BG v AG

Martin County attorneys have long understood the importance of pro bono and have had a profound effect on the lives of the pro bono clients they have served. B.G. and T.N. are two examples of how Martin County pro bono attorneys have made a difference:
B.G. was referred to Florida Rural Legal Services by a case worker who was alarmed by the situation. B.G. had received an emergency order signed by the judge, giving sole custody of her child to the father. She had not received any notice of a hearing. After the father knew she had changed residences, he moved the court case to another county, and had notice sent to her former address. He represented in front of the judge that the address was her current address and that she was sent notice. There were assertions by the case worker that the father had used the exact same tactics in a previous paternity case with another woman. The mother was completely distraught and panicked. Martin County attorney Joseph Gufford was contacted and he without hesitation agreed to handle the file. That same day he personally went to the courthouse and pulled the file and was alarmed by what he found. He set the case for a hearing and the mother had her child returned to her (and he also got the father reprimanded by the judge).