Read More… Legal Aid History

Legal Aid History in Brief: Legal Aid began in 1939 when a group of Dade County Bar Association attorneys established the Legal Aid Committee to provide free legal services to those who could not otherwise afford them. Understanding early on the need for legal assistance for the community's impoverished residents, the bar organized the committee to assist those in need of access to justice with nowhere else to turn. Then DCBA President W.L. Gray, Jr. commented in his 1940 - 1941 Annual Report that "the Legal Aid Committee was the hardest assignment of all bar committees.“ He reported that “the committee was not endowed and had no funds but had efficiently handled all of the meritorious claims coming to Legal Aid from the underprivileged.” 

In 1949, Legal Aid Society was chartered and the county funded the first full-time Legal Aid Attorney, Robert M. Haverfield, with a budget of $15,000.  From 1952 - 1971,   Quentin T. Eldred served as the next Staff Attorney of Legal Aid and fought for increased access to Legal Aid for the indigent. The number of cases doubled and Legal Aid was instrumental in collecting $87,000 in child support for clients under Eldred. In 1954, Legal Aid handled 3,247 clients and it became necessary to hire an Assistant Legal Aid Attorney with additional funding from the County.

By 1958, the Society's revenue reached almost $38,000, and later increased to $42,000 as a result of the passage of The Legal Aid Bill which increased revenue to the County for Legal Aid. Irene Redstone, who worked as assistant staff counsel at the Florida Bar Association, joined Legal Aid as an assistant staff attorney to work on the increasing caseload, eventually succeeding Eldred upon his retirement in 1971, and later becoming Legal Aid Society's first executive director. "We deal with divorce, child custody, seek support for children and arrange adoptions and name changes among other things" said Redstone, who helped prepare Florida's first Adoption Placement Bill. The need for Legal Aid intensified, and in 1981, the bar took pride in adopting its Office of Public Service. In 1981, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the first IOTA Program in the country.

In 1982, Legal Aid received IOTA funding from the Florida Bar Foundation to provide access to justice for the poor and has been supported by the foundation ever since. The IOTA Program, combined with the generosity and support of many attorneys and law firms in Miami-Dade County, including members of the DCBA and other voluntary bar associations, has given Miami-Dade Legal Aid the opportunity to make positive changes in the lives of countless residents unable to afford an attorney or be served by any other program due to their immigration status, type of case or other circumstances.

In 1986, Redstone was succeeded by Sharon Langer, who served from 1986 - 2014 as Executive Director of Dade Legal Aid and as the Director of the DCBA's Office of Public Service which administered the bar's Volunteer Lawyers Project.  Later, in collaboration with the Courts, Langer and the Chief Judge created the new pro bono project, "Dade County Comprehensive Pro Bono Project," which officially opened its doors in October 1, 1991 at the South Dade Justice Center. Attorney Karen Josefsberg was hired to serve as Pro Bono Coordinator.  Following Hurricane Andrew, Dade County Comprehensive Pro Bono Program officially became "Put Something Back Pro Bono Project" funded by the Courts to provide greater access to justice for pro se litigants and the underrepresented unable to afford an attorney or be served elsewhere. This new partnership, formed between the Courts and Legal Aid under the leadership of Langer and Ladis, has recruited over 7,500 pro bono attorneys, 250 100% Law Firms, multiple law schools, a variety of stakeholders, numerous supporters and dozens of voluntary bar associations. 

Legal Aid was co-located in the DCBA building since the building's opening in 1962 and rented office space on all five floors. Initially known as the Legal Aid Society, various names have been used over the years: The Legal Aid Committee of the DCBA, Dade County Legal Aid Society, DCBA Legal Aid, Legal Aid and Dade Legal Aid/Put Something Back.  Legal Aid and its pro bono program have been ongoing for decades and supported by the bar. Like many outstanding Bar Presidents who served before and after him, in 2012, DCBA President Garrett Biondo called on all bar members to take a pro bono case or contribute $350 to Legal Aid annually, stating, "Dade Legal Aid is the shining star of our association and the program we are most proud of."  In 2017, in his President's Message, Jeffrey Rynor said, "Thank you to our Executive Director of Legal Aid, Karen Josefsberg-Ladis, for all of your wonderful lawyers and staff and for changing the lives of so many people in our community."

Legal Aid, a highly respected institution for the provision of free legal services for over 75 years, has several departments which include: Family Law, Guardianship, Consumer/Bankruptcy, Housing, Domestic Violence, Child Advocacy, Venture Law, and Put Something Back, which refers cases that the staff attorneys are unable to handle. The Bar continues to support Legal Aid efforts and campaigns to ensure strong financial support to fill any gaps in services and funding, assisting with promoting efforts for initiatives such as Put Something Back Pro Bono Project, The Give More Back Campaign, The Patently Impossible Project, The Legal Leaders Committee, The Venture Law Project, The Legal Aid Advisory Committee, Battle of the Legal Bands to Benefit Legal Aid and Dade Legal Aid Leadership Academy. It is estimated that pro bono attorneys have provided millions of hours of pro bono services through Put Something Back over the years. 

Over the decades, its mission to help indigent residents has remained - To Bring about Improvements to the Lives of Low-income Clients through Advocacy, Direct Representation, Education and Empowerment - and expanded from time to time to meet the emerging, immense needs of the poverty community, including victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, adult disabled individuals, children with special needs, victims of human sex trafficking, persons facing eviction and foreclosures, debtors facing collections and bankruptcy, veterans, immigrants, unaccompanied minor children, and victims of unprecedented disasters.  Annually, the agency serves 1,000's of clients via staff and pro bono attorneys and today there are currently over 20 staff attorneys handling hundreds of cases.

Langer worked diligently to expand Legal Aid as the needs of the poverty community increased tremendously, establishing invaluable and long-lasting partnerships with the Courts, agencies, firms, Florida Bar Foundation, other foundations, law schools and voluntary bar associations, raising critical funds and support for growing Legal Aid Society and its Put Something Back Project.  In 2014, Josefsberg Ladis succeeded Langer and becoming the agency's third executive director following Langer's retirement. Ladis continues to fulfill Legal Aid's mission and has further grown and expanded the program advocating strenuously for increased Access to Justice for All using staff attorneys and pro bono resources through Put Something Back in collaboration with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, firms and other stakeholders.  In 2024, Legal Aid served over 6,000 individuals positively impacting over 12,000 residents lives through its various departments: Guardianship, Family, Domestic Violence, Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Eviction, Child Advocacy and Pro Bono Civil matters. Legal Aid’s advocacy is wide-ranging and benefits countless low-income communities across the county, and, unlike other programs, serves families and others. Florida Bar members in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit are encouraged to donate their time and resources by accepting cases from the Official Pro Bono Program of the Circuit - Dade Legal Aid's Put Something Back program, or by contributing $350 to Legal Aid in lieu of taking a case. In exchange, members receive outstanding free CLE training, materials and seasoned mentors, not to mention immense personal satisfaction by helping someone in need. Dade Legal Aid truly makes a difference in the lives of needy residents.