The law is good, if a man use it lawfully.
Timothy 1:8
ORLANDO ATTORNEY RECEIVES YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION LEGAL AID PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
TALLAHASSEE, Jan. 28 – Orlando attorney Thomas Zehnder was selected to receive The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Legal Aid Public Service Award for his contributions to those in need of free legal services. The award will be presented to Zehnder by Young Lawyers Division President Mark Romance at the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, January 29.
The award was instituted in 1991 by the Young Lawyers Division and is presented in conjunction with the Supreme Court of Florida and The Florida Bar's Pro Bono Service Awards. Generally, pro bono refers to legal services provided free of charge to those who cannot pay for them. The term "pro bono," derived from the Latin phrase "pro bono publico," means "for the good of the public."
Thomas Zehnder was born in Yokohama, Japan, the son of Lutheran missionaries who served there for more than nine years. Mr. Zehnder grew up in Stuart, Florida, and settled in Orlando after graduating from Valparaiso University in 1991 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a Finance concentration. He then attended law school, graduating from the University of Florida with honors in 1995. That May, Mr. Zehnder joined the Orlando law firm of King, Blackwell & Downs, P.A. In July 2001, he became a shareholder of the firm where he practices primarily in the area of complex commercial litigation.
A member of the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) since his admission to practice, Mr. Zehnder is the Treasurer of the OCBA's Young Lawyers' Section and currently serves on its Executive Board. His involvement in the OCBA YLS includes twice chairing its largest annual fundraiser, a charity golf tournament, and serving on several YLS committees that organize various charitable endeavors. Mr. Zehnder has participated in many YLS outings with local organizations such as the Great Oaks Village, Seniors First, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity.
Mr. Zehnder has also been active in pro bono work through the OCBA's Legal Aid Society, handling several family law cases involving domestic violence and custody issues and serving as a Guardian ad Litem for children in juvenile dependency cases. Since 1996, he has handled over 28 files, many GAL cases involving multiple children, and has donated over 700 hours of time. In 2001, his dedication to pro bono service was recognized by the Legal Aid Society, which awarded him the New Attorney Award of Excellence, an honor acknowledging the pro bono service of lawyers practicing less than five years. Mr. Zehnder currently serves as the GAL for several children and was nominated for The Florida Bar YLD Pro Bono Award by the OCBA's Legal Aid Society.
Mr. Zehnder is married to Leigh Sigman Zehnder, also an Orlando lawyer and member of The Florida Bar. They recently celebrated the birth of their first child, Ryan Thomas.
CONTACT: Jennifer Krell-Davis, The Florida Bar
DATE: January 28, 2004
TELEPHONE: 850/561-5669
MIAMI LAW FIRM RECEIVES LEGAL SERVICES AWARD FROM FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
TALLAHASSEE, Jan. 28 -- The Miami law firm Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A. (KT&T) has been selected to receive the Law Firm Commendation award from Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead of the Florida Supreme Court. The awards ceremony will be held Thursday, January 29, at the Court.
The purpose of the Law Firm Commendation is to recognize, when appropriate, a law firm which has demonstrated a significant contribution in the delivery of legal services to individuals or groups on a pro bono basis.
KT&T was founded 21 years ago, and since that time has grown from three to eighteen attorneys, all of whom have a long-standing commitment to pro bono legal service, and community involvement. KT&T focuses its litigation practice in the areas of complex commercial contract and tort litigation, class actions, and securities fraud. The firm also represents some of the largest companies and lending institutions in the country when they are involved in litigation, workouts, and bankruptcy matters in Florida.
KT&T has a standing policy that all attorneys receive up to 20 hours a year in credit toward their billing requirement for time spent providing pro bono legal service to the poor. Over the years, KT&T attorneys collectively have spent thousands of hours representing the legal needs of the poor in the South Florida community. KT&T as a firm and its attorneys individually, wholeheartedly recognize the obligation and opportunity to help those who would otherwise be unable to effectively access the courts because of their financial circumstances.
KT&T attorneys also dedicate time to pro bono legal services through bar activities. John Kozyak serves on the American College of Bankruptcy Pro Bono Committee and raises funds for the Put Something Back Program. Laurel Isicoff has served as Chair of the Pro Bono Task Force of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida (BBASF), and helpeddevelop the curriculum for the Bankruptcy Assistance Clinic at St. Thomas University.
Mrs. Isicoff also helped establish and serves as a Director and Vice President of the Bankruptcy Bar Foundation, a 501(c) corporation established by the BBASF, which raises funds from the legal community to support pro bono bankruptcy services in the Southern District of Florida. KT&T was an initial donor to the Foundation, and through its five year pledge, helps underwrite the Foundation’s efforts.
KT&T also provides scholarships to minority law students who excel in the litigation skills program at University of Miami School of Law, partially funded by teaching services donated by Harley Tropin and Ken Hartmann.
Mr. Kozyak and other KT&T lawyers were instrumental in reviving and expanding the mentoring program for minority law school students at UM School of Law. The Law School changed program’s name to the “John W. Kozyak Minority Mentoring Program.” Mr. Kozyak and Ms. Isicoff are also leaders in the Florida Bar Equal Opportunities Law Section (EOLS) and have initiated steps within the EOLS to expand the mentoring program to all other law schools in Florida.
KT&T lawyers also devote hundreds of hours a year to community service. Several serve on the boards of their synagogues and churches, mentor or teach young children in the community, and serve on citizen advisory committees.
While KT&T and its individual attorneys have received public recognition and awards for their service, each continues to devote countless hours, not for that recognition, but because they want to. Service has been, continues to be, and will always be, a significant aspect and a defining purpose of KT&T and its attorneys.
CONTACT: Jennifer Krell-Davis, The Florida Bar
DATE: January 28, 2004
TELEPHONE: 850/561-5669
