor from legal aid decided to forge a practice to bridge the market gap between the indigent and those who have little to no trouble retaining counsel.”

The two lawyers have a long-standing relationship with the Mid-Florida Housing Partnership, a HUD-certified nonprofit housing counseling agency and affordable housing property developer and provider, which provides Hallisky & Davis with both office space and resources. At the Mid-Florida Housing Partnership building in Daytona Beach, the Hallisky & Davis firm coordinates and administers a weekly legal assistance clinic at which people with housing, family and consumer legal issues can speak with a lawyer at no cost.

For a two-person firm to hold weekly clinics is impressive. But the lawyers also attend nonprofit conferences to network with other organizations and broaden their reach; participate in local housing fairs and outreach events to offer guidance on housing matters; and regularly provide nonlegal direction and referrals to community services such as those offered by Mid-Florida Housing Partnership.

Over just seven months in 2017, Hallisky & Davis contributed more than 225 direct hours of legal assistance to about 160 individuals and families and accepted more than 30 pro bone cases for full representation.

Hallisky earned her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law and joined the Bar in 2000. Davis, who like Hallisky became a lawyer following a career in the business sector, earned his J.D. from the Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law and joined the Bar in 2012.

This year’s awards ceremony, which also honors individual, circuit, voluntary bar, young lawyer, state judicial, and federal judicial pro bono efforts, is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 25, at 3:30 p.m. at the Supreme Court of Florida. The ceremony will be streamed live at http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel as well as on Facebook at www.facebook.com/floridasupremecourt.