Miami Law’s Center for Ethics and Public Service will honor the Civil Rights Collective with the annual Lawyers in Leadership Award Thursday, September 8, at 12:30 p.m. in the Alma Jennings Foundation Student Lounge at the University of Miami School of Law.
The award honors members of the legal community who are exceptionally dedicated to public citizenship and leadership. The Civil Rights Collective is composed of lawyers in private practice, primarily based in South Florida, who focus on social justice and civil rights advocacy. It is not a formal organization or entity, but its members work collaboratively in many ways. CRC members often share information on best practices, specific experiences with certain types of cases or judges, and other related issues. CRC members also regularly work together as co-counsel in civil rights litigation.
Most recently, CRC members co-counseled in a Section 1983 trial in the SDFL. CRC members include Michael T. Davis from Kuehne Davis Law, PA; Ariel Lett from Lett Law; Chris Lomax from Lomax Legal, Life Malcolm and Jeremy McLymont from Asilia Law Firm; Matt Manning from Webb, Cason & Manning; Faudline Pierre from Pierre Simon LLC; Sue-Ann Robinson, from Frontline Law, Of Counsel Ben Crump Law; and Rawsi Williams, Esq., RN from Rawsi Williams Law Group.
“I applaud the Center for Ethics and Public Service for its recognition of Civil Rights Collective," said Lomax, J.D. '08. "We live in a time when lawyers have an opportunity to be an inimitable force for good. The CRC is an example of what can be accomplished when lawyers unite around a common goal of helping people in need. I am proud to work alongside such a fine collection of brilliant and tenacious legal professionals.”
Founded in 1996, the Center for Ethics and Public Service is a law school-housed ethics education, experiential skills training, and community engagement program devoted to the values of ethical judgment, professional responsibility, and public service in law and society. The center’s mission is to educate law students to serve their communities as citizen lawyers.
For 27 years, the center has served as an incubator and an accelerator for numerous public service initiatives. They include clinics (Children and Youth Law Clinic, Community Economic Development & Design Clinic, Community Lawyering Clinic, Environmental Justice Clinic, Health Law Clinic, and Social Enterprise Clinic), programs (Brown University Institute at Brown for Environmental and Society partnership, Dartmouth College Ethics Institute Internship Program, Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program, Street Law Program, and Joint College of Arts and Sciences Program on Law, Public Policy, and Ethics), summer colloquia (UM Environmental Justice, Policy, & Science Consortium), and oral histories and documentary films (Oral History & Documentary Film Project).
“The Civil Rights Collective is an inspiring example of the best and brightest of the next generation of U.S. lawyers stepping up to lead renewed civil rights campaigns both locally and nationally on behalf of underserved communities,” Anthony Alfieri, director of CEPS. “The Center for Ethics and Public Service is delighted to honor their exemplary commitment and extraordinary service.”
The collective joins a long list of prestigious Lawyers in Leadership Award recipients. Past honorees include Tiffani Lee, Kathleen Williams, Carlos J. Martinez, the Florida Justice Institute, and the Honorable Jacqueline Becerra.
The event is free and open to the public with registration.
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