Melanie Kalmanson Featured in ABA Journal “Members Who Inspire” Column for Commitment to Pro Bono Death Penalty Work
Melanie Kalmanson, an attorney in the Quarles & Brady Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, was the subject of the ABA Journal “Members Who Inspire” feature, which delved into the extensive death penalty-related pro bono work Kalmanson has done throughout her career.
Kalmanson is a member of the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project Steering Committee, has been involved in multiple death penalty pro bono projects while at Quarles, has written law review articles on the topic and teaches a course on Florida capital punishment law at Florida State University College of Law, her alma mater.
The article explores why Kalmanson is so dedicated to this work and why it’s so important for her to help others.
An excerpt:
Kalmanson, a native of central Florida, says her childhood prompted her penchant for pro bono.
She and her younger sister grew up in the middle of their parents’ high-conflict divorce. She remembers learning that a lack of financial resources can affect someone’s access to justice and the outcome of litigation. She later decided to become a lawyer, in part to help families in similar situations.
“I knew I couldn’t do family law all day, but I wanted it to be part of what I did,” says Kalmanson, who gained experience by working for family law practitioners in Orlando and Tallahassee during college. “I wanted to focus on pro bono and for it to be a large part of my practice.”
…
“I’ve built this expertise on issues with Florida capital sentencing, and it started as sort of a hobby,” Kalmanson says. “But I think going to Quarles, and with them supporting this pro bono work, it all came together. This amicus brief is a really good example of that.”
Kalmanson received the Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Young Lawyer Award from the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee and Volunteer Lawyers Program in April. In addition to her work on the death penalty, she has served as pro bono counsel in family law matters and child dependency cases. “I always tell people, ‘Don’t do pro bono because someone’s making you. Find what you’re passionate about, and then do pro bono in that area,’” says Kalmanson, who also received her firm’s Gonring Pro Bono Award in 2023.