The FFLA Board of Directors met in Tampa, Fla., on March 21, 2024, at the Stetson University Tampa Law Center. FFLA is grateful to Stetson University Tampa Law Center for hosting and especially grateful to Judge E.J. Salcines Jr. for facilitating the visit with the law school and sponsoring a private tour of the Tampa Bay History Center and lunch at The Columbia restaurant in Ybor City. This hospitality and generosity allowed FFLA to save considerable expenses associated with its committee and board meetings.
The major actions of the board and reports received included:
Election of FFLA Board Members
The board ratified the Nominating Committee’s selection of Patrick S. Montoya of Coral Gables and Douglas H. Reynolds of Fort Lauderdale to fill two seats for three-year terms beginning July 1, 2024. The board also ratified the committee’s selection of Raychelle A. Tasher of Miami to fill the remaining year of Hon. Hugh A. Carithers Jr.’s three-year term as a result of his election as FFLA’s Second Vice President beginning July 1, 2024.
Previously, The Florida Bar announced that it had selected Ian Comisky and Magdalena Ozarowski to fill its two seats for three-year terms beginning July 1, 2024.
Improvements in the Administration of Justice Grants Awarded
The Improvements in the Administration of Justice (AOJ) grant program is designed to assist in the improvement in the administration of justice in areas within the broader framework of the justice system, with emphasis on the process of operating the courts in an effective and expeditious manner. It has historically been used to fund programs that are not otherwise or regularly funded in by FFLA’s other grant programs.
The board approved an allocation of $900,000 to fund AOJ projects this fiscal year. FFLA received seven applications requesting a total of $1,789,334.
Directors Katie Fackler, Kyle Robisch, Laura Boeckman, and Judge Stefanie Moon, along with staff, independently reviewed and scored the applications and thereafter conferenced to review the results and make recommendations for funding. The scoring group recommended, and the board approved, funding the two applicants with the highest scores as shown in the table below.
| Applicant | Name of Project | Amount Requested | Amount to be funded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida's Children First | 2024 Improving Justice for Children by Focusing on Enforcement & Implementation | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Innocence Project of Florida | 2024 Vindicate the Wrongfully Convicted Project | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Total: | $600,000 |
The board also directed staff, per the scoring group’s recommendation, to reach out to CABA Pro Bono Legal Services and Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida to ask these organizations to provide further information, clarification, and detail (i.e., a detailed business plan) for their respective AOJ proposed projects. Each applicant is to provide a timeline for project implementation, specific performance metrics, detailed budget worksheets, and minimum viable grant amounts for their projects as soon as possible, but no later than April 22.
Upon receipt of the information requested, the scoring group will reconvene to evaluate the information and work toward a final recommendation regarding the possible distribution of the remaining funds allocated for this year’s AOJ grant program. Any resulting recommendation will be taken to the Executive Committee for consideration at its first available meeting thereafter.
Report on Loan Repayment Assistance Program
Two matters pertaining to FFLA’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) were reviewed and addressed by the board.
First, the board adopted and approved the Grants Committee’s recommendation (based on staff’s detailed report) to:
- Forgive 128 LRAP loan participants in the total amount of $616,292.06;
- Rescind $127,837.62 in unused LRAP awards by 35 participants that fully or partially declined their LRAP loans or defaulted prior to their second disbursement; and
- Accept repayment totaling $95,870.32 from 29 participants that either received Public Service Loan Forgiveness on their 2023 LRAP loans (14) or defaulted (15).
Second, the Grants Committee recommended approval of the LRAP Ad Hoc Committee’s Report and Recommendation. Retired Justice Peggy Quince chairs the committee. Noting that the average amount of debt reported by 2024 LRAP loan applicants exceeds $152,000, and being advised that LRAP loans were previously funded in amounts for more than $5,000, the committee recommended to:
- Increase the current LRAP loan amount from $5,000 to $10,000 and amend the LRAP program description accordingly; and
- Allow the ad hoc committee to remain constituted so that it may consider other possible changes to the LRAP Program that may better help grantees hire and retain qualified legal aid providers as they progress through their careers. Specifically, the Grants Committee requested that the ad hoc committee consider whether increasing the LRAP loan amount further may be warranted and report back its conclusion and possible recommendation in time for the board’s next meeting in June.
