2022 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award

Mischelle Taylor D’Angelone understands the plight that many struggling families face. D’Angelone shares her history in foster care to encourage her colleagues to volunteer and to inspire and give hope to her community through her work with Bay Area Legal Services. Last year, D’Angelone provided approximately 300 hours of pro bono legal work to clients through Bay Area Legal Services and as a Guardian ad Litem. D’Angelone has provided pro bono services, from extended consultations through full representation, to clients in guardian advocacy, probate, family law, and adoption cases. She often takes on several pro bono cases at a time, even those with emergencies. To date, she has served as a Guardian ad Litem on over 40 cases. D’Angelone is a managing partner of Taylor D’Angelone Law, P.A., a female-led firm in Pasco County.

Mark J. Wolfson began volunteering with the Bay Area Legal Services’ Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP) in 1995. During the course of his pro bono service, Wolfson donated 450 posted hours through October 2021 and is currently working on 11 open cases. Wolfson also serves on Bay Area Legal Services’ Intake Clinic panel and mentors other attorneys. Early on, Wolfson noticed many guardianship cases on the list of cases needing pro bono placement. When he learned that the cases are difficult to place, he took all of them and has continued to take these cases regularly. Wolfson is Foley & Lardner Tampa office’s pro bono chair. In that role, he has increased the number of his firm’s lawyers doing pro bono work, including business lawyers who work on nonprofit matters through VLP as well as through other organizations.