Put something back program celebrates 10th anniversary.

The Put Something Back program recently celebrated 10 years of putting something back into the Dade County community. The pro bono project celebrated, its 10th anniversary October 1, and thanks to the help of more than 7,000 individual attorneys and 200 law firms, PSB has handled 33,000 cases since its inception for people who couldn't otherwise afford legal services.

They won't stop there, though.

"Our goal is 100 percent participation in Miami-Dade County," said 11th Circuit Chief Judge Eugene J. Fierro, who administers the PSB project. "We need all 11,400 attorneys in Miami-Dade County to participate."

The joint project of the Dade County Bar Association and 11th Judicial' Circuit has expanded over the years to bring clients in through four different locations. The cases are then distributed to participating attorneys. Cases are also referred to PSB from homeless and battered women's shelters, other legal aid agencies, and organizations serving economically disadvantaged people.

Karen Ladis, project coordinator for PSB, said leadership from The Florida Bar Foundation and enthusiasm from local bar associations and law firms have been instrumental to the project's success.

"The leadership from the Dade County Bar Association and the courts has launched us as one of the most wellknown programs in the country," she said. "It takes the courts and private bar working together to address the issues facing the poor.

"The court's partnership with the bar also added a new dimension [to pro bono work] that we never had seen before," she said. "Now, clients can go to a courthouse and apply for legal aid throughout Miami-Dade County.... Having the court's backing has also helped recruitment efforts."

And PSB is always looking for help. Participating attorneys can...