Foundation’s 2023 Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge winners named
The Florida Bar Foundation has announced the winners of the 2023 Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge in May. The University of Florida Levin College of Law won the MVP Pro Bono Award for matching the most students with its own alumni. Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law won for most alumni engagement, and St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law won for most student engagement.
“The Law School Challenge continues to be a valuable and accessible option for law students and lawyers to easily find pro bono cases,” Judge Suzanne Van Wyk, the Foundation’s president, said. “In a profession that increasingly relies on technology, the Foundation is proud to offer this one-of-a-kind platform that ultimately connects more legal aid clients to lawyers.”
This is the fifth year of the challenge, which transitioned to a year-round platform in January. Winners were calculated based on numbers from the spring semester; going forward, the entire school year will be used to determine award winners. The site matches students with lawyer mentors to work on pro bono cases from legal aid organizations. Florida’s law schools compete to see which can take the most pro bono cases.
A core part of the Foundation’s mission is to promote public service among lawyers by making it an integral part of the law school experience.
The Foundation will present the awards to the winners at its Annual Award Ceremony and Breakfast on June 22 during The Annual Florida Bar Convention.
More than 1,100 cases have been taken through the challenge since 2019. Lawyers and students interested in taking a pro bono case may visit www.FloridaLawSchoolChallenge.org to view available cases.
