Like many who saw video footage of Minneapolis man George Floyd die at the hands of a police officer, Eduardo Maura of Ayala Law in Miami is livid.

So livid, in fact, that he had to do something.

"Politics is not my thing, meaning I'm not a guy that will ever run for office. But how can I be useful, at least in some way, with the skills we have?" Maura said. "I thought offering our services pro bono to someone in need, with respect to whether it's civil lawsuits regarding police brutality or taking care of some of these protestors, especially those that have been caught in the crossfire and they've been peaceful, I thought that could be actually useful."

Maura's firm — which usually specializes in civil litigation for consumers, small businesses and immigrants — has established the George Floyd Pro Bono Representation Program, aimed at providing representation for victims of police abuse, anyone in trouble for protesting peacefully and anyone else with a legal matter that the firm finds furthers the memory of Floyd.

"I am shaken to the core. I'm heartbroken," Maura said. "We're a firm generally that represents the immigrants, the little guy, the defenseless. We're not defending the powerful. So this is in our DNA a little bit."

Ayala Law's litigators have teamed with two civil lawyers, a criminal lawyer and an immigration lawyer, and Maura said he'll welcome any attorneys who want to get involved.

The most difficult aspect of suing over police brutality, according to Maura, will be getting around Florida's damages caps.

Under Florida Law, wrongful death cases against the police are capped at $200,000 because of sovereign immunity laws. But that limit can disappear if, for instance, an officer is proven to have acted outside of their duties, or if the plaintiff establishes a pattern of police misconduct that was not properly addressed.

Litigators interested in collaborating are encouraged to contact Maura at [email protected].

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