Florida Justice Institute (FJI)

What Florida Justice Institute (FJI) does

The Florida Justice Institute, Inc. (FJI) is a Miami-headquartered, Florida-statewide nonprofit civil rights law firm founded in 1978 and operating as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It provides free legal representation exclusively to Florida residents through three programmatic pillars: Criminal Justice Reform (prison conditions, disability accommodations in custody, solitary confinement challenges, abuse and neglect claims); Housing & Poverty (challenges to laws criminalizing homelessness, including panhandling and sleep ordinances, and fair housing litigation against discrimination); and Disability Access (statewide and institutional litigation enforcing accessibility and accommodations for people with disabilities). Services are delivered pro bono through direct intake, referrals from partner organizations, and word-of-mouth within incarcerated and advocacy communities. There is no underlying technology product; FJI's "platform" is its in-house attorney team supplemented by formal pro bono co-counsel relationships with major law firms including Winston & Strawn, Holland & Knight, Carlton Fields, and Morgan & Morgan. FJI's capability stack consists of case-management workflows, documented court standing in Florida federal courts (Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts), and active monitoring of consent decrees against the Florida Department of Corrections.

FJI operates a nonprofit revenue model with no fees charged to clients. Funding is sourced from three streams: (1) tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and planned-giving vehicles including the Randall C. Berg Jr. Legacy Society; (2) foundation and corporate grants from entities such as The Miami Foundation, Plymouth Rock Foundation, Florida Bar Foundation, and Cowles Charitable Trust; and (3) episodic settlement-derived attorneys' fees and cost awards obtained in impact litigation. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, with leadership transitions from founder Roderick N. Petrey and long-serving Executive Director Randall C. Berg Jr. (1978-2018) through Dante P. Trevisani (2019-2023) to current Executive Director Michael J. Langley (December 2023 onward). Headcount is small (approximately 8-10 in-house staff), but effective litigation capacity is substantially amplified through established pro bono partnerships with tier-1 national and Florida-based law firms.

Name

Florida Justice Institute (FJI)

Legal name

Florida Justice Institute, Inc.

Website

https://fji.law

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Florida Justice Institute is a Miami-based nonprofit civil rights law firm founded in 1978 that provides free impact litigation in Florida on behalf of incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Interest Law Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Correctional Institutions (922140)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

State/Provincial Corrections, Probation & Parole Administration (BPAIABAF), Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE)

Keywords

• Civil rights litigation
• Impact litigation
• Prison conditions advocacy
• Housing discrimination law
• Disability accommodations law

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: FJI relies on tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The organization runs a #45for45 campaign encouraging monthly pledges of $45 for 45 months to support ongoing operations.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Support from foundations including The Miami Foundation, Plymouth Rock Foundation, Florida Bar Foundation, and others that provide funding for civil rights litigation and advocacy work.
3. Settlement Awards: In some cases, FJI recovers settlements and judgments that include attorneys' fees, which support organizational operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Florida Justice Institute is a nonprofit public interest law firm that provides free civil rights legal representation and impact litigation to vulnerable Floridians. The organization runs three core program areas—Criminal Justice Reform, Housing & Poverty, and Disability Access—focused on incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities. Services include direct legal representation, class action lawsuits, and systemic advocacy to reform prison conditions, challenge laws criminalizing poverty, fight housing discrimination, and enforce disability accommodations.

