Director Rachel Rossi Delivers Keynote Address at the Community Legal Services 57th Annual Pro Bono Awards Dinner

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you very much for that generous introduction, Executive Director Harvey. I want to first thank Jeff for his leadership and for hosting this awards dinner. And Jeff, thank you for your service as a lieutenant colonel in the Florida Army National Guard during the recent hurricanes.

Also, a big thank you to Andrea Ortiz, CLS' Director of Pro Bono Services, for all her work to make tonight's event possible. And thank you to all those who helped plan this award dinner.

I also want to recognize the distinguished attendees tonight for attending this event that recognizes the amazing work of volunteer attorneys throughout the 12-county service area of Community Legal Services.

And I want to congratulate all those who will be recognized with awards tonight. The commitments you have made to the work of serving those most in need is truly inspiring. To all the pro bono volunteers, including those assisting the Community Legal Services' Pro Bono Program and the Peer Academy, we commend your dedication and aid to the most in-need in our communities.

Finally, I must acknowledge my colleague Roger Handberg, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, and his leadership team. We've been impressed with the Office's innovative access to justice initiatives, including their regular collaboration with CLS.

It is an honor to be here. I am delighted to join all of you to shine a light on the access to justice work being done in the Orlando area and across Central Florida.

As Jeff mentioned, I lead the Office for Access to Justice, a standalone office within the Justice Department. Our mission is to ensure access to the promises and protections of our civil and criminal legal systems for all communities. We do this work strategically, through several different initiatives:

We are focused on dismantling economic barriers, including by promoting reduced reliance criminal and civil fines and fees.

We're breaking down language access barriers, through the department-wide Language Access Coordinator who led efforts to modernize the department's Language Access Plan for the first time in over a decade.

We're combatting barriers to reentry for adults in custody, through innovative civil legal assistance programs in federal prisons.

We're also disrupting barriers through Access DOJ, an initiative that utilizes human centered design and best practices from the access to justice field to make it easier to access critical forms, understand important information and resources, or more easily navigate federal court systems, such as bankruptcy proceedings.

And of course, we promote access to council and legal help. I don't have to convince the people in this room that pro bono assistance is essential to disrupting barriers and closing the justice gap.

Legal aid organizations provide invaluable assistance to the most vulnerable, but they can't help everyone. There are eligibility requirements that limit the kinds of cases they can take. Even when eligibility is not an issue, the need for legal aid often outweighs the resources available.

That's where pro bono attorneys come in: they extend the reach of these limited resources by volunteering to represent low-income individuals, often in close collaboration with legal service providers. The justice gap is vast - and it will require a wide range of strategies and tools to close it. This includes the hard work and dedication of pro bono attorneys.

That's why I'm so inspired by programs like CLS' Pro Bono Academy, an innovative program that provides structured training to prepare volunteers for pro bono representation.

And that's why the Office of Access to Justice is prioritizing promoting pro bono representation through our leadership of the Federal Government Pro Bono Program, which is working to mobilize a massive workforce - federal government attorneys and staff - to pitch in and help bridge the justice gap.

I am particularly proud of the Federal Government Pro Bono Program's significant work in Florida.

Last year, ATJ launched the DOJ Pro Bono Portal on Paladin to enable Justice Department employees to find pro bono opportunities statewide. The portal has expanded to 15 jurisdictions so far, including Florida.

Every Justice Department attorney in Florida can access pro bono opportunities with the click of a mouse, including those posted by Community Legal Services.

Unfortunately, the urgent need for pro bono assistance and legal aid often becomes most salient in the wake of disaster. You know this better than anyone with Florida having experienced four hurricanes in the last 14 months. Parts of the state saw complete obliteration of homes and businesses. Other areas of the state are cleaning up debris and starting the long process of rebuilding.

As you know, it is estimated that more than 200 people were tragically killed by Hurricane Helene. And even for those who survived, the costs are devastating. Helene's path of destruction across the southeastern U.S. is expected to exceed 30-40 billion dollars in damages.

And Hurricane Milton compounded the harms, with at least 24 additional lives lost. I don't have to tell you, because you're living it.

