Sign-Up Now to Be Part of the MDFL Civil Pro Bono Program
Since 2006, the MDFL has supported a civil pro bono program. Since then, over 50 lawyers from around Jacksonville have offered to give their services and time to pro se litigants. Those lawyers run the gamut; from our area’s well-known legal giants to our young practitioners just starting their profession.
The program is a win-win for all. Worthy litigants get the help they need, while generous lawyers contribute their expertise and gain valuable federal court experience. The program is particularly good for young lawyers who might get opportunities for oral arguments, mediations, and even trials that they otherwise would not get to do until they are partners.
Here’s how the program works. When a District or Magistrate Judge identifies a case with a pro se plaintiff or defendant, where that party’s position appears to have arguable merit or otherwise deserves a lawyer’s attention, the Judge will contact Shannon Shoulders, the head of the Jacksonville Division’s Clerk’s Office, who acts as the coordinator of the panel list. The judge will inform Ms. Shoulders that a lawyer is needed for the particular case. Once Ms. Shoulders identifies the next name on the list, she will contact the lawyer and inform him or her that the judge wishes to order an appointment. Ms. Shoulders will provide the lawyer with the names of the parties to the case and the case number so that the lawyer can run a conflicts check before an order of appointment issues.
At that point, if, for some valid reason, such as a conflict, the lawyer is unable to undertake the representation, the lawyer should inform Ms. Shoulders, who will simply contact the next lawyer on the list. If a lawyer is forced to forgo representation when called upon, that lawyer will simply be contacted when the next appointment is due. The goal is that participating lawyers turning down representation is a rare occurrence.
Once the lawyer agrees to undertake representation, the judge will enter an appropriate order effectuating the appointment. The procedure and protocol for cost reimbursement is available on the court’s website, www.flmd.uscourts.gov. The allowable costs will be paid from the Bench Bar Fund.
The judges cannot guarantee that all appointments will be in a participant’s practice area. It is the judges’ view, however, that the Jacksonville lawyers who participate are talented enough to transcend different practice areas and, without a doubt, will perform better than the litigant left without a lawyer.
If you have additional questions about the program or are ready to add your name to the list, please call Ed Birk with Marks Gray at (904) 398-0900. We hope that you will join the other lawyers on this list. The Jacksonville Chapter of the FBA and the Judges of the MDFL greatly appreciate your consideration.