Product overview

FJI is a nonprofit civil rights legal organization offering impact litigation and advocacy services through three interconnected program areas: Criminal Justice Reform (prison conditions, prisoner rights, disability accommodations), Housing & Poverty (challenging laws that criminalize homelessness, housing discrimination), and Disability Access (ensuring accessible facilities and accommodations). The organization supplements its core legal services with internship/fellowship programs, pro bono legal assistance coordination, and volunteer opportunities, forming a comprehensive civil rights legal practice focused on Florida's most vulnerable residents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Criminal Justice Reform Legal Services Free legal representation and impact litigation to reform Florida's criminal justice policies, including efforts to improve prison conditions, prevent abuse, mitigate violence, achieve disability accommodations, protect free speech, address dangerous understaffing and overcrowding, and outlaw solitary confinement. Intended for incarcerated individuals in Florida.
• Housing & Poverty Legal Services Free legal representation to challenge laws that criminalize poverty and unfairly target people experiencing homelessness, advocate for affordable housing funding and treatment access, and represent victims of housing discrimination based on race, familial status, disability, and other protected characteristics. Intended for people experiencing homelessness and victims of housing discrimination in Florida.
• Disability Access Legal Services Free impact litigation aimed at compelling governments and businesses to maintain accessible facilities and guaranteeing that individuals with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities receive necessary accommodations to lead lives of dignity and respect. Intended for people with disabilities in Florida.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $8 million recovered for victims of housing discrimination
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Winston & Strawn LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 December 2025Winston & Strawn serves as pro bono co-counsel with FJI on class action lawsuit against Centurion and Florida Department of Corrections over systemic failure to provide cataract surgeries in prison. The firm provides substantial legal resources for complex federal litigation.
• Southern Legal Counsel (SLC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2024FJI and Southern Legal Counsel co-filed federal lawsuit challenging St. Johns County panhandling ordinance. The partnership resulted in $90,000 settlement and repeal of the unconstitutional law. SLC and FJI have collaborated on multiple cases challenging criminalization of poverty in Florida municipalities.
• Disability Rights FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021FJI represents Disability Rights Florida in litigation against Florida Department of Corrections for breach of settlement agreement protecting incarcerated people with disabilities. Partnership resulted in 2021 settlement requiring systemic reforms to FDOC's treatment of incarcerated people with disabilities.
• Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLPminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020FJI and Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell filed lawsuit against City of Miami challenging panhandling ordinance as unconstitutional restriction of free speech.
• Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019FJI partnered with SPLC and Florida Legal Services to file class action lawsuit challenging solitary confinement for children in Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice facilities. Collaboration on prison reform litigation and policy advocacy.
• Carlton Fields, P.A.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Carlton Fields co-counseled with FJI on Carr v. United States medical malpractice case against Bureau of Prisons, resulting in $400,000 settlement for incarcerated man with heart failure.
• Holland & KnightminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011FJI collaborated with Holland & Knight as co-counsel in Butler v. McDonough case representing inmates with severe mental illnesses. Holland & Knight contributed to five years of litigation resulting in $1.6 million in attorneys' fees.
• Florida Legal Services (FLS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFJI and Florida Legal Services co-litigated Anderson v. Centurion case over sexual abuse of incarcerated women at Lowell Correctional Institution, resulting in $100,000 judgment. Longstanding partnership on institutional legal services for Florida's most vulnerable.
• Social Justice Law Collective (SJLC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSJLC co-litigated Demler v. Inch class action against Florida Department of Corrections over confiscation of digital music from incarcerated people, resulting in 3.9 million digital media credits for class members.
• Legal Services of Greater MiamiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFJI partnered with Legal Services of Greater Miami on housing discrimination cases including Chinye v. Milton ($1.25 million settlement) and DeLeon v. Hialeah Housing Authority.
• Morgan & Morgan, P.A.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMorgan & Morgan partnered with FJI representing Disability Rights Florida in lawsuit against FDOC for breach of settlement agreement. The firm's Deaf/ Disability Rights Unit contributes expertise to disability accommodations litigation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC): National nonprofit civil rights organization that litigates on behalf of marginalized communities, including prisoners and people with disabilities. SPLC co-litigated juvenile solitary confinement litigation with FJI and shares the impact-litigation-plus-advocacy model, though at a much larger national scale.
• Equal Justice Initiative: Alabama-based nonprofit focused on criminal justice reform and prisoners' rights. An FJI senior attorney (Erica Downs) began her career at EJI; both organizations specialize in impact litigation for incarcerated populations and share the same pro bono-supported litigation model.
• ACLU of Florida: State affiliate of the ACLU litigating civil rights and civil liberties cases in Florida. Overlaps significantly with FJI on criminal-justice reform, free-speech, and disability-rights matters, and competes for similar donor dollars.
• Disability Rights Florida: Florida's designated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system for people with disabilities. FJI represents DR Florida in litigation against the Florