Mark J. Newman Awarded Florida Bar’s Out-of-State Division’s 2007 Pro Bono Service Recognition Award
Atlanta partner Mark J. Newman (International Practice Group member and head of the firm’s Immigration law team) was recently awarded the Florida Bar’s Out-of-State Division’s 2007 Pro Bono Service Recognition award for his outstanding commitment to providing pro bono legal services throughout his career. In addition to the award, Newman was profiled in the organization’s quarterly newsletter.
In his 27 year career, Newman has provided countless hours of assistance to pro bono clients in Florida as well as Georgia. He was specifically singled out for his dedication and effectiveness in helping undocumented immigrants with their legal needs, locally and nationally. In particular, while he practiced immigration and trial law in Florida, he served as lead counsel in the federal class action proceedings to acquire lawful permanent residence for the more than 125,000 Mariel Cubans (known as the Mariel boatlift). Newman and his team were successful in negotiating the right for these refugees to apply for U.S. residency.
Newman was also praised for his work in Florida by being on the boards of the Miami Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Leukemia Society of America, the Downtown Miami Rotary Club, and his work with the Dade County Juvenile Detention facility.
Newman’s pro bono work in Georgia has involved providing counsel for Health Students Taking Action Together, which involves trying to understand the new Georgia Immigration Act and its affects on health care providers, as well as providing pro bono counsel to the Foundation for Futures in Medicine, a group that encourages minority students to attend medical school and provides financial scholarships to them.
Currently, Newman serves on the board of the Atlanta Bar Asylum Project, which receives pro bono immigration case referrals from the federal government, local and out-of-state nonprofit organizations and community groups, and other sources, including aliens and their family members.
In addition to providing direct pro bono representation in Georgia, Newman has served as chairman of the Atlanta District Director’s Liaison Committee for AILA; co-chaired the ABA/Prentice Hall Seminar on the 1990 Immigration Act; served as Rotary District 6900 Chair for international short term youth exchanges for the last five years; volunteers his time with Catholic Charities and the Atlanta International Charter School, Dancers Core; and is an active mentor for public high school students.
Newman has co-authored Immigration Law and Practice in Florida and Ethics in a Brave New World, as well as lectured at numerous seminars and CLEs.
About the Out-of-State Practitioners Division of the Florida Bar:
The Out-of-State Practitioners Division is an organization for Florida Bar members who reside outside of Florida. The Division works on ensuring equal treatment for in-state and out-of-state Florida Bar members by reviewing and monitoring legislative and Bar proposals, and ensuring that out-of-sate practitioners are on equal footing with their in-state counterparts. The Division also serves as a networking and resource organization for its members by providing CLE seminars, social events, newsletters and a Web site.