What happens to the people who don’t have a home, get in a legal pickle, and can’t afford it? Lawyers to the Rescue save their day!
We caught up with Miami Assistant Public Defender Alex Saiz about the group he works with. Lawyers to the Rescue is a legal pro bono group committed to serving the Miami community and the world at large. What started out in the wake of disaster is now continuing to provide access to justice to those who need it the most.
Lawyers to the Rescue is a legal volunteer organization, founded by attorney Spencer Aronfeld. The dream started out as an initiative that served to raise money for Haiti after the earthquake that devastated the island nation in 2010. At the beginning stages, Lawyers to the Rescue also engaged in legal pro bono work for immigrant Cambodian and Vietnamese shrimpers (shrimp fishermen) caught in the middle of British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster that same year. Although Lawyers to the Rescue started out solely as a legal pro bono group, they now include all volunteers who want to make a difference.
I am an Assistant Public Defender in Miami, and volunteered at the Camillus House shelter’s kitchen. I started volunteering with Lawyers to the Rescue a few years ago, and was blown away by the passion that Spencer and the other attorneys showed for the cause. Spencer is the kind of guy who celebrates helping others, he doesn’t just go through motions.
–Attorney Alex Saiz
At the moment, Lawyers to the Rescue holds a monthly pro bono legal clinic at the Camillus House Homeless Shelter in Miami, Florida. Homeless individuals with pending legal matters are interviewed. After reviewing individual case requirements, the group assigns one of their volunteer attorneys to their case. The lawyers take on a wide array of cases ranging from estate planning, to criminal defense, and civil litigation.
When it comes to the homeless folks of Miami, the lawyers at Lawyers to the Rescue offer just the kind of free legal advice and assistance they need to get back on their feet. Oftentimes, it’s only financial hurdles standing in the way of these people. Their legal issues can be solved with just the simplest of legal legwork, which the volunteer attorneys offer. The lawyers bridge that divide, and offer help and the legal knowledge these individuals need.
The lawyers that do pro bono work on behalf of the Lawyers to the Rescue work for their own firms. This ensures that their clients receive high-quality representation that can only come with a private practice attorney’s experience.
Contact Lawyers to the Rescue
Lawyers to the Rescue
3132 Ponce de Leon Boulevard
Coral Gables, FL 33134
(305)204-7699
Info@lawyerstotherescue.com
