Legal Service Champions: Legal Services of Greater Miami (Miami, FL)
Legal Services of Greater Miami has been a premier user of Paladin in the Florida area since early 2020. I recently had the opportunity to hear from Kheyla Rivera, Pro Bono Coordinator, about the organization’s work.
About Legal Services: Legal Services of Greater Miami is a non-profit law firm that advocates to remove legal barriers to economic prosperity and to achieve a more just and equitable community. We provide free civil legal services for the low-income communities of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. The huge need for free legal services in the community cannot be met by the Legal Services staff alone.
Pro bono resources are critical to supplement the work we do and to help address the many unmet legal needs.
Can you share a bit about your programs?
Our pro bono projects include direct full representation cases as well as clinics. At our Tenants’ Equal Justice Clinic, pro bono attorneys give free legal advice to low-income individuals whose landlord has not returned a security deposit or clients who are living in unsuitable, unsafe, or unhealthy living conditions. Attorneys assist with initiating pro se Small Claims Court case or drafting letters to assist the client in curing legal issues that impede stable housing or habitability.
The Transactional Equal Justice Project is a collaboration where firms and corporate law departments assist eligible Legal Services clients in the areas of tax, estate planning, small business startup consultation, and nonprofit work.
The [Transactional Equal Justice] Project was originally founded in 2017 in response to feedback from transactional attorneys looking for opportunities to use their specialized legal skills to serve the public good.
With the Eviction Defense Project, pro bono attorneys represent low-income clients facing eviction and assist with defense of case to prevent eviction record. These are full representation matters and can include negotiating with landlord, filing responsive pleadings, mediation, filing counterclaims.
Innovation in pro bono service:
During the pandemic, we were forced to go completely remote and adapt new procedures for pro bono clinics.
We went from having the monthly clinics in person, to having them remote. We had clients sign initial documents via DocuSign, and provide required documentation via email or text. Pro bono attorneys were handling cases over the phone and drafting the necessary paperwork to be sent by mail to the client.
Learn more and sign up for Legal Services projects here.
