Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP was named the 2023 Large Law Firm of the Year from Florida-based nonprofit, Community Legal Services (CLS), an organization that provides legal services throughout Central Florida to represent families in need of protection in areas including health care, disaster relief, estate planning, and fair housing. The award is in recognition of the firm’s outstanding pro bono achievements.
Nelson Mullins formed a special partnership with CLS to provide legal services to caretakers of young adults seeking to be the legal voice for profoundly disabled young adults who are unable to make health and safety decisions for themselves. This partnership with CLS is the fifth major guardianship project the firm has developed across the firm’s national footprint. The partnership has served hundreds of families in obtaining guardianship. Firm volunteers enjoy the opportunity to serve clients by walking them through the court process which culminates in a hearing before a probate court judge.
The firm was recognized at the Annual Awards Celebration on Oct. 26 at the Winter Park Farmers’ Market in Winter Park, Fla.
Over a decade ago, Nelson Mullins’ Pro Bono Program identified a gap occurring within families as minors entered the age of adulthood and their caretakers lost their ability to make decisions on their behalf. A team that included pro bono manager Norah Rogers and Columbia partner Chris Genovese developed an in-house project in South Carolina, providing training and case oversight to enable Nelson Mullins attorneys to take on guardianship matters. Since then, Nelson Mullins has implemented similar program models in Atlanta, Nashville, Orlando, Jacksonville, and its surrounding counties, with plans to expand the program into North Carolina.
Nelson Mullins will be assisting CLS again in designing a wills clinic model to help low-income members of historically Black churches.
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