For locals with little means and nowhere else to turn, a legal crisis can quickly become a moment of desperation — the threat of eviction, the loss of custody of a child, or the need for protection from abuse.
In those fraught moments, access to a lawyer can spell the difference between stability and strife.
That reality was at the center of the 2025 Jay Grife Pro Bono Awards, presented Monday, by St. Johns County Legal Aid.
The annual honors recognize attorneys and court professionals who donate their time to represent low-income residents who cannot afford private legal counsel.
Honorees each contributed at least 100 hours of pro bono service, with attorney Rusty Collins recognized for more than 350 hours.
Local judges offered remarks during the ceremony, thanking the recipients for stepping in when residents would otherwise face the legal system alone.
Front-row honorees, from left, were Dan Lang, Jack Spense, Carol Daniels, Collins, Vincent Sullivan, Donato Rinaldi, Christine Cooper, Carol Caldwell, and 2025 Most Helpful Clerks Tara Rosenberger and Susan Lawson.
Not pictured were Jay Grife and Brandon Beardsley.
In the back row were Megan Wall, SJCLA managing attorney; Judges Ferebee, Rich, Christine, Smith, Preddy and Janesk; Jacksonville Area Legal Aid CEO Jim Kowalski; and SJCLA staff attorney Elizabeth Teelon.
Unlike criminal cases, where defendants have a constitutional right to an attorney and are represented by public defenders if they cannot afford private counsel, civil cases offer no such guarantee.
Legal aid organizations like SJCLA focus exclusively on civil matters—cases that can still carry life-altering consequences.
