YLD conference highlights local bar projects.

Young lawyer groups from across the state gathered recently to share information about their local public service projects at the Young Lawyers Division's Affiliate Outreach Conference on Ponte Vedra Beach.

Representatives from local young lawyer organizations and law students convened to exchange ideas and compete for grants from the YLD and The Florida Bar Foundation to enhance their respective programs.

"We are trying to raise funds and get grants wherever we can," said Manuel L. Crespo, Jr., a member of the Cuban American Bar Association, who was on hand to present CABA's program which provides legal services to low-income, mostly Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Cuban American community. "Running this type of operation in Miami-Dade County is incredibly expensive, and we're constantly overwhelmed by the cost of everything."

Crespo said CABA is able to help about 20 percent of the area's indigent community right now, and wants to increase the quantity of cases CABA can assist with by hiring a staff attorney.

"We want to try and increase our capacity to handle this incredible demand, and the only way we can establish a better service program for the community is by expanding," Crespo said.

The YLD awarded the CABA project $2,500, which was matched by a grant from The Florida Bar Foundation. Also receiving $5,000 in grants from the YLD and Foundation were the Sarasota County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the newly formed Seminole County Young Lawyers Division.

The Sarasota County Bar YLS will use its grants to produce a second volume of an educational DVD focusing on legal topics relevant to teenagers, such as landlord/tenant, labor, and employment issues for high school students.

"To the extent that the YLD is not a production company, we can't just rip good copies and make it look good," said project Chair Shelli Freeland Eddie. "We want to make sure that it's a quality product."

The section's goal is to expand its DVD project to include schools in both Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The Seminole County YLD's project supports the West Sanford Boys and Girls Club by honoring the children's academic achievements in front of other kids in order to encourage them to exceed and excel in the academic world, said Susan Stacy, president of the Seminole YLD. "It's our intention to invite local judges and community leaders from surrounding areas to show the children how much this means and how their achievements are going to be recognized by the local community."

Other young lawyers' projects which received $4,000 in grants from the YLD and Foundation included the St. Petersburg Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section and the Clearwater Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

The St. Pete Bar's YLS will use its grants to launch a pro bono training and teen empowerment forums for teens ages 16 to 17 who are about to "age out" of foster care. There are approximately 100 17-year-olds in foster care in Pinellas County in any given year and many of them have been in the system for years.

"Suddenly these youth, who--up to this point--have had no control over their lives and are on their own," said Pro Bono Training and Teen Empowerment Forum Chair Kimberly J. Gustafson. "Most have never worked due to frequent relocations and lack of transportation, but now they have to get jobs and secure their own housing. But lots of 18-year-olds are still in high school."

Gustafson said the project will educate the kids about their rights and responsibilities as adults, and arm them with the knowledge and the tools to take control of their own lives.

"The biggest budget issue that we will have is transportation to get the kids to our forum," said Gustafson.

The Clearwater YLD's service project also assists foster children in making successful transitions into adulthood. Clearwater YLD's program will assist "Connected by 25," a national program that helps youths obtain apartments and establish bank accounts. The Clearwater YLD program will assist young adults by providing "move out kits" to help them set up their own households. The kits will contain such items as pots and pans, linens, soap, garbage bags, clothes hangers, can openers, and other household goods. The Clearwater YLD also will present seminars on the legal rights and responsibilities of turning 18.

Young lawyer groups receiving $3,000 in grants from the YLD and Foundation include:

* The Dade County Bar Young Lawyers Section for its Casa Valentina project, that addresses the challenges of foster kids aging out of the system.

* Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Law Graduates Breakfast program, which welcomes new lawyers into the South Florida legal community.

* Hillsborough County Bar Young Lawyers Division's Rampello Downtown Partnership School program, which is intended to increase awareness about opportunities for young lawyers with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Tampa Bay.

* Indian River County Bar Young Lawyers Division's Wills on Wheels project.

* Martin County Bar Young Lawyers Committee's Life Decisions program, which works with Florida Rural Legal Services to assist residents with preparing living wills and designation of health care surrogate forms.

* Tallahassee Bar Young Lawyers Section's Morning in the Courthouse, which seeks to familiarize young lawyers with the courthouse and relevant procedures, and provide professionalism information.

Those receiving $2,000 in grants from the YLD and Foundation include:

* Brevard County Bar Young Lawyers Division--Birthday Club, which purchases birthday cakes for kids in the local Childrens' Home Society.

* Broward County Bar Young Lawyers Section's Annual Golf Tournament to raise money for charitable organizations.

* Collier County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section's Pro Se Packet program.

* Marion County Bar Young Lawyers Section's An Afternoon at the Courthouse project, which provides young lawyers with information regarding local legal practices.

* Orange County Bar Young Lawyers Section's Life After High School program, which informs students about basic "street law" and assists them in college preparation.

* Palm Beach County Young Lawyers Section's Safety Patrol Trip and Civics Education program, in which the YLS adopts a school and conducts activities to enhance the educational life for underprivileged elementary students.

* Tallahassee Women Lawyers' Legacy of Excellence program that exposes high school girls to the legal profession and educational opportunities available to them.

* Volusia County Bar Young Lawyers Division's Bowling for School Supplies program, where the YLD hosts a bowling night for lawyers with an "entry fee" of school supplies that are distributed to kids in need.

By Theresa E. Davis

Assistant Editor