It’s not too late to join your friends and colleagues who have made the BLS Pro Bono Pledge for 2022
Making the pledge is simple:
(1) Complete the Pro Bono Pledge Form
(2) Complete 20 hours of qualifying pro bono service during each Bar year;
(3) Report your pro bono hours by email at the end of the year.
Complete details of the BLS Pro Bono Pledge Program can be found here.
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The mission of the Pro Bono Committee is to achieve 100% participation in Pro Bono Service by Business Law Section members and attorneys in their firms
The Florida Bar Business Law Section Pro Bono Award is awarded periodically (no more than annually) at the Annual Florida Bar meeting to one member of the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar who exemplifies the highest ideals of the profession by either directly providing legal services to persons of limited means or underserved communities, facilitating the access to justice and the delivery of legal services to persons of limited means or underserved communities or promoting access to justice and the delivery of legal services to persons of limited means or underserved communities.
Consideration for this award is not limited to the events of the immediately preceding year. A nominee’s overall or cumulative record of pro bono work and public service activities may be considered. Award recipients will be selected, not only on the basis of the number of hours of service performed, but also on the substance, scope and impact of their work. Award recipients cannot be employees of an organization providing free or low-cost legal services to persons of limited means or underserved communities.
In no more than five single-spaced pages, on or before January 31st of each year, nominations should provide specific, concrete examples of the individual qualifications for the award efforts meeting as many of the following criteria as are relevant. The nomination package may also include up to five (5) letters of support of the nomination and up to (5) articles or other documents describing the nominee’s qualifying work.
The Award’s specific criteria includes:
• a demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to persons of limited means and/or underserved communities;
• providing significant work that develops innovative approaches that increase or facilitate the delivery of volunteer legal services and/or provided sustained pro bono legal counsel to nonprofit or charitable organizations whose primary purpose is to provide non-legal assistance to persons of limited means or underserved communities;
• creating or refining programs that serve to satisfy previously unmet needs of persons of limited means and/or underserved communities or extend legal services to persons of limited means and/or underserved communities;
• successfully litigating pro bono cases in any forum (administrative hearings, trial, arbitration or appeal), that favorably affect persons of limited means and/or underserved communities; or
• consistently exemplifying the highest ideals of the profession in ensuring the availability of legal services to persons of limited means and/or underserved communities.
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.
Approaching the boy he asked “Young man, what are you doing?”
The boy replied, ” Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
The man laughed to himself and said, “Do you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You cant make any difference.”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the surf then smiling at the man, he said “I made a difference for that one.”
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