ASSOCIATION FOCUS FLORIDA LEGAL
GIVING A VOICE TO THE LESS FORTUNATE IS THE TENET THAT THE FLORIDA LEGAL SERVICES, INC. WAS FOUNDED ON. Since its formation in 1973 by a prominent group of attorneys that included Janet Reno, who would become the fi rst woman U.S. Attorney General, the nonprofi t organization has provided grassroots advocacy for indigent Floridians. Florida Legal Services (FLS) was created to act as a
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statewide hub to expand the availability of legal assistance to Florida’s poor. According to FLS, there are more than 3.7 million residents living below the poverty level. In response to the challenges they faced, the FLS merged the
Florida Institutional
Legal Services into its program with a total staff of 42 with 25 lawyers in offices
in Tallahassee,
Miami, Gainesville, and Lake Worth, Texas. FLS provides advo-
BY DIANNE HAYES
SERVICES ADVOCATES FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
“We get to work for people who otherwise would
have nothing,” says Spuhler, who has served as executive director since 1994 and is a longtime legal advocate for the poor. “T ere is no question our endeavor is making a diff erence. It’s something a lot of people don’t get to feel. We feel it every day. From time to time we have great victories.” Among the legal victories Spuhler cites is regaining the
PEOPLE WHO OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE NOTHING. THERE IS NO QUESTION OUR ENDEAVOR IS
“WE GET TO WORK FOR
cacy in areas that include children’s legal services, migrant farmworker labor rights, legal support for prisoners, youth in juvenile detention institutions, aff ordable housing projects, domestic violence; as well as staffi ng a Medicaid and Medicare prescription drug helpline. In addition, its pro bono attorney plan and the “One Campaign” works to expand pro bono legal assistance in the state. T e Community Justice Project based in its Miami offi ces works in collaboration with grassroots com- munity organizers in low-income areas. Under the leadership of executive director Kent Spuhler,
the organization has expanded over the last 20 years to include more legislative work at the state level, such as advocating lawmakers to increase the minimum wage and provide access to healthcare to the working poor.
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® MARCH/APRIL 2013
MAKING A DIFFERENCE.” —KENT SPUHLER,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
right for the poor to fi le legal documents even if they can’t aff ord to pay court fees. “It was a very big one for us. T e legislation took away the waiver of the indigent fi ling fee, which means poor people lost almost all access to the legal system,” Spuhler says. “Low-income people had to fi nd $400 to get out of a violent marriage. For some it was almost impossible. “T ere was some provision
for payment plans, which usually was a nightmare. It wasn’t a constitutional right to have access to the court without incurring a debt. People were turning to payday loans, which only
made the situation worse. We were trying to fi nd litigation options. We worked for several years to get it restored. It was lost in 2006 and we didn’t get it back until 2009.” Serving as a statewide support center, Florida Legal
Services off ers coordination, training, case consultation, and technical assistance to all legal service providers in Florida. It is also the coordinating organization for the fi rst comprehensive Florida Supreme Court Voluntary Pro Bono Attorney Plan in the nation. T e organization off ers a broad range of services includ-
ing fi ghting against wage theft for day laborers through the Community Justice Project.
MCCA.COM
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