Take one case (and I know you'll be back for more).

• Author: Coleman, Gregory W.
• Position: President's Page

In the last edition of the Journal, I discussed the fast-track appointment of a group of high-level stakeholders to address the pressing need to create better access to our courts.

This creative process is moving along very quickly, and I anticipate our first meeting to take place within the next 60 days or so.

In the meantime, while we are trying to create new, novel, and creative ways to deal with the Access to Justice problem, I would like to call upon each and every one of our nearly 100,000 members to help us fill the access gap while this commission begins its work.

The statistics are staggering and troubling. Over three million Floridians live in poverty. This represents almost 16 percent of Florida's total population. Historically, one in four poor persons has a significant legal need on an annual basis. Translation: Over 760,000 low-income Floridians likely have a legal need each year. Florida's legal aid and pro bono attorneys closed 89,720 cases in 2012. This means only 12 percent or less of the legal needs of low-income Floridians are being met.

As I have previously stated, this is clearly a problem society must solve. On the other hand, we, as the gatekeepers of the court system, are obligated to do our best to ensure access for the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens, while we undertake our effort to address Access to Justice from a more global perspective.

This population of our citizens includes children, the elderly, domestic violence victims, and others who suffer daily without the help of a lawyer to navigate a very complicated court system.

Over the past few years, I have had the honor to meet a number of special lawyers who go above and beyond in providing pro bono services to the most vulnerable of our citizens. I would like to tell you about one of these special people.

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