SOLO & SMALL FIRM SECTION SEEKS ROFFINO PRO BONO AWARD NOMINATIONS

Since 1990, the Solo & Small Firm Section has awarded $214,500 to pro bono organizations throughout Florida

Nominations are open through November 1 for The Florida Bar Solo & Small Firm Section’s 2027 L. Michael Roffino Pro Bono Award, continuing a decades-long section commitment to supporting organizations that expand access to legal services for Floridians who cannot afford them.

Each year, the Roffino Award recognizes a Florida organization that has developed an exceptional pro bono service program, with consideration given to programs that increase the number of people receiving legal assistance and engage additional volunteer attorneys.

Since 1990, the Solo & Small Firm Section has awarded $214,500 to pro bono organizations throughout Florida.

“The Roffino Award recognizes the extraordinary work being done by pro bono organizations across Florida, but it also represents something larger,” said Christine Davis of Davis Appeals PLLC in Tallahassee, co-chair of the Solo & Small Firm Section’s Pro Bono Awards Committee. “For more than three decades, the section has made a sustained investment in programs that connect volunteer lawyers with people who otherwise might have nowhere to turn for legal help. We want to recognize innovation, encourage volunteer participation, and help successful programs extend their reach.”

The Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association works with the section to distribute nomination materials and encourage participation among pro bono programs statewide. The section’s Awards Committee reviews the nominations and selects three finalists. The winning organization receives a $4,000 grant, and two finalists each receive $2,000.

Larri Thatcher, deputy director and pro bono director of the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association and Roffino Award chair for the Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association, said the grants can have an impact well beyond their dollar value.

“Legal aid organizations are continually challenged to meet a level of need that exceeds available resources, which makes volunteer lawyers an essential part of expanding access to justice,” Thatcher said. “Programs that effectively recruit, train, and support those volunteers can leverage their resources to serve many more people. The Roffino Award helps recognize those programs, share successful approaches, and provide funding that can help organizations build on work that is already making a difference.”

The section honored its 2026 Roffino Award recipients during The Florida Bar Annual Convention in June. The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County received the top award and a $4,000 grant for expanding legal services for veterans and developing clinics in additional areas of need.

Three Rivers Legal Services, Inc., received a $2,000 finalist grant for its criminal record sealing and expungement and driver’s license suspension clinics. Jacksonville Area Legal Aid also received a $2,000 finalist grant for incorporating law students and law schools into its clinic programs.

Together, the three programs illustrate the qualities the section hopes to identify in the next round of nominations: innovative approaches to unmet legal needs, effective use of volunteers, and the ability to extend legal assistance to more Floridians.

“Every year, these nominations remind us how creative and resourceful Florida’s pro bono programs are in responding to their communities,” Davis said. “We encourage organizations throughout the state to tell us what they are doing, who they are reaching, and how their programs are bringing more lawyers into pro bono service.”

Nominations for the 2027 L. Michael Roffino Pro Bono Award must be submitted by November 1. The nomination form is available on the Solo & Small Firm Section website in Word and PDF formats.

A complete list of previous L. Michael Roffino Pro Bono Award recipients is available on the section's website.

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