You are here

Pro Bono

TRANSLATE:   Español   |  Creole

 

Laurel Myerson Isicoff
Bankruptcy Judge

United States Bankruptcy Court
Southern District of Florida
301 North Miami Avenue, Room 817
Miami, Florida 33128

Letter from Bankruptcy Judge, Laurel M. Isicoff

Dear Fellow Members of the Florida Bar,

Those of you who know me know how passionate I am about pro bono. We have an access to justice crisis in Florida and the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of Florida ranks as having one of the highest percentages of pro se filers in the country. We need your help.

As you know, we have wonderful pro bono coordinators throughout the Southern District of Florida.  You can learn more about these different programs through this link https://flsb-admin.jdc.ao.dcn/pro-bono-corner. These wonderful programs are always looking for volunteers, and with so many bankruptcy related matters, including 341 meetings, being conducted virtually, it is easier than ever to volunteer. 

You can also find cases by going to the Florida Pro Bono Matters website https://thefloridabarfoundation.org/florida-pro-bono-matters/.  This interactive website makes it possible for you to find that perfect opportunity whenever you go looking for it. Need help?  This website also includes resources and mentors (as well as providing you with the opportunity to mentor someone else).

Finally, there are always opportunities to help at the Pro Se Clinics (currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Pro Se Help Desk (which is about to start up again – virtually)(contact Peter Kelly), and mentoring law students through the Bankruptcy Pro Bono Clinics at University of Miami (contact Patricia Redmond), St. Thomas University (contact Magda Abdo-Gomez) and Nova University (contact Ross Hartog).

Those of you who are active in pro bono matters in the bankruptcy courts know that we have set up referral systems in our courts. Many of you also probably know the bankruptcy court allows up to three credits of our local admission requirements to be satisfied by taking a pro bono case or mentoring someone else who wishes to take a pro bono bankruptcy case. So please sign up for a pro bono case today.

I continue to be grateful for all that you do support pro bono efforts in the Southern District of Florida. Together we will make something good happen! Thank you again.

Very truly yours,

Laurel Myerson Isicoff
Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court

Meet your Pro Bono Committee

Purpose

The judges of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida have formed a standing Bankruptcy Pro Bono Committee (the “PBC”) [See Administrative Order: 2021-03]:

(a)  Facilitate and better coordinate bankruptcy pro bono efforts in each division of, and county located in the Southern District of Florida (the “District”);

(b)  Encourage the improvement of existing programs and the development of new programs by pro bono providers in the District;

(c)  Develop and implement Pro Bono Week activities for the Court; and

(d)  To assist the Court in its selection of a recipient of the annual Chief Judge’s Pro Bono Award.

Contact the Pro Bono Committee

By-Laws

Members

Meeting Minutes

Ways to Provide Pro Bono Services

There are many ways to serve your community by providing pro bono services. Pro Bono isn’t just limited to taking a case.  Here is a list of different pro bono opportunities:

  • Take a Chapter 7  or  Chapter 13 Case
  • Mentor a student clinic team (usually a chapter 7 case or adversary proceeding) at one of our three participating law schools in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties
  • Mentor a non-bankruptcy lawyer who is doing a bankruptcy case pro bono
  • Represent a creditor in an adversary proceeding (many times a discharge action involves domestic support obligations)
  • Represent a debtor in an adversary proceeding (usually a discharge action or objection to exemptions)
  • Represent a debtor at a 2004 examination
  • Represent a creditor at a 2004 examination
  • Represent a debtor for an MMM mediation
  • Staff a pro se clinic (usually 2 hours)
  • Help with intake at a legal services provider
  • Take a Low Bono (reduced fee case)

As you can see, you can volunteer for a couple of hours, a couple of weeks or a couple of years.  Additionally, you can receive up to three credits toward your bankruptcy CLE requirements necessary for admission to appear before the Bankruptcy Court.

Please contact Judge Isicoff if you want to sign up and she will pass your name along to the appropriate contact person.

Pro Bono Opportunities for Lawyers

Want to volunteer? Contact one of the following organizations for more information.  While many legal aid offices only help people with very low income (poverty guidelines), some offices have more flexible income rules. Please do your part and help those who need it the most!

Contact Description
The Florida Bar Pro Bono Service Options and Reporting.  Download the Pro Bono Toolkit for Limited Scope Representation.
Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida

**NEW **   Bankruptcy Pro Se Resource & Pro Se Clinic

REGISTER [HERE] as a volunteer to provide legal consultation (via telephone) to pro se individuals in the Southern District of Florida.

