Events Benefiting Children in Our Community

Phil Hall of McKenzie & Hall, Volunteers to Coach a Local High School Trial Team

Phil Hall (pictured at the left) Coach of the Woodham High School Trial Team

         Phil Hall devoted many hours to helping a local high school mock trial team compete in the Circuit One Mock Trial Competition.  Phil Hall coached the Woodham High School team. Mr. Hall and his Woodham team captured the victory.    Please click here to see the wonderful praise the llawyers received for their stupendous efforts.

The Staff at McKenzie & Hall Decked Out in Costumes for Children's Events at Christmas and Halloween

Throughout the year the employees of McKenzie & Hall engage in multiple events that benefit the community. Among our yearly activities include: sponsoring a hotel room for “Halloween at the YMCA.”

Around Christmas time we volunteer at the Children's Center Holiday Party. For both of these events we dress up in costumes to entertain the children.

McKenzie & Hall Lawyers Participate in Lawyer Outreach Program

Joe Zarzaur spearheaded a lawyer outreach program in 2001. Lawyers volunteer and reach out to children in the Escambia County school system with information about the legal field. The Lawyer Outreach Program targets elementary schools which have the least opportunity for positive interaction with members of our judicial system. Attorneys and Judges in the Escambia County Bar Association volunteer approximately an hour and a half of their time to present a prepared lesson plan in schools throughout this county. The students and faculty receive this program quite well and the effect on the children can be immediately gleaned from their enthusiastic participation with these groups. Mr. Zarzaur presented a proposal to the Escambia County School Board on July 16, 2002 to accept the Outreach Program as permanent and to be conducted throughout the school year. The School Board passed a Resolution approving this proposal. Currently, Mr. Zarzaur is in the process of recruiting more attorneys and judges to volunteer their time to the Outreach Program. Teachers contact McKenzie & Hall if they are interested in having an attorney speak with their class.

Other Volunteer Work:

In 2003 we sponsored and some of our employees walked in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life walk. Many of our employees participated in the Escambia /Santa Rosa County Bar Association Justice jog that we sponsored as well.

During the last week in August 2003, we joined many other local firms to participate in “Casual for a Cause” to benefit the “Make-A-Wish Foundation.” McKenzie & Hall donated money to the Make A Wish Foundation in order for our employees to dress casually all week long.

Shortly after the dreadful events of September 11th the Americal Trial Lawyers Association issued and recommended a moratorium on all lawsuits related to the terrorist attacks. To continue the patriotism surrounding the events of that tragic day, the American Trial Lawyers Association started a trial lawyers care program. Through this program plaintiff lawyers around the country voluntarily and without any compensation represented victims and/or the families of victims killed in the September 11th attacks in pursuit of compensation through the Federal Compensation Fund established for the 9/11 victims and their families. Joseph Zarzaur represented a Florida family whose husband and father was killed as he finished the last two weeks of his job in World Trade Tower 2. Mr. Zarzaur settled the case for the family satisfactorily.

In the latter part of last year a tragedy befell a family located a few blocks from our firm. A mother of two children was tragically beaten to death by her boyfriend. Her children were placed in the care of Children and Family Services. McKenzie & Hall paid for the children and their social worker to fly up to New England in order for the children to go live with their grandmother.