The Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award Recipients.

Michael J. Stebbins

Pensacola, Florida

First Judicial Circuit

Michael J. Stebbins was born in Framingham, Mass. He received his B.A. cure laude from Brandeis University in 1978 and his J.D. from Western New England College School of Law in 1983.

He moved to Pensacola in 1984 and began practicing law in the U.S. Navy as a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps. In 1989, Stebbins joined the law firm of Ray & Kievit and later became a partner. In 1995, he completed an inter-service transfer from the U.S. Navy Reserve to the U.S. Air Force Reserve. In 1999, Stebbins received the Meritorious Service Medal by the U.S. Air Force for his outstanding service as a reserve judge advocate. He was also presented the Gen. Jerry Scott Award that same year for his development of the Eglin AFB Law Center Web site.

Stebbins is a member of The Florida Bar, and the Massachussetts and Pennsylvania bars, the Bar for the Federal District Court of the Northern District of Florida, and the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar.

As a member of the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar, Stebbins has held various leadership positions including: president, vice president, and treasurer. He has also served as chair and member of several committees. Stebbins is a member of the Northwest Florida Legal Services Board of Trustees and served as its president from 1997-1999. He has also served as its treasurer and vice president.

Stebbins was appointed as a traffic court magistrate in April 2000 to hear traffic court cases in Escambia County.

Gwendolyn Palmer Adkins

Tallahassee

Second Judicial Circuit

A native of Tallahassee, Gwen Adkins is a graduate with honors of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga. and Florida State University College of Law. She became a member of The Florida Bar in 1992.

Adkins is a shareholder with the Tallahassee law firm of Coppins Monroe Adkins Dincman & Spellman. She has served as a representative on The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors and as a member of the board for the Tallahassee Bar Association's Legal Aid Foundation. Currently, Adkins serves as secretary to the William H. Stafford American Inns of Court. She is also a member of the Tallahassee Bar Association, and The Florida Association of Police Attorneys.

Adkins comes from a large, close-knit family, and is a wife and mother to three children, 6-year-old twin boys and a 4-year-old girl. She gives to the community through her service on the board of directors for Easter Seals of North Florida and through her pro bono legal work. Since 1992, Adkins has provided legal services to indigent persons through the Legal Aid Foundation. In 2001, Adkins represented a grandmother fighting to adopt her grandchildren, a case most said was a losing battle. After more than three years and 170 hours, an appeal, and an evidentiary hearing, the grandmother brought her grandchildren home. The case laid the foundation for a subsequent case decided by the Florida Supreme Court which clarified the rights of adoptive parents.

John J. Kendron

Lake City

Third Judicial Circuit

John J. Kendron was born in Evanston, Ill., and raised in Lakeland. He graduated from Lakeland High School, then Florida State University where he acquired his undergraduate degree and his J.D., both with honors. Upon graduating from law school in 2000, he moved to Lake City to join the firm of Brannon, Brown, Haley, Robinson & Bullock. In January of 2005, Kendron and three other attorneys left their firm and formed the new firm of Robinson, Kennon & Kendron.

Kendron practices in the areas of estate planning, probate, trust, and guardianship administration and eider law. He is a member the Third Circuit Bar Association, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and the Florida Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He was also a member of the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years. In his community he served as the teen court judge for Columbia County and currently serves on the board of directors of Columbia County Senior Services, Inc. Kendron has dedicated numerous pro bono hours to clients of Three Rivers Legal Services, Inc., with estate planning, probate and real estate issues.

Kendron's pro bono work includes estate planning for indigent families in his community and for the Veterans of Foreign War. He has provided assistance with public benefits eligibility for families in his community and served as attorney ad litem for children in dependency proceedings. Kendron also has administered probate estates for indigent families in his community and administered guardianships for indigent wards in his community.

John S. Mills

Jacksonville

Fourth Judicial Circuit

John S. Mills is a fifth-generation Floridian. He received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and his J.D., summa cum laude, from The University of Georgia. After serving as a law clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and practicing in Foley & Lardner's Jacksonville office, Mills formed an appellate litigation boutique in North Florida in 2002.

Mills accepts pro bono appeals from indigent parties who contact him directly, from Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, and also by appointment from the Supreme Court, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He files amicus briefs on a pro bono basis for public interest groups, including the Educational Fund to End Gun Violence, the National Security Archive, and the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. His most high-profile pro bono matter included a victory in the Supreme Court in favor' of approximately 1,200 "Mariel" Cubans challenging indefinite detention, which also resulted in the 11th Circuit's subsequent recognition of the right to court-appointed counsel under the Criminal Justice Act for habeas petitioners in immigration matters. He received the pro bono award of The Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section (2005), and his firm has received the Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Good Champion Award (2004 and 2005). Mills also devotes a portion of his practice to representing lower income clients and the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission on a reduced fee basis.

Mary B. Steddom

Ocala

Fifth Judicial Circuit

Mary B. Steddom has been practicing in Ocala since 1973. She was a legal secretary for 20 years prior to entering law school. Steddom received her J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law and after graduating, returned to Ocala to practice with William G. O'Neill...