Consider staffing one of our VIRTUAL monthly pro se clinics

Put Something Back Dade Legal Aid provides services to eligible clients through the Put Something Back volunteer attorney project. To enroll or for more information on how to volunteer, accept a case, receive pro bono credit or donate, please email info@dadecountyprobono.org or psb@dadelegalaid.org or check out the Bankruptcy Project.
Florida Pro Bono Matters The Florida Bar Foundation supports statewide pro bono projects through Florida Pro Bono Matters, an online resource that helps you search and filter through available pro bono matters. Various resources are offered to volunteer attorneys as well as search capabilities for pro bono opportunities. For more information, please contact Claud B. Nelson III [Pro Bono Program Officer] at cbnelson@flabarfndn.org or Kimberly Rodgers, President of the FPBCA at krodgers@lawprogram.org.
Free Legal Answers A program of the American Bar Association allowing volunteer lawyers to answer simple legal questions in discrete civil legal areas.
Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach, Inc. Attorneys in Palm Beach County have a long-standing history of serving the poor and disadvantaged through volunteer service. Over the years, the Pro Bono Program has grown and refers 1,000 clients to volunteer attorneys for assistance.
Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. FRLS encourages private attorneys to sign up with our Pro Bono Coordinators in the Ft. Myers (239-334-4554 ext 4134), Ft. Pierce (772-466-4766 ext. 7016) or Lakeland office(863-688-7376 ext. 3018). Free CLE webinars are available for attorneys who assist us with cases and out-of-pocket costs are paid by FRLS.
Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. Use the links provided to volunteer or look for local Pro Bono Opportunities. For more information on Legal Services Pro Bono Project click here.
Florida Law Help This organization provides a Pro Bono/Legal Aid Directory in Florida.
Legal Aid Service of Broward County, Inc. The pro bono project, Broward Lawyers Care, is the recognized program in Broward County, Florida through the partnership of Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida. It also serves as a resource center and mentor program through free CLE seminars, trainings, and clinics.
Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida, Inc. This organization provides legal advice and representation for Broward County residents 60+ where filing will save the home under the Senior Citizen Law Project.  For more information call 954-765-8955. Additionally, in partnership with Legal Aid Service of Broward County, the Broward Lawyers Care pro bono project is also available (see above). For more information call (954) 736-2400.
 
The Time to Lead is Now
 
Video Description

Our collective efforts to provide access to justice in Florida are falling short.  Imagine if everyone had access to legal help. The U.S. Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators and the Florida commission on Access to Civil Justice have made that their goal. Solutions are at hand. The time to lead is now.

 

Resources Description

Resource Manual for Pro Bono Counsel Handling Elder Law Cases

Chief Judge's Bankruptcy Pro Bono Award Recipients

2024 Patricia A. Redmond, Esq.

Patricia Redmond and Pro Bono are synonymous terms.  Trish’s unflagging devotion to pro bono, her dedication and perseverance and role in establishing bankruptcy pro bono clinics in the law schools in our district, and her mentoring and encouragement of law students and young lawyers have contributed in immeasurable ways to the reputation of pro bono service of the bankruptcy professionals in this community.  As one nominator wrote, “Literally, Trish has spawned an army of pro bono disciples”.

In addition to establishing the bankruptcy pro bono clinics at two of our law schools, Trish has also worked to establish such clinics in other local law schools as well as in law schools around the country.  As one of the judges of the bankruptcy court noted:

You have been committed to mentorship and pro bono services longer than anyone in our bar.  There are so many examples of young lawyers who have grown into great lawyers because of you. Great can be defined in many ways but great in this context means professional and dedicated to making our profession better. You combined your commitment to mentoring with your dedication to pro bono legal services. You always understood that if law students learn to appreciate how important it is to provide pro bono legal services in law school, it carries into their practice after they graduate. But you inspire seasoned lawyers as well. How many times have we heard - I could not say no to Trish. No matter how difficult the case is, you remain optimistic that a solution is achievable. All this while maintaining the highest level of practice.

Allison R. Day, Esq.

Allison has spent her professional career committed to pro bono providing bankruptcy representation of indigent parties in the Southern District of Florida and facilitating pro bono representation of those in need here in our community through her involvement with the UM Bankruptcy Assistance Clinic and her inspiration to other lawyers in her firm and in the local bar to take on pro bono representations.

Allison has personally represented numerous indigent parties in many cases throughout this district, some of whom have faced truly horrific life circumstances before seeking bankruptcy assistance and have survived traumatic events that led them to behave in irrational, aggressive, and disrespectful ways. Notwithstanding those challenges, Allison was able to find compassion for those people and to continue to provide legal assistance to them where few others would. One nominator described Allison as “tenacious in her zealous advocacy of her clients.”  Another comment about Ali’s pro bono efforts described her willingness to take on pro bono matters that other attorneys routinely reject, and that allowed the commentator “to know Ali not as someone who takes the easy path like so many attorneys, but as someone who takes the right path, no matter how difficult it may be”.

2023 Peter Kelly, Esq.

Peter Kelly currently serves as lay chair of the Bankruptcy Court’s Pro Bono Committee. However, this is only the latest of Peter’s numerous contributions to pro bono throughout the Southern District of Florida. Peter had the vision and led the effort to create the pro se help desk for the bankruptcy court. While the pro se help desk started as an actual desk outside the courtroom, after the consumer motion calendar morphed into remote access during the pandemic, Peter created a remote pro se help desk that he staffs at all of Judge Isicoff’s chapter 13 calendars. Mr. Kelly assists at the Eleanor Cristol and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Assistance Clinic at the University of Miami, helping to mentor law students as they take on actual client cases. Although Peter is a creditor attorney in his regular practice, Peter has devoted significant time and effort to improving access to justice for individuals in consumer bankruptcy cases.

