TALLAHASSEE -- Miami attorney Jacqueline Marie Valdespino has been selected to receive the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award from Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead on Thursday, January 30. The award is Florida's highest public honor conferred by the Supreme Court on a private lawyer.

The Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award commemorates Miami civil rights lawyer Tobias Simon, who died in February 1982. Each year the award is bestowed upon an attorney to encourage and recognize extraordinary contributions by Florida lawyers in making legal services available to persons who otherwise could not afford them, and to focus public awareness on the substantial voluntary services rendered by Florida lawyers in this area. The term "pro bono," derived from the Latin phrase "pro bono publico" means "for the good of the public."

Valdespino is the founding partner of Valdespino & Associates, P.A. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. Valdespino was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1988, however, her commitment to Florida's children began before she became a lawyer. As a college student, Valdespino volunteered as a pro bono guardian ad litem representing children in dependency and delinquency proceedings and she continued to volunteer her time after entering law school. Valdespino says she approaches pro bono work as a "calling rather than an obligation."

After she received her law degree and began working as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Florida, she volunteered her time as an attorney guardian ad litem. In 1992, she went into private practice as a sole practitioner and intensified her efforts for those less fortunate. In her first year as a sole practitioner, she received the Put Something Back Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of her outstanding commitment and service to the disadvantaged of Miami-Dade County. She has received that recognition every year since. In 1997 she was the Put Something Back Guardian ad Litem of the year. Since 1992, she has accepted appointments through the Put Something Back Program, as well as at the request of the judges of the Family Division in 33 pro bono guardian ad litem cases. In 2000, she received the Ray H. Pearson Guardian ad Litem Award.

In 1995, Valdespino accepted appointment as a pro bono guardian ad litem in a particularly contentious family case. Valdespino's devotion assured that the child's voice was heard through numerous post dissolution trials, appeals and remands. The court file numbers over 23 volumes, and the case continued for seven years.

Valdespino's volunteer work extends beyond offering legal services to indigent people. Between 1999-2001 she served on the Board of Directors of the Child Abuse Prevention Program, a program that provides education to school children throughout Miami-Dade County in an effort to prevent child abuse.

Since 1996, Valdespino has participated in The Florida Bar Family Law Section Pro Bono Mentor Program, assisting young lawyers in family law cases. Valdespino is board certified in family and matrimonial law and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

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[Updated: 07-01-2005 ]