Tampa Law Firms Distribute Unclaimed Settlement Funds to Eight Non-Profits

Bay Area Legal Services receives half-million dollar contribution

Tampa, Fla. – Four Tampa law firms that lead significant consumer protection class actions, filed legal documents earlier this year to distribute over $825,000 in unclaimed settlement funds to eight organizations.  The organizations, Bay Area Legal Services (BALS), Gulf Coast Legal Services, Junior Achievement of West Central Florida, National Consumer Law Center, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Legal Services of North Florida, Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, and Florida Rural Legal Services, were selected by the law firms for their public service and consumer advocacy efforts.

Recognizing that funding for legal advocacy for the poor and middle class has been reduced in recent years, the largest portion of the distribution, $550,000, was earmarked for Bay Area Legal Services.  Bay Area Legal Services works to provide high-quality legal representation to low-income residents.  Under the distribution documents, National Consumer Law Center and National Association of Consumer Advocates each received $100,000, and Gulf Coast Legal Services received $27,500. Junior Achievement received $15,000 and the other three legal advocacy organizations, Legal Services of North Florida, Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, and Florida Rural Legal Services, each received $12,500.

The firms, including Craig Rothburd of Craig E. Rothburd P.A., J. Daniel Clark of Clark & Martino P.A., Scott Jeeves of Jeeves Law Group, and Gary Takacs of Takacs P.A., sited the importance of insuring the settlement funds were distributed in a way that benefitted consumers as a whole.