Dedicated to the principles of a system of justice that was created to serve the needs of all the people, Russ Carlisle exemplifies the highest ideas of the legal profession in service to the public. For this, he is awarded the 1986 Medal of Honor Award.
Founding president of the Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Broward Lawyers Care, President of Florida Legal Services, and chairman of The Florida Bar’s Legal Aid Committee, Russ Carlisle has worked tireless over the years to encourage and support pro bono service by the legal profession. Not content with pro bono alone, he mobilized the Bar and the legal services provider community to secure adoption of Florida’s Interest on Trust Accounts program, arguing its necessity before the Florida Supreme Court.
Not content with Florida alone, he campaigned, cajoled and persuaded Bar leaders across the country to recognize their responsibility to provide legal services to the poor. Through his vision and tenacity, IOTA programs have spread across the country bringing promise of a nation of laws where the poor as well as the rich can seek redress for wrongs and secure protection of basic rights.
