Getting the business community to support access to civil justice has been a confounding question for legal aid organizations, but two Miami groups have projects taking innovative approaches to the issue.

Michael Finney, president of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's economic development arm, told a gathering organized by Legal Services of Greater Miami Inc. on Thursday that he is spearheading an effort to help move people in poverty to economic viability.

“I'm probably getting ahead of where my board is with this,” he conceded, but he said six groups have been recruited as partners in a program modeled on Community Ventures of Michigan. Finney came to Miami from Detroit about six months ago and was involved in the Michigan effort, which he said helped 5,000 people find jobs.

Jordan Chisholm, a Legal Services fellow, is coordinating a neighborhood enterprise project offering corporate legal services including contract negotiations and transaction advice to minority-owned businesses. Private attorneys are involved as well.

Legal aid funding in Florida has grown problematic in recent years. Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed funds for legal aid agencies after their revenue from interest on attorney trust accounts dipped on declining interest rates, and federal funding has dipped as well.

In terms of need for services, an animated video offered an example based on fact of a working couple who fell behind on their condominium association dues and faced the loss of their home in foreclosure before finding help at Legal Services. They settled the dispute with their homeowner association.

Susana Fernandez, human resources director at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, said employment issues like absenteeism are frequently driven by legal issues from traffic tickets to domestic violence. She said legal aid translates directly to business productivity.

Serial entrepreneur Mike Fernandez, chairman of private investment firm MBF Healthcare Partners LP of Coral Gables, said, “The business sector understands what it means to be on the edge of losing your business.”

He said data and one-on-one contacts are needed to build support for legal aid.

“Data drive the business person,” Fernandez said. On the individual side, he said, “People relate to people they know.”

His contacts are at the upper levels. He spoke Wednesday with U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham and “two or three others.”

Fernandez, a philanthropist who has donated more than $100 million, also talked about attending a foundation meeting in Naples and meeting a board member who tuned in on immigration after a Hispanic woman she knew got her notice.

“A month ago, that lady in Naples probably would have said take a hike,” Fernandez said.