Profile in Good: Brittney Parks
Since joining Legal Aid Service of Broward County (LAS,) attorney Brittney Parks has committed to fulfilling LAS’ mission – to provide quality legal services to low-income persons of Broward County. Brittney strives to fulfill her commitment each day as an attorney in the Special Projects Unit, where she engages in individual case advocacy which has given her an opportunity to do impact litigation through class action work done in the unit.
Brittney heads the LIFT Project, a collaborative effort between LAS and Women in Distress of Broward County (WID,) which provides access to critical needs to victims of domestic violence when they leave an abusive situation.
Brittney heads the LIFT Project, a collaborative effort between LAS and Women in Distress of Broward County (WID,) which provides access to critical needs to victims of domestic violence when they leave an abusive situation. LIFT provides legal assistance in areas such as removing financial sanctions from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF,) obtaining public benefits (food stamps, cash assistance, Medicaid,) evictions, landlord/tenant disputes, and other civil issues. The LIFT Project received an award in 2019 for Outstanding Program from the Broward Domestic Violence Council.
Since July 2016, the LIFT Project has assisted over 400 domestic violence victims in Broward County. As an example, a young mother sought out assistance from LIFT. She was being evicted and in addition, the apartment complex demanded her to pay the attorney’s fees for the eviction. The decision to evict her was the result of an incident stemming from domestic violence – her abuser broke into her apartment and physically assaulted her. The abuser also removed the funds from the account she used to pay her rent, which resulted in her check bouncing when she tendered it to pay her rent. After three months of litigation, the Complaint for Eviction was dismissed with prejudice, and the client did not have to pay the attorney’s fees. The young mother was able to secure rental assistance and the apartment complex agreed to put in protections and safeguards for domestic violence victims.
Brittney is very enthusiastic and passionate about working in the Special Project Unit, and she hopes the unit will continue to be impactful in the Broward County community.
Brittany graduated from the University of Florida (Cum Laude) with a Bachelors in Political Science and a minor in Education. Brittany holds a Law Degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.