Photo: Dean Leticia Diaz of Barry University School of Law (left) with president of the Florida Bar Foundation, Juliette E. Lippman.
Barry University School of Law received an award for most student engagement in The Florida Bar Foundation’s 2019 Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge. The Foundation announced the winners at The Florida Bar Annual Convention in Boca Raton on June 27.
The statewide pro bono competition was launched by the Foundation to connect law students with alumni to partner on a pro bono case from a legal aid organization. The challenge ran for a total of four months, during which students and lawyers from all of Florida’s 12 law schools worked on more than 300 unique cases.
“We couldn’t be more proud of our students with this award, it demonstrates our commitment to helping the underserved populations in our community,” said Leticia M. Diaz, Dean of Barry Law.
The Florida Pro Bono Law School Challenge launched earlier this year as a pilot project and was powered by Florida Pro Bono Matters (www.FloridaProBonoMatters.org), an interactive website that enables attorneys to search for pro bono cases that suit their interests and submit an interest form to the legal aid or pro bono program that posted the case.
According to the ABA Center for Pro Bono, more than 58% of lawyers who provided pro bono legal services as law students said doing so made them “more” or “far more” likely to provide pro bono services after graduating.
“The number of cases taken exceeded our expectations,” Juliette E. Lippman, president of the Foundation, said. “We are so impressed with the interest and commitment of the students, and the dedication of the lawyers who took these cases.”
For more information on Barry University School of Law, contact:
Angelo Milone
Director of Marketing and Media Relations
Barry University School of Law
321.206.5722
amilone@barry.edu
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ABOUT BARRY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW:
Established in 1999, the Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando offers a quality legal education in a caring, diverse environment. A Catholic-oriented institution, Barry Law School challenges students to accept intellectual, personal, ethical, spiritual, and social responsibilities, and commits itself to assuring an atmosphere of religious freedom. Barry University School of Law is fully accredited by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654, (312) 988-6738.