The Florida Bar

Florida Bar News

Thomas A. Zehnder honored with Tobias Simon Pro Bono Award

Senior Editor News in Photos

Zehnder, a pro bono volunteer with the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association since 1996, has devoted over 1,100 hours to service

Thomas A. Zehnder

Thomas A. Zehnder, the recipient of the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award, says serving as a Guardian ad Litem makes him remember that there are people facing real trials and tribulations every day that he couldn’t imagine enduring. “And in dependency cases, it’s children who face those circumstances through no fault of their own,” Zehnder said. “In the end, my GAL service wakes me up. It reminds me that I should stop feeling sorry for myself. And it reminds me that I should be humble and grateful, and those are traits that I certainly need to exhibit more often. I don’t know about you, but I need that reminder, and I need that reset every once in a while.”

“It heals us, it restores us, and gives us hope again,” said Thomas A. Zehnder, reflecting on the profound impact of pro bono work during his acceptance of the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award at the Florida Supreme Court on January 16 in Tallahassee.

Zehnder, a pro bono volunteer with the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association since 1996, has devoted over 1,100 hours to service. He shared how his service not only helps those in need but also revitalizes attorneys who may struggle with the disheartening aspects of the profession. His words resonated with those gathered at the annual pro bono awards ceremony, where the Florida legal community came together to celebrate outstanding contributions to pro bono service.

The court’s highest honor was presented by Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz at a ceremony that also recognized circuit, voluntary bar, law firm, Young Lawyers Division, and distinguished judicial service pro bono efforts.

In his introduction, Chief Justice Muñiz noted that Zehnder had the endorsement of 30 past presidents of the Orange County Bar Association.

Zehnder, the president and senior partner of King, Blackwell, Zehnder and Wermuth, learned his commitment to service from his father, a Lutheran minister. He has also volunteered with the Guardian ad Litem program for 30 years, never turning down a case.

Zehnder spoke about how being a lawyer can sometimes be disheartening and pro bono work provides an antidote to cynicism and depression.

“I’m ashamed to admit that those feelings sometimes make me forget how grateful I should be,” Zehnder said. “But then I do [Guardian ad Litem] work. It’s events like adoption hearings that put my problems in perspective. It’s an amazing opportunity and a beautiful thing to be a part of, to help give a child a chance, hope, and an opportunity for a brighter future. It’s more satisfying than any summary judgment or trial verdict or win and is certainly more satisfying than any fee I’m ever going to earn.”

Zehnder continued, “Serving as a GAL makes me remember that there are people facing real trials and tribulations every single day that I couldn’t possibly imagine enduring. And in dependency cases, it’s children who face those circumstances through no fault of their own. In the end, my GAL service wakes me up. It reminds me that I should stop feeling sorry for myself. And it reminds me that I should be humble and grateful, and those are traits that I certainly need to exhibit more often.”

“I don’t know about you, but I need that reminder, and I need that reset every once in a while,” he said.

The Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award commemorates Miami lawyer Tobias Simon, a Harvard educated civil rights attorney known for defending Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 1960s. Simon also served as an appellate authority and crusaded for prison reform before passing away in 1982. 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.

“Pro bono service is not one-size-fits-all,” Chief Justice Muñiz reminded those gathered in the courtroom. “There are innumerable ways to serve, and each of us in all the variety of our talents and interests has something to offer. In that regard, I am happy to say that in the 2024 reporting period, Florida attorneys together provided more than 1.7 million hours of free legal service and contributed $11.6 million to legal aid groups.”

Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer

Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer/Colin Hackley photo

The first award presented was the Chief Justice’s Distinguished Judicial Service Award to 15th Circuit Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer. Chief Justice Muñiz noted Feuer served as chair of her circuit’s pro bono committee for eight years, from 2016 to 2024, calling her the “driving force” behind a very successful annual pro bono circuit event, the Annual Pro Bono Awards & Ice Cream Social.

“Her chief judge, Glenn Kelley, raved to me about Judge Feuer’s dedication to legal education, civic education, and mentoring,” Muñiz said. “I definitely got the sense that Judge Feuer’s work supporting pro bono services is just the tip of the iceberg.”

In accepting the award, Judge Feuer lauded the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County for its work serving over 8,000 clients annually through 50 different projects with more than 150 employees.

“As a judge, I believe it is not only our duty to serve our community, meaningfully and ethically in the courtroom, but it is also our duty to serve our community outside the courtroom through leadership and community service,” Feuer said.

Judge Timothy Corrigan

Judge Timothy Corrigan

The Distinguished Federal Judicial Service Award was presented to Judge Timothy Corrigan of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Chief Justice Muñiz noted Judge Corrigan’s extensive involvement with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and his work on the board of Daniel Kids, a nonprofit supporting at-risk children.

“Whenever I ask anyone from Jacksonville about Judge Corrigan, I hear nothing but sincere and effusive praise — praise for his integrity, intellect, character, professional skill and, maybe best of all, his warm sense of humor,” Muñiz said.

Corrigan said he owes a debt of gratitude to Justice Jorge Labarga for appointing him in 2014 to the Chief Justice’s Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice.

“It was there that I came to fully appreciate the dimensions of the daunting problem that confronts our profession: that the decided majority of persons who have legal problems or need to avail themselves of the court system are unrepresented,” Corrigan said.

“It is to that critical issue that the Bar and the judiciary must continue to devote all of our best efforts,” Judge Corrigan said. “[I]n service of the oath that all of us took when we became members of The Florida Bar to never reject for any consideration personal to ourselves, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed.”

Craig E. Rothburd

Craig E. Rothburd

The Chief Justice’s Law Firm Commendation Award went to Craig E. Rothburd, P.A., of Tampa, in recognition of the firm’s pro bono efforts serving seniors, veterans, and others in need, offering help with consumer protection, debt and foreclosure matters, and landlord-tenant disputes.

