As soon as attorney Barbara Warren Loli met the client referred by Put Something Back, she knew she had to help-"I thought if I could ever do something to help someone, this is the case I would want. I was ready to fight tooth and nail." Her client, an immigrant from Argentina, had suffered years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of her husband, who was addicted to drugs. To complicate matters, her client was also caring for her toddler, who had ocular tumors. The client needed to be able to stay in the United States to obtain desperately needed medical care for her child, but could not count on her husband to assist in those efforts. On top of all of this, the client was financially destitute and lacked funds to hire a lawyer.

Ms. Loli, board certified in Immigration and Nationality, was able to secure an interim order allowing the client to stay in the U.S. under the Violence Against Women Act, which allows battered and abused spouses of United States citizens to obtain legal residence without the sponsorship of the spouse. Ms. Loli has also agreed to represent her through the final hearing process.

While in the past Ms. Loli typically made contributions to fulfill her pro bono reporting requirement, this time she decided, "sometimes writing checks just isn't enough." She was particularly impressed by the screening process that matched Ms. Loli to her client: "They screened and referred a person who really needed help for her child who suffered abuse. It was gratifying. I felt honored to do an immigration case and will definitely do it again."

After such a fulfilling experience with her first Put Something Back case, Ms. Loli now encourages others to participate in Put Something Back and "use your talent to really make a difference in someone's life."

Put Something Back, a joint project of the Dade County Bar Association and the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, has an experienced staff of intake specialists that has referred over 30,000 pro bono matters to attorneys in South Florida. Cases span a wide range of issues, including consumer, family, benefits, housing, probate and immigration. Karen Ladis, the program's Project Coordinator, notes that in these economic times, they are seeing an increase in clients and an even greater need for attorneys to volunteer their time.

To volunteer your time, and obtain qualifying pro bono hours, please contact Put Something Back at 305-579-5733, Ext. 2247 or send an e-mail to PSB@dadelegalaid.org.