CABA Pro Bono Legal Services to receive statewide pro bono award
CABA Pro Bono Legal Services is the recipient of the 2021 Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Award, which will be presented by Chief Justice Charles T. Canady in a Jan. 28 ceremony streamed live by the Supreme Court of Florida. The award recognizes a Florida voluntary bar that has demonstrated a significant contribution in the delivery of legal services to individuals or groups on a pro bono basis.
CABA Pro Legal Services’ mission is to change the lives of children, individuals and families in need through legal advocacy by providing free legal services to those who cannot otherwise afford them – regardless of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation or national origin.
CABA Pro Bono Legal Services’ practice areas include, but are not limited to, representing human trafficking and domestic violence victims, veterans, unaccompanied minors and the homeless in more than 1,800 cases annually.
In 2019, CABA Pro Bono Legal Services provided approximately 20,000 legal hours to its clients.
CABA Pro Bono Legal Services is unique in that it provides holistic services for its clients to help them get back on their feet and to reduce the likelihood of revictimization once their legal dispute is resolved. This approach goes above and beyond what other organizations provide.
CABA Pro Bono Legal Services represented a 16-year-old human trafficking victim in dependency proceedings as Attorney Ad Litem. After that, CABA Pro Bono Legal Services helped enroll her back in school. She is now 20 and keeps in touch with the volunteer attorneys who represented her in her teenage years. Most recently, those volunteer attorneys helped her establish eligibility in Florida’s Postsecondary Education Services and Support (PESS) program, which aids former foster youth in receiving education and support necessary to become self-sufficient. She recently enrolled in college and is doing well. The work and dedication of the CABA Pro Bono Legal Services’ attorneys does not end when the trial ends.
CABA Pro Bono Legal Services doesn’t just take cases; it changes lives.
This year’s ceremony, which also honors Individual, Circuit, Law Firm, Young Lawyers Division, Distinguished Judicial Service and Distinguished Federal Judicial Service pro bono efforts, is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 28, at 3:30 p.m. and can be streamed live on Facebook, WFSU: Gavel to Gavel and the Florida Channel, as well as on YouTube.
A full version of each of the honoree’s accomplishments can be found here.
