St. Thomas Law's Pro Bono Day with the Miami River Commission

In recognition of the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Week which runs from October 25-31, a group of St. Thomas Law students planted fruits and vegetables and maintained a community garden for the residents of Miami-Dade County Affordable Elderly Housing in Little Havana. 

“Pro bono service helps students connect the concepts they learn in the law school classroom with their role as members of the local community," stated St. Thomas Law's Public Service Career Counselor Robert Jack. "Students learn that taking time from their busy schedules to give back brings both fulfillment and perspective to their legal studies.”

Law students Jeanne Leconte, Daniel Zarnowski, Michael Jones, Erica Behm, Gwen Richards, 
Diego Machado, Yohania Santana and S. St. Thomas Public Interest Career counselor Robert Jack

Students also cleaned up the building’s shoreline on the Miami River. Law students Jeanne Leconte, Daniel Zarnowski, Erica Behm, Gwen Richards, Diego Machado, Michael Jones, Yohania Santana, along with friends and family joined Public Interest Career Counselor Robert Jack in Saturday afternoon’s community service event.

"I signed up to attend the Pro Bono Day river cleanup and gardening event because it seemed like a fun activity and a great way to get outside," stated third-year law student Erica Behm.  "I was surprised, however, to see that even something that seems so unrelated to legal work can spark so much discussion and can teach me about legal issues in the community."

Participants also spoke about the awareness raised about the scarcity of affordable housing for the elderly in Miami and prompted discussions about the possibility of that housing being taken away.

For the past seven years, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has succeeded in creating an annual national spotlight on pro bono activities. This year the event was organized in keeping with the St. Thomas Law mission of community engagement and service.

St. Thomas Law has also been nationally recognized for its pro-bono graduation requirement which ranked among the top ten in the nation according to SuperLawyers Magazine.