Annual Recognition Awards

Presented annually to a firm that has shown their overall commitment to the work of legal aid programs in Broward and the clients we serve.

Nominations and selection for this award are done internally. This award seeks to recognize the amazing work and efforts made by notable staff members of the two different legal aid programs in Broward County.

Browse below to learn more about the different Award categories and previous honorees.

The Law Firm of the Year Award is presented annually to a firm that has shown their overall commitment to the work Legal Aid Programs in Broward does and the clients we serve.

Past recipients of the Award include: Gunster Yoakley (2002) | Billing, Cochran, Heath, Lyles and Mauro (2003) | Weis Serota Helfman Pastoriza Guedes Cole and Boniske (2004) | Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. (2005) | Law Offices of Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A. (2006) | Shutts & Bowen LLP (2007) | Atkinson, Diner, Stone, Mankuta & Ploucha, P.A. (2008) | Kirschbaum, Birnbaum, Lippman & Gregoire, PLLC (2009) | Kelley/Uustal (2010) | Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. (2011) | Ward Kim Vaughan & Lerner LLP (2012) GrayRobinson, P.A. (2013) Holland & Knight (2014) Kirschbaum, Birnbaum, Lippman & Gregoire, PLLC (2015) | Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos, & Lehrman, P.L. (2016) | Talenfeld Law (2017) Weiss Serota Helfman Cole and Bierman, PL (2018) | Shutts (2019) | Kelley Kronenberg, Attorneys at Law (2020) | Van Horn Law Group (2021) | Tripp Scott, Attorneys at Law (2022) | Shmucher Law, PL (2023) | Hinshaw and Culbertson, LLP (2024)

The Commitment to Justice Award was established by Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida (CCLA) in 2011. The award honors members of the community whose work reflects and embodies the mission of CCLA to provide equal access to justice to underserved communities through quality and innovative free civil legal aid. Awardees strive to improve the lives of low income persons in our community through advocacy, education, representation and empowerment. 

Past recipients of the Award include: Elizabeth G. Daugherty, Esq.(2011) | The Honorable Ronald J. Rothschild (2012) | Lisa Goldberg, Esq.(2013) | Edith Schaffer Lederberg (2014) | Samuel S. Goren, Esq. (2015) | Stephen Ferrante, MSW (2016) | Steven Jaffe, Esq. (2017) | Joshua Levenson, Esq. (2018) | Somy Ali (2019) | Juliette Lippman, Esq. (2020) | Theresa Edwards, Esq. (2021) | Kathleen Pugh, Esq. (2022) | Delanor Ulysse (2023) | Douglas H. Reynolds, Esq. (2024)

The Chairperson’s Award honors former Board members whose commitment to Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida continues beyond their service on the Board. This award recognizes individuals who have championed CCLA’s mission and remain dedicated to advancing its vision of a community where everyone has access to the legal resources they need to thrive.

Past recipients of the award include: Alison F. Smith, Esq. (2025) | 

The Attorney of the Year award is presented to an attorney who has gone above and beyond to support our mission and those who we serve.

Past recipients of the award include: Charles L. Simon, Esq. (2002) | Joanne Fanizza, Esq. (2003) | Theodore Kaufman, Esq. (2004) | Richard Hussey, Esq. (2005) | Marian A. Lindquist, Esq. (2006) | Elias L. D’Souza, Esq. (2007) | Jorge E. Hurtado, Esq. (2008) | Robert Murphy, Esq. (2010) | Lawrence G. Marin, Esq. (2011) | Professor Michael Richmond (2012) | David Bazerman, Esq. (2013) | Jay Kim, Esq.(2014) | Michele K. Cummings, Esq. (2015) | Russell M. Thompson, Esq. (2016) | Chad T. Van Horn, Esq. (2017) | Dale Webner, Esq. (2018) | Annabella Barboza, Esq. (2019) | Edward O’Sheehan, Esq. (2020) | Lauren Alperstein, Esq. (2021) | Jay Cohen, Esq. (2022) | Patricia Preciado, Esq. (2023) | Jason Neufeld, Esq. (2024) | Jill Ginsberg, Esq. (2025)

Nominations and selection for this award is done internally. This award seeks to recognize the amazing work and efforts made by notable staff members of the two legal aid programs in Broward County. 

Past award recipients for CCLA include: Delores Gilmore (2014) | Gladys Gerson, Esq. (2015) | Heidi Vainio (2017) | Debra Koprowski, Esq. (2019) | Corrine Lincoln, Esq. (2020) | Laurie Yadoff, Esq. – CCLA (2022) | Cynthia Woodward, Esq. (2024)

The Russell E. Carlisle Advocacy Award is given annually to an advocate whose actions exemplify a personal and professional commitment to making justice available to the poor and disadvantaged. The Award was named after its first (1998) recipient, Mr. Carlisle himself. He is a lifelong champion of the rights of the poor and disadvantaged.

Past recipients of the Award include: Bruce Rogow, Esq. (1999) | Don A. Wich, Jr., Esq. (2000) | Henry Latimer, Esq. (2001) | Sharon Bourassa, Esq. (2002) | Jerome Ira Solkoff, Esq. (2003) | Howard Talenfeld, Esq. (2004) | Nancy W. Gregoire, Esq. (2005) | Levi G. Williams, Esq. (2006) | Terrence Russell, Esq. (2007) | Andrea L. Moore, Esq. (2008) | Adele I. Stone, Esq. (2009) | Belinda Keiser (2010) | Walter Honaman, Esq. (2011) Roy Rogers (2012) The Honorable Arthur J. England, Jr. (2013) The Honorable Mel Grossman (2014) | Jane Curran (2015) | Stephen B. Moss, Esq. (2016) | Jesse H. Diner, Esq. (2017) | Robin Moselle, Esq. (2018) | Douglas Reynolds, Esq. (2019) | Chad Van Horn, Esq. (2020) | Tony Karrat, Esq. (2021) | Lorna Brown, Esq. (2022) | Hon. Stacy M. Ross (2023) | Jenelle La Chuisa, Esq. (2024)

The Spirit of Justice Award was created in 2014 to recognize those who embody the “spirit” of the work done by CCLA.

Past recipients of the Award include: Bernard R. Appleman, Esq. (2014) | Young Lawyers Section of the Broward County Bar Association (2015) | Scott D. Owens, Esq. (2016) | Paul Regensdorf, Esq. (2017) | Kathleen Cannon (2018) | JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (2019) | Anthony Adelson, Esq. (2020) | Ofer Shmucher, Esq. & Shera Anderson, Esq. (2021) | Chad Van Horn, Esq. (2022) | Bob and Grace Manne (2023) | Anita Byer, President, Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk (2024)

The Hon. Thomas Lynch Excellence in Justice Award was created by CCLA to celebrate those who have demonstrated a life-long dedication to ensuring access to justice for all.

Past recipients of the award include: Hon. Thomas Lynch (2021) | Edward Zebersky, Esq. (2022) |  Broward County Bar Association (2023) | Ret. Judge Mary Rudd Robinson (2024)