In Honor of Pro Bono Month
Pro bono attorneys play a crucial role in eviction defense, especially since 65% of our cases in 2023 involve landlord/tenant issues. This is consistent with the tremendous challenges residents of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties currently are facing as a result of the housing crisis.
To address the need, Legal Services launched the Eviction Defense Project to recruit and train pro bono lawyers to provide tenants facing eviction or the threat of eviction with legal representation. We are extremely grateful for our pro bono partnership with Hunton Andrews Kurth. Legal Services’ attorneys have trained and provided valuable support to Hunton’s Pro Bono Committee to give them the tools to take on eviction defense cases on a monthly basis.
A recent example is of an eighty-year-old low income client who lived in the same apartment for 30 years and was facing eviction. According to pro bono attorney Gil Acevedo who volunteered to take the case, “the client is very ill and had a lease that was being terminated so he was being displaced without a place to go and unable to afford rent in Miami. Also, he has an adult son with a mental illness and some behaviors that complicated matters.” Mr. Acevedo subsequently put a team of five volunteers in place to call hundreds of low-income housing apartments but had no luck finding availability or the client did not meet the requirements. Ultimately, Mr. Acevedo was able to get the client 5 months’ rent free, which afforded him enough time to save money and find a new home.
Mr. Acevedo, Counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth, who specializes in Real Estate Investment and Finance, has an active pro bono practice. Since 2020, he has dedicated over 50 pro bono hours to Legal Services, participating in the Tenants Equal Justice Clinic and the Eviction Defense Project. He also acts as the Legal Services’ intake case coordinator for his firm and is an active member of Hunton’s Pro Bono Committee.
We applaud Mr. Acevedo and Hunton for their continued support of our community! Despite these efforts, there are many more tenants who remain unprotected and need our help, therefore, we are working to grow this Project. If you or your firm is interested in participating in the Eviction Defense Project, please contact Director of Pro Bono Carolina de Diego.