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| Pro Bono Service Competition JACKSONVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION'S YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION ANNUAL PRO BONO SERVICE COMPETITION RULES & REGULATIONS 2005 I. Purpose: The Young Lawyers Section of The Jacksonville Bar Association created the Annual Pro Bono Service Competition for young lawyers to promote pro bono service in young attorneys. II. Eligibility: All young attorneys in good standing with The Florida Bar and who regularly practice within the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida may participate in the Competition. Young lawyers shall be defined as any attorney under the age of 35 or who has been in practice for less than five (5) years. III. Officiating: The competition will be officiated by a referee(s) designated by the Young Lawyers Section of The Jacksonville Bar Association. The referee will decide matters not covered by these Rules & Regulations. The Young Lawyers Section of The Jacksonville Bar Association may change these Rules and Regulations by a majority vote at any time. IV. Season: For the first year, the Competition will begin April 7, 2005 and will end October 31,2005. Thereafter, the Competition will begin November 1 and end October 31 of each year. The young attorney with the most pro bono hours will be the winner. The winner will be awarded the prize, if any, and a trophy. The winner's name will be placed on a plaque inside Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. V. Scoring: The individual with the most hours at the end of the season will be declared the winner. An hour shall be determined by using increments of .10 per hour. VI. Definition of a "Pro Bono Hour": The following definition was derived from the comments of Rule 4-6.1, Rules of Professional Conduct. A pro bono hour means one hour of legal service performed in the Fourth Circuit and rendered without charge or expectation of a fee for the lawyer at the time the service commences. Legal services written off as bad debts do not qualify as pro bono service. Pro bono legal service to the poor is to be provided not only to those persons whose household incomes are below the federal poverty standard but also to those persons frequently referred to as the "working poor". Lawyers providing a pro bono legal service on their own need not undertake an investigation to determine client eligibility. Rather, a good faith determination by the lawyer of client eligibility is sufficient. Pro bono legal service to the poor need not be provided only through legal services to individuals; it can also be provided through legal services to charitable, religious, or educational organizations whose overall mission and activities are designed predominantly to address the needs of the poor. For example, legal service to organizations such as a church, civic, or community service organizations relating to a project seeking to address the problems of the poor would qualify. Community education and intake conducted in conjunction with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. shall also qualify. VII. Reporting: Each individual shall be responsible for monthly reporting. Reporting shall be done to Sarah Fowler, Pro Bono Service Coordinator for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., via e-mail or fax, on or before the first Tuesday of each month. The monthly reporting shall include the total number of hours an individual contributed for the preceding month. The monthly report shall also include the type of work done in which the hours were obtained. VIII. Rankings: Each month the individuals will be ranked based on the number of hours for the season. The referee will ensure that the monthly rankings are reported in the Daily Record and The Jacksonville Bar Bulletin when available. IX. Final Rankings: The individual with the most cumulative points at the end of the season will be the winner. The winner will be awarded a trophy and recognized at a Young Lawyers event featuring pro bono work. Right click and Save
as ... or Click the link below to view and print the Self Reporting
Form. |