The award was accepted by Craig E. Rothburd, who asked his associate, Dylan Thatcher, to stand for acknowledgement as he shared the news that Thatcher had completed his first pro bono case. Thatcher devoted several hundred hours of service, resulting in a favorable trial verdict for his clients.

“I’ve always maintained that pro bono is something that we ought to do, not something extra that we can do,” said Rothburd. “Even a small firm like ours, only two attorneys can make a big impact on those pro bono clients that we represent.”

Rothburd said his pro bono clients have been the most appreciative, and the most rewarding, to represent. He illustrated the need for pro bono service, saying he read in an article recently that one in five Florida families is living at or below the poverty line, and the demand is overwhelming to the relatively few attorneys who offer pro bono assistance.

“Pro bono can help fill the gap,” Rothburd said.

The Chief Justice’s Voluntary Bar Association Award was given to the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association and was accepted by Brittany R. Ford, JWLA’s president.

“Since its founding in 1982, the JWLA has encouraged and promoted its members’ involvement in pro bono work through Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and other local legal aid groups,” Muñiz said.

Since 2018, JWLA has sponsored a paid summer internship at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and routinely staffs legal aid events at veterans and senior citizen centers in the Jacksonville area.

Brittany R. Ford

Brittany R. Ford

JWLA President Brittany R. Ford accepted the award on behalf of the organization, acknowledging the hard work of the many friends, partners, members, board members, and the founder, Robert McGriff, to advance JWLA’s goals of gender equality and access to justice, and “to celebrate civility, forge forward, grow together, and break barriers in our community for 43 years.”

President Roland Sanchez-Medina, Jr., presented The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Awards, recognizing one lawyer from each of Florida’s 20 circuits and one out-of-state member for their work on behalf of low-income and disadvantaged clients.

“They have ensured access to justice with their clients and served as role models that we should all seek to emulate and the issues that the honorees have worked on cover a wide variety of legal matters,” Sanchez-Medina said. “In every single case, they made a real difference in somebody’s life that impacted a family and they have given hope to those that unfortunately had very little hope.”

“You are true champions of justice,” he said.

The honorees include:

  • Virginia M. Buchanan, First Judicial Circuit
  • Jana E. McConnaughhay, Second Judicial Circuit
  • William Galione, Third Judicial Circuit
  • Fred Cromwell Isaac, Fourth Judicial Circuit
  • Wilda P. Pomales, Fifth Judicial Circuit
  • Christy Donovan Pemberton, Sixth Judicial Circuit
  • Carol Ann Tipton Daniels, Seventh Judicial Circuit
  • Eric Andrew Atria, Eighth Judicial Circuit
  • Nicholas Shannin, Ninth Judicial Circuit
  • Stephen R. Senn, 10th Judicial Circuit
  • Tenikka L. Jones, 11th Judicial Circuit
  • Whitney C. Glaser, 12th Judicial Circuit
  • Lisa M. Kilbride, 13th Judicial Circuit
  • Todd Clifford Brister, 14th Judicial Circuit
  • Michael Stern, 15th Judicial Circuit
  • Loriellen Robertson, 16th Judicial Circuit
  • Jenelle La Chuisa, 17th Judicial Circuit
  • Michael Kahn, 18th Judicial Circuit
  • Jane L. Cornett, 19th Judicial Circuit
  • Maria Rita Alaimo, 20th Judicial Circuit
  • Jennifer Kathleen Little, out of state

More information about each of the 2025 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award recipients can be found in the January 10 News article, “Twenty-one to receive Florida Bar Pro Bono Service Awards January 16 at Supreme Court Ceremony.”

Amber Kornreich

Amber Kornreich

Ashlea Edwards, president of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, presented the YLD Pro Bono Service Award to Amber Kornreich of Miami, rounding out the list of honorees.

Kornreich volunteered 450 hours of pro bono legal services beginning as soon as she was admitted to the Bar, accepting several pro bono cases for struggling children, women, teens, victims, and others in need, involving victims of domestic violence, contested divorce, and children who experienced severe trauma.

Moreover, she encourages other attorneys to volunteer for pro bono work, Edwards said.

The Florida Association for Women Lawyers Miami-Dade Chapter and Dade Legal Aid nominated Kornreich for the award.

In accepting the award, Kornreich said she honored her mother, “the late Judge Amy Karan, the first administrative judge of the Miami-Dade County domestic violence court, whose tireless dedication to justice and advocacy for the vulnerable shaped my commitment to service.”

Her father, Jerry Kornreich, whom she referred to as “my law partner, mentor, and role model,” joined her in the audience. He received the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Award in 2001.

“I’ll never forget attending his pro bono ceremony in this very courtroom,” said Kornreich. “To be standing here today is incredibly humbling.”

“I hope I am still here to see you win the Tobias Simon Award,” said Chief Justice Muñiz.

Chief Justice Muñiz also acknowledged Silvia Stefani Lopez Smith, staff attorney of pro bono development for Community Legal Services of Mid Florida, as the 2024 recipient of the Florida Pro Bono Administrators Association’s Kay B. Meyers Pro Bono Coordinator Award.

Chief Justice Muñiz closed the ceremony, saying “There’s nothing more compelling and inspiring, I think, than hearing it from the people who have actually done the work and put it in the time.”

 

 

 

 

News in Photos

Columns

Be a Humble Lawyer

Columns | Feb 11, 2025

Mindfulness in the Law Firm

Columns | Jan 29, 2025

Be an Action-Oriented Lawyer

Columns | Jan 07, 2025

Be a Curious Lawyer

Columns | Dec 12, 2024