Legal Services

As a member of the Florida PBA, one of the primary benefits of membership is legal assistance. Florida PBA has two “in-house” attorneys and over 40 retained attorneys to provide the best legal services available to Florida’s law enforcement officers. These services are provided as part of your membership, and there is NO cost to you:

Legal Representation: Disciplinary Cases and Arbitration
The Florida PBA will provide you legal representation if you are suspended, demoted or dismissed by your agency. Depending on your employment status, the representation can take two forms: legal assistance in a career service appeal or through the grievance/arbitration process.

Legal Representation: Before CJSTC
If you are the subject of a certification disciplinary case or inquiry from the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC), the Florida PBA will provide you legal assistance at all three stages of the process, including the probable cause hearing, the administrative case and the final hearing before the full CJSTC.

Legal Defense: Shootings/Serious Accidents
If you are involved in a duty-related shooting incident, an on-duty vehicle crash or other accident which results in a serious injury to another person, Florida PBA will provide an attorney “on-scene” to assist in any internal, criminal investigation or questioning about the incident.

Legal Defense: Civil Suits/Criminal Actions
If you are sued civilly, subject to a grand jury investigation, or criminal action for an incident arising out of and within the scope of your law enforcement duties, the Florida PBA will provide an attorney to represent you and cover the costs of defending the case against you.

Legal Duty Officer
We provide access to a legal duty officer, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to your emergency, duty-related legal needs.

To ensure these benefits are available to you, you must be a member in good standing on the date of the incident and must continue to be a member thereafter during representation by the PBA.

LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATION

PBA maintains a professional staff of lobbyists to aid in obtaining legislation beneficial to law enforcement and corrections officers and support personnel.

DISCIPLINARY REPRESENTATION

PBA Provides full-time in-house and retained attorneys and staff representatives to handle your discipline cases, as well as your de-certification cases before the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission.

CIVIL SUITS/CRIMINAL ACTIONS

PBA provides an attorney if you are named as a defendant in any civil or criminal action arising out of the scope of your duties as a law enforcement officer.

PBA DEATH AND DISABILITY PLAN

This program provides, free to members, a death benefit of up to $50,000 and a catastrophic injury benefit of up to $30,000 to the member, spouse or dependent children when the member is killed or suffers a catastrophic injury in the line of duty.

SHOOTING SCENES

A legal duty officer is available 24 hours a day, for duty-related legal needs. PBA provides an attorney to represent you at the scene of an on-duty shooting or serious injury.

Legal Team

Stephanie Dobson Webster

General Counsel

stephanie@flpba.org

Join Florida PBA Today

Florida Police Benevolent Association membership is open to all certified law enforcement and corrections officers regardless of race, creed, sex or national origin. The Association is made up of semi-autonomous charters formed on a county-wide or regional basis, and local or statewide chapters.

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