2022 Berger Singerman, Esq.

Berger Singerman is the illustration of why the Court determined to create a Law Firm Pro Bono Award. Berger Singerman has embedded in its firm culture a commitment to making a positive impact by providing legal services free of charge throughout the communities in which they live and work. These efforts are both self-directed and firm-wide. When individuals or not-for-profit corporations become pro bono clients of the firm, Berger Singerman attorneys commit to the same team approach and timely delivery of passionate client service as they provide to paying clients of the firm. Since its formation over 35 years ago, Partners Paul Steven Singerman, James Berger, and Mitchell Berger have been fully committed to the neediest of their communities. They lead by example and are involved in dozens of charitable organizations. For example, from 2010 until the pandemic, Berger Singerman attorney staffed monthly pro bono clinics throughout the district. The leadership of Berger Singerman has created a culture where working hard and doing pro bono go hand in hand.

2022 Jordi Guso, Esq.

Jordi has a long history of taking on pro bono cases because he firmly believes in expanded access to justice for all. As a former board president of Legal Services of Greater Miami and a board member for over ten years, Jordi is extremely passionate about supporting the delivery of legal services to those of limited means. Prior to the pandemic, Jordi volunteered his time to lead free monthly pro se “Self Help” Clinics at the Atkins courthouse. Each year since 2018, Jordi has contributed approximately 50 hours of pro bono legal services through Dade Legal Aid, representing dozens of cases for indigent debtors. Jordi does this while serving as managing partner of Berger Singerman and handling a very active bankruptcy practice.

2021 Dia T. Colbert, Esq.

Dia Colbert actively contributes her time to volunteer with Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida through their joint pro bono project, Broward Lawyers Care. From 2017 until her nomination, Ms. Colbert has spent over 430 hours and assisted over 30 clients. She never turns down a case and continually asks to represent more clients, notwithstanding she is a solo practitioner. Some of Ms. Colbert's clients are disabled senior citizens, single mothers, full-time students, and clients who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Many have dealt with crippling medical debt, others with identity theft. Since the pandemic, Ms. Colbert has accepted more cases than any other volunteer lawyer. She has a demonstrable and inexhaustible compassion for all her clients.

2020 [No recipient due to COVID]

2019 Carlos Sardi, Esq.

Since Carlos started practicing law in 2004, he has consistently volunteered to take multiple pro bono cases every year. Carlos has mentored the law student teams at the various bankruptcy clinics and has taken direct referrals from clients. Carlos also works to meet the needs of our veterans. One of the veterans that Carlos represented was so grateful that the client made a video. You can watch that video at www.dadelegalaid.org/praise-from-pro-bono-clients. Taking his passion to help to the next level, Carlos also has presented at the Veterans’ Administration in Miami and presented a three-hour program titled “Demystifying Bankruptcy” to the veterans in attendance. Carlos always gives generously of his time even though he is a sole practitioner. Carlos never says “no” to pro bono.

2018 Thomas Messana, Esq.

Tom Messana is a former president of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida (the “BBA”). Tom has been a passionate supporter of pro bono his entire adult life and was very active in pro bono activities before he moved to South Florida. Once here, Tom continued to represent indigent clients in need of legal assistance. When Tom was president-elect of the BBA he reached out to several members of the bankruptcy community to form the Bankruptcy Bar Foundation. Tom believed it was necessary to have a vehicle through which funds could be raised to finance pro bono activities in the Southern District of Florida. The BBF was formed in 2000 and continues to collect funds for support of pro bono services in our district. Also, while president-elect of the BBA, at the request of Judge Ray, Tom put together a team of lawyers to assist a bankruptcy attorney who had approximately twenty clients who had all lost their homes in a mortgage rescue scheme to the same group. Thanks to the efforts of those lawyers (including Tom), eventually, all the victims got back their homes or money. Tom also created a pamphlet that is now available at all pro se clinics, clerks’ offices, and some courtrooms, outlining for pro se parties situations that present themselves in bankruptcy cases and how legal advice may be a good idea.

2017 Steven Newburgh, Esq.

The recipient of the first Bankruptcy Chief Judge's Pro Bono Award was easy to choose. Mr. Newburgh has made significant accomplishments in improving access to justice before our court. He is the primary person responsible for allocating pro bono matters in the Northern part of our district and also runs our Palm Beach Division Pro Se Clinics. Mr. Newburgh has worked tirelessly in this role. Mr. Newburgh has repeatedly shown his devotion to the effort. Not only does he swiftly attempt to address the needs of unrepresented parties, but he often volunteers his own services to assist them. It is not unusual to see Mr. Newburgh accompany an unrepresented party out of the courtroom so that he may consult with them. In addition, Mr. Newburgh regularly weighs in on district-wide concerns to express the needs of the un- and under-represented, including those related to changes to our local rules and forms. Steve regularly participates in pro bono programs and spearheaded the NCLC pro bono training program inaugurated in 2017. Steven also served as the first lay chair of the Court’s Pro Bono Committee.