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JACKSONVILLE DAILY RECORD / JACKSONVILLE RECORD & OBSERVER
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020
JaxDailyRecord.com
THE MARBUT REPORT
Pro bono hours slump amid pandemic File image
MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The cancellation of clinics and other events is impacting local legal aid providers. In a year when legal practices are limited because of COVID-19, slightly more lawyers reported providing pro bono services in 2019-20 than the previous year, although the amount of assistance declined, reports The Florida Bar. According to figures provided to the Pro Bono Legal Services Committee on Oct. 7 during the Bar’s fall meeting, 40,344 lawyers reported individually donating 1.293 million hours of pro bono work in the 2019-20 Bar year. Another 643 provided 19,531 hours through law firm pro bono plans. That compares with 40,002 lawyers who did 1.6 million hours of individual pro bono work and 577 who did 24,149 hours through law firm plans in 2018-19. Another 24,368 attorneys
Missy Davenport, pro bono director at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, said financial contributions to the organization are lower than last year as events promoting donations have been canceled.
reported donating almost $6.4 million to legal aid programs in 2019-20, compared with 22,228 lawyers who donated $6.2 million the previous year. Local legal aid providers say the state statistics mirror what’s happening in Northeast Florida from consequences of COVID-19 shutdowns and social distancing. “Our numbers are lower because so many of our events have been canceled,” said Missy Davenport, pro bono director at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. Before COVID-19, JALA hosted weekly in-person legal clinics at its office Downtown and at senior centers and other facilities, connecting volunteer attorneys with people who need help. With the office closed to the public and JALA attorneys mostly working remotely, only a few in-person appointments are available each week, Dav-
enport said. “We’re making the transition to virtual with telephone consultations and Zoom clinics,” she said. Financial contributions to JALA are lower than last year because events promoting donations have been canceled, Davenport said. The loss of personal contact hasn’t reduced the public’s demand for civil legal aid, however. “We have seen an increased need for bankruptcy, foreclosure and eviction defense. This makes sense because the Florida eviction moratorium is lifted, people have been out of work, temporary furloughs are becoming permanent layoffs and people have been unable to pay bills for several months,” said Sarah Sullivan, pro bono director at Three Rivers Legal Services in Jacksonville. “Our pro bono attorneys have been especially engaged, knowing all of the legal turmoil after several months of decline due to the pandemic. They have reached out and raised their hands to help, but we always need more volunteers,” Sullivan said. Visit jaxlegalaid.org or trls. org for more information or to donate.
Presentation of the Pins is Oct. 30 Part of the national Celebration of Pro Bono Oct. 25-31, the 4th Judicial Circuit and Jacksonville Bar Association
FEATURED CONTENT
pro bono committees’ Presentation of the Pins ceremony is scheduled at noon Oct. 30 as a virtual event. Attorneys in Northeast Florida who have performed at least 20 hours of volunteer legal counsel services in the previous calendar year to benefit people who could not afford to hire an attorney are recognized at the annual ceremony. Volunteer hours have been submitted if an attorney provided services through Guardian ad Litem, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, the JBA Attorney Ad Litem Project, Missing Link, the Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership, the Office of Public Defender Special Assistant Public Defender Program or Three Rivers Legal Services. Email missy.davenport@ jaxlegalaid.org to confirm that hours are recorded. Visit the Events section at jaxbar.org to register for remote access to the event.
Staff moves at GrayRobinson, Boyd & Jenerette and Kubicki Draper GrayRobinson promoted Jennifer Vanover in Jacksonville to senior associate in the law firm’s Jacksonville office. A registered patent attorney, Vanover graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2016. Joseph Aguirre and Marisa
Vanover
Aguirre
O’Connor joined Boyd & Jenerette as associate attorneys. Aguirre focuses his practice on litigating premises, products, trucking, toxic tort, automotive and general liability matters. A 2015 graduate of the University O’Connor of Alabama School of Law, where he was president of the Student Bar Association, Aguirre was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2017. O’Connor practices insurance defense, coverage and bad faith. In law school, O’Connor was a Certified Legal Intern in the Florida Coastal School of Law Family Law Clinic. She was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2014. Victoria Kroell joined Kubicki Draper in Jacksonville as an associate attorney. A graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law, she was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2018. MMARBUT@ JAXDAILYRECORD.COM (904) 356-2466
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