Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Honors Melanie Kalmanson with Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Young Lawyer

Melanie Kalmanson, a Quarles & Brady Litigation & Dispute Resolution attorney in the firm’s Tampa office, received the award for “Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Young Lawyer” at the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee and Volunteer Lawyers Program 2024 Pro Bono Service Awards ceremony on April 24.

Kalmanson, who contributes hundreds of hours of pro bono time each year, is particularly passionate about volunteering her time on issues related to capital punishment.

A member of the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project since 2019 and now in her second term as a member of the project’s steering committee, Kalmanson is part of a Quarles team working on a capital defense case for a client who has been on Texas’ death row since the early 1990s. She also is the lead Quarles attorney on a case for a client on Florida’s death row, coordinating with the client’s federal defense attorneys, and has led the firm’s efforts to join an amicus brief in a federal circuit court of appeals that discussed the importance of pro bono in capital cases.

In addition, Kalmanson has provided support on a litigation matter for a nonprofit that supports abused and neglected teens and has handled a variety of pro bono cases, including family law matters, guardian ad litem in child dependency cases and advocating for the best interests of children involved in the juvenile dependency system.