Attorney Spencer Aronfeld and Lawyers to the Rescue

March 1st, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Florida attorney Spencer Aronfeld…

Attorney Spencer Aronfeld: “This is better than my day job. I’m not getting paid, but this is absolutely the most exciting experience I’ve ever had as a lawyer.”

Attorney Aronfeld of Lawyers to the Rescue

Attorney Spencer Aronfeld has a dream. He wants Lawyers to the Rescue to be known around the world as an army of attorneys ready to provide pro bono legal services wherever they’re needed to help people caught up in epic events. 

“My vision is that Lawyers to the Rescue becomes an organization like Doctors without Borders,” says Aronfeld who has been a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer in Miami for over 20 years. “Maybe we can’t save lives like doctors, but lawyers can change and improve people’s lives in times of crisis.” 

It all started last year when Aronfeld was sitting on the tarmac in Miami aboard a private jet waiting to fly out to work on a Chinese Drywall case. He looked out the window of the plane and saw a group of tired and frightened earthquake refugees arriving from Haiti and he desperately wanted to help. 

Within a few days, Aronfeld and his wife Dina had raised thousands of dollars for the Haiti relief fund. But the Aronfelds thought there must be a way for lawyers to do more than raise money. 

They kicked Lawyers to the Rescue in gear and soon began offering free legal help to the homeless at a shelter in downtown Miami.  

When the BP Oil spill happened, a Texas doctor friend asked if Lawyers to the Rescue could come to a little village outside New Orleans, where a group of Vietnamese and Cambodian shrimpers were wondering how in the world they would support their families with the Gulf waters swimming in oil.

“They were living in these FEMA trailers left over from hurricane Katrina,” says Aronfeld, “and they spoke absolutely no English.” 

“BP was going to have these men go out there in their little shrimp boats and try to clean up this oil spill with no training, no safety equipment, and no medical care in exchange for money,” says Aronfeld. 

Aronfeld found himself holding town hall meetings, meeting with the governor of Louisiana and doing what comes naturally. He went toe to toe with BP and did some hardnosed negotiating to get the best deal possible for people who had been harmed by the spill. In this case, a $5,000 cash settlement for each fisherman—and it didn’t require them to risk their lives scooping oil out of the Gulf. 

“I was like ‘Wow’—this is better than my day job. I am not getting paid, but this is absolutely the most exciting experience I have ever had as a lawyer,” says Aronfeld. “And I never took a penny for the work.” 

In fact, the Aronfelds have personally funded almost 100 percent of the start up and operation of Lawyers to the Rescue. 

To raise funds for Lawyers to the Rescue, Aronfeld has written an illustrated children’s book called “Sarah Rose—Kid Lawyer”, about a little girl who dreams of becoming an attorney. “All the money from the sales of the book goes to Lawyers to the Rescue,” says Aronfeld. 

A representative of a Haitian law school recently came to Miami and begged Aronfeld to set up a legal clinic in Haiti. But Lawyers to the Rescue, at this point, does not have enough money to fly, house and perhaps most importantly, provide security for the attorneys. 

“The state department website warns people not to travel there unless absolutely necessary,” laments Aronfeld who would love to go. “People are being killed or kidnapped on their way from airport. It is too dangerous.” 

“I have had calls from Romania, from Dubai, from Haiti, asking us to help,” says Aronfeld. “I hope that someday there will be a Lawyers to the Rescue branch in every major city in the world.” 

“But what’s holding us back right now is money and we still need more lawyers who are ready to do pro bono work like this.” 

Spencer Aronfeld graduated cum laude from the University Of Miami School Of Law and he is also a graduate of the Trial Lawyer College, a non-profit institution, founded and directed by the legendary trial lawyer, Gerry Spence. Aronfeld’s practice, Aronfeldl Trial Lawyers of Coral Gables, FL, focuses on personal injury and medical malpractice. He has made substantial recoveries for clients in litigation. 

Tags: Lawyers Giving Back, Lawyers to the Rescue, Spencer Aronfeld

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