“Pro bono” defined is:  “done for the public good without compensation.”  But there are some attorneys that put a face on pro bono, and set the bar for how other attorneys should practice.  One of them is Joshua Spector. 

When I asked Mr. Spector how he got into pro bono work, he humbly and vaguely said “I do just enough,” because he “always had.”  His resume and work tells a different story.  From The Society of Bar and Gavel, Iron Arrow, to the recipient of numerous public service awards, including the John Edward Smith Child Advocacy Award from Lawyers for Children America, Mr. Spector is a superstar, but you would never know without prying it out of him.  All of his pro bono work is, of course, in addition to being partner at Perlman, Yevoli & Albright, P.L., and raising a family.

When Mr. Spector was looking for an intern to help on a Florida Supreme Court case, I think everyone, at first, was interested – until they found out what the case was about.  Mr. Spector was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court to represent Eddie Riley in State v. Riley on an issue of great public importance certified by the 1st District Court of Appeals.  The issue at the Florida Supreme Court dealt with a narrow area of criminal law; specifically, whether the precedent of per se reversible error when lesser-included offenses are omitted from jury instructions should be upheld in light of some recent cases on harmless error analysis. The facts were ugly – Mr. Riley was convicted of capital sexual battery.  When I first discussed the case with Mr. Spector, he said he would understand if I did not want to help.  While we both found the facts to be beyond reproach, we both knew that preserving the structural integrity of trials to ensure due process was way too important to let disturbing facts get in the way.

At first the case was not supposed to be set for oral argument before the Florida Supreme Court.  But, about three weeks before show time, Mr. Spector let me know that it was set, and I could go with him to help prepare for and observe oral argument.  I had to collect myself and restrain from screaming “YES!”

After much preparation, reading, thought, organizing, and practice, the day came for oral argument before the Florida Supreme Court.  It was a hot bench.  The attorney representing the State could hardly get his name on the record before he was assailed with issues he had not addressed in either one of his briefs, and probably counted on the court dismissing Mr. Spector as “some pro bono civil litigation attorney.”  Mr. Spector and I were in shock – we had prepared for the worst questions against Mr. Riley’s case; but, the Court was hammering the State with questions directly supporting Mr. Spector’s brief.  Justice Pariente was even gracious enough to interrupt Mr. Spector at one point to let all of the justices and the people observing the case that he was a pro bono attorney appointed to this case.  At the end of the day, I think we were both giddy and exhausted.  Of course, we now have to painfully wait for the decision, but the one thing I left sure of was that I was going to use my legal career for the greater good, just like Mr. Spector had done that day.