Pro Bono Week Reminds Us to Get Involved and Join Legal Aid Programs

"As lawyers, with our unique skill set and knowledge, we can serve others in a profound way. In a perfect world we can serve low-income clients and everyone in our community would have fair and equal access to justice. Undertaking pro bono work, or work free-of-charge, to those less fortunate is a professional responsibility and commitment for attorneys, and something we should all strive to incorporate into our practices.

We encourage those in the legal industry in Broward County to join the legal aid programs in Broward (Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida) for the annual National Celebration of Pro Bono, held the last week of October each year (this year from Oct. 20 through Oct. 26). We plan on making this year our most celebrated, by highlighting the great pro bono work performed by our local attorneys and the impact they have on our community.

This year’s celebration is aligned with domestic violence awareness month. Our goal is to recognize the outstanding work performed by attorneys, paralegals and law students to combat domestic violence and bring awareness to the importance of pro bono legal assistance to support our community. Throughout the month of October, our social media platforms and websites will feature the heartfelt stories of success and gratitude from several of our clients and volunteer attorneys who were gracious enough to share their battles and stories with us.

Now, more than ever, legal aid programs are being stretched beyond capacity. Even with tremendous budgetary constraints, legal aid programs in Broward are providing free civil legal assistance to more than 20,000 people annually. This includes the homeless, the elderly, veterans, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and children in foster care or in need of special education. More than 120 local nonprofit organizations refer people in need to our offices. As valiant as the effort to maximize service and cut costs has been, the demand for those in need of legal representation is not being met. We need your help!

The solution is simple. There are more than 10,000 attorneys in Broward County. Currently, there is only one legal aid attorney for every 5,000 of the county’s most vulnerable residents who are living in poverty..."

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