When hurricanes and other natural disaster strike, first responders make sure people have the basics: food, shelter, utilities and medical care. Skilled professionals and volunteers bravely address immediate critical needs and conduct rescue efforts.

While many know to call police, fire departments and disaster response officials for help, rarely do people think about the need for lawyers or legal help.

Yet, in the midst of a disaster, attorneys - like those in CLS' disaster unit - are critical to facilitating disaster survivors' access to essential needs like food and shelter. And when disaster survivors start picking up the pieces of their lives in the weeks, months and sometimes years after a disaster - legal help is often a critical lifeline.

In the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, legal aid providers and pro bono volunteers address urgent civil legal issues - from defending against unlawful evictions, to helping apply for public assistance like unemployment benefits, food stamps and FEMA resources.

And a disaster doesn't end once the storm has passed. Legal challenges can haunt disaster survivors for years as they seek to replace identification papers, apply for benefits and deal with insurance claims. The hardest hit and the most vulnerable communities can be struggling to fully recover for even longer or in some cases may never fully regain their normal lives. Legal aid providers in Florida are still assisting victims impacted by Hurricane Ian, which hit the Ft. Myers area two years ago.

The complications of seeking assistance and barriers to obtaining relief for disaster survivors can constitute a second disaster for survivor victims, especially for the elderly, disabled and persons who have limited proficiency in English. Unique complications also exist for those who live in rural areas, where distance or lack of broadband can create additional barriers to accessing legal help, or where damage to agricultural industries can create complex harms.

Simply put, legal aid and pro bono assistance must be a central element of efforts to rebuild and support communities after a natural disaster.

That's what you're demonstrating here in Florida. Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a Disaster Relief Legal Aid Roundtable hosted by CLS staff and joined by other members of the Florida Disaster Umbrella Group.

I learned how the Umbrella Group collaborates to address common legal problems impacting low-income communities and how it fosters and promotes better coordination and communication between civil legal aid providers, pro bono volunteers, emergency managers and other advocates from across the state, to ensure that low-income disaster survivors receive the legal assistance they need.

The Umbrella Group also helps educate the emergency management community about the importance of integrating legal services providers into their work and is an impressive model of collaboration and communication that can be implemented in other states to address natural disasters.

And here in Florida you're also demonstrating how pro bono volunteers - like those we celebrate tonight - play an essential role in helping people navigate a maze of post-disaster bureaucracy - including disputes with landlords, insurers and contractors.

Like everyone in the state during an emergency, legal aid organizations have their resources stretched to the limit as they seek to respond to the overwhelming need of disaster survivors. Pro bono volunteers play an invaluable role in relieving the pressure on legal aid organizations during a disaster and in assisting those that would otherwise be forced to weather the storm alone.

Initiatives like the Disaster Relief Hotline launched this month by the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division are an innovative way to coordinate pro bono resources in the wake of a disaster. The hotline connects survivors with the help they need when they need it most and supports the legal community by making it easier to volunteer.

The Office for Access to Justice is also focused on doing what we can to help ensure access to justice for disaster survivors. As one example, our Federal Government Pro Bono Program recently hosted a training for federal government employees on how to volunteer to provide legal help in the midst of a disaster. That training featured participation from legal services providers who specialize in this type of work. We were thrilled to be joined by Legal Services of North Florida, who I know collaborates closely with CLS.

And next week, we will host the annual Federal Government Pro Bono Week, where we'll provide a variety of trainings and clinic opportunities for federal employees, lift up their role as collaborators in closing justice gaps and recruit and expand the ranks of the federal volunteer workforce.

Our Office will continue to promote pro bono volunteerism by federal government employees in the midst of a disaster and to develop resources that advance access to justice for disaster survivors.

Florida has seen terrible tragedies this past month. But it has also been at the heart of incredible resilience and creative problem solving, producing unique and effective legal assistance programs that help bring people back from most difficult days of their lives. Programs that would not be possible without the vision, hard work and dedication of the legal aid providers and pro bono attorneys in this room and across the state.

So I once again want to thank the awardees we have gathered tonight to celebrate. And as you continue in this difficult mission and this awesome responsibility, please know that the Office for Access to Justice stands shoulder to shoulder with you as a partner and ally.

Thank you.

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