The board approved the Grants Committee recommendation, then voted to suspend the rules (by a 2/3 vote), waive second reading, and pass the requested program description change in final, so as to allow staff more time to prepare applications and processes for 2025 LRAP loans.
FFLA selects 2024 Goldstein-Van Nortwick Award for Excellence Recipients
This biennial award recognizes projects of significant impact work undertaken by FFLA grantees. To be eligible, a project must affect a substantial number of poor persons, address an important poverty-law issue, involve a significant commitment of grantee program resources and staff, and reflect legal work which is of a high professional level.
It is named in honor of the life, legacy, and friendship of two champions whose commitment to those less fortunate, while remaining true to the highest principles of our judicial system, helped create the touchstone by which we measure excellence.
The 2024 Goldstein-Van Nortwick Award for Excellence Committee, chaired by Maria Henderson, former Florida Bar Foundation President and wife of Judge Van Nortwick, met on March 13, 2024, to review the scores received and tabulated as a result of a previous, independent review and scoring by committee members. FFLA received 12 applications.
After lengthy discussion and review, the committee selected the following projects to be recognized with the award:
| Applicant | Project Name | Award Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Health Justice Project | Establishing access to incontinence supplies for adult Medicaid recipients | Winner (tie) |
| Florida Health Justice Project and Southern Legal Counsel | Reinstating the rights of Florida Medicaid recipients to access medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare | Winner (tie) |
| Legal Services of Greater Miami, Southern Legal Counsel and the ACLU of Florida | Protecting the Property Rights of Homeless People Living in the City of Miami | Second Runner- Up |
The board ratified the committee’s selections and directed staff to create two co-winner awards and distribute the first and second place prize money in a pro-rated amounts amongst the co-winner applicants while awarding the third-place winners the prize and award allocated for that honor. Special thanks to Maria Henderson, Brian Currie, Sarita Courtney-Baigorri, Maria Gonzalez, Ashley Sybesma and Justice Peggy Quince for their time and effort in serving on this committee.
Civil Legal Aid Summer Fellows Program Update
FFLA allocated $100,000 to reinstate the Civil Legal Aid Summer Fellows Program, which had been idled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting aftermath.
The Civil Legal Aid Summer Fellowship Program offers Florida law students the opportunity to gain valuable legal service experience at a Florida non-profit legal service organization for a 10-week full-time paid summer fellowship. The purpose of this fellowship is:
- To involve fellowship recipients in the provision of high-quality, significant civil legal assistance to low-income Floridians, the indigent, and the working poor in critical areas of need,
- To provide an in-depth educational experience in representing low-income Floridians and working with individual clients and client groups in civil matters,
- To increase law students’ interest in and awareness of the legal problems of low-income Floridians, and the challenges and satisfaction of representing those who need it most,
- To promote commitment to pro bono representation of low-income Floridians.
It was initially decided that FFLA would attempt to place nine Summer Fellows with the monies allocated but the decision was made to forego in-person orientation expenses and increase the placements to 10. Thereafter, FFLA received the good news that The Florida Bar Family Law Section donated $37,500 to FFLA, which would be dedicated to the creation of four more summer fellowships specifically focused on family law issues.
Thirty-three law students and 17 legal aid providers applied to participate in the program. At the time of the board meeting, 12 of the 14 students selected had confirmed their commitment to proceed. The board approved the 2024 Summer Fellows Student Placements and Funding worksheet and provided staff discretion to fill vacancies as needed with qualified students remaining in the applicant pool. The fellowships begin in May with a mandatory orientation and end in early August.
FFLA is grateful to the Family Law Section’s longstanding and dedicated support of FFLA and its mission. This year’s directed donation increased the program’s impact by 40% and will make a meaningful contribution to the program.
Next Meeting
The board’s next scheduled meeting will be in conjunction with The Florida Bar’s Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla., in June. The specific date and time will be shared as soon as they are established by the convention’s event coordinator.
