Legal Aid Service of Broward and Collier Counties Receives Cy Pres Award
Legal Aid Service of Broward and Collier County (LAS) has received a Cy Pres award in the amount of $350,000. The award was a result of the work of recently named Attorney of the Year, Jay Cohen, a senior partner at Cohen, Blostein & Ayala, P.A. The funds received from this award will have a direct and significant impact on the daily operations and programs at Legal Aid Service of Broward and Collier Counties.
“It’s the people that are so committed to the goals and mission of Legal Aid that are most impressive to me, and knowing the tremendous amount of civil legal advocacy, education and service the organization and its staff provide to the at-risk population,” said Jay Cohen. “I encourage anyone who becomes involved with class actions to think of those funds that are left over and to support your local charitable organizations.”
Cy Pres awards are an important funding source for legal aid programs. In many class action cases, a large part of the settlement fund or judgment remains unspent for various reasons. In those situations, the court is faced with the issue of how to dispose of the remaining money in the common fund. Cy Pres awards are used to distribute these unclaimed funds and earmark them to be used for the next best compensation.
“The Cy Pres funds comes at a time when there is an increase in demand for the services provided by our organization,” said Executive Director of Legal Aid Service of Broward and Collier Counties Brent Thompson. “Because of Jay’s foresight and advocacy, we will be able to continue to provide the disadvantaged of our community with high quality free civil legal advice, representation, and education.”