THE JOSEPH PROJECT- FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 This is a great way to start the week 

The Joseph Project. A way to combat human trafficking.  Read below and click on the link to learn more. 

Thank you, Paul Cali, Esq., an REGJB OG and all-around great guy. 

The purpose of this email is to introduce you to the mission of The Joseph Project, its Founder and Executive Director FBI Special Agent Nate Knapper, its Legal Director Amanda Paletz, and to request your assistance in my effort to “get the word out” further to my commitment to recruit South Florida attorneys across a broad spectrum of practice areas to provide pro bono services to survivors of human trafficking, though the Joseph Project.  I am grateful to Ms. Puglisi for encouraging me to reach out to you all.

 

Nate and Amanda – Ms. Fernandez Rundle is our State Attorney in Miami-Dade County since 1993 and served under Janet Reno for fifteen years prior.  Ms. Ladis is the Executive Director of Dade Legal Aid since 2014 and boasts an astonishing twenty-three years serving as pro bono coordinator advocating for greater access to justice for those in need.  Ms. Strader is a past president of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association, formerly known as the Black Lawyers of Miami. As president of the Ferguson Bar, she spearheaded a number of initiatives to enhance diversity in the legal profession and to help deserving students in Miami.  Ms. Puglisi is the President of the Miami-Dade Bar Association, past president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL), Miami Chapter, and a Director for FACDL statewide. 

 

On behalf of the Joseph Project, I have agreed to coordinate an effort to recruit attorneys in South Florida - Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward, Palm Beach, and Lee counties - who wish to serve in a pro bono capacity, to assist survivors of human trafficking. 

 

The Joseph Project, founded in 2018 by Detroit-based FBI Special Agent Nate Knapper, assists survivors of human trafficking by providing access to pro bono legal services.  The legal needs of the survivors include criminal record relief, child custody disputes, immigration assistance, personal protective orders, access to crime victims compensation, name changes, and driver’s license restoration. 

 

Based on the foregoing non-exhaustive legal issues, a deep bench of legal talent from diverse practice areas is required.  The program would succeed best with practitioners from the state and federal bars, prosecutors, public defenders, criminal defense attorneys in private practice, and civil practitioners whether solo, small firm, or in big law.  The goal is to create a rotating “wheel” of legal talent so that if the attorney “next up” for an assigned pro bono case is unavailable to take the matter, the Joseph Project can immediately call the next attorney on the wheel.  I think this is also a great opportunity to bring people together for a great cause, where those attorneys might not have had occasion to interact otherwise.

 

Amanda Paletz is the Legal Director for the Joseph Project and has significant legal experience.  She will be the main point person for training and administration of the program in South Florida.   As she shared with me, helping survivors of trafficking through the provision of pro bono legal services is one of the most gratifying experiences she has enjoyed as an attorney, and one that never gets old, as the legal assistance provided changes the trajectory of lives for the better, for survivors who often are powerless, have no safety net, and have no one to which to turn for help.  Often, the biggest hurdle is reaching survivors so they know that  legal services are available to them.

 

As we know, South Florida suffers a significant level of human trafficking.  We also enjoy tremendous legal talent in diverse practice areas, and attorneys who are compassionate.  I am grateful for any effort or insight you may lend, in my effort to recruit attorneys.  Once an adequate number of attorneys have agreed to serve, a virtual training program will be scheduled.  Ms. Puglisi has graciously agreed for the Miami-Dade Bar Association to video tape the initial training session so that subsequent attorneys who volunteer their services may be appropriately trained to assist. We will seek Florida Bar CLE credit for training, and an attorney’s service on a given case will be reportable on the Bar’s annual pro-bono reporting.

 

Thank you for your time reading this email.  I am available to answer questions. I am excited to help get this noble endeavor off the ground in South Florida.  Please email cbussone@calli-law.com to commit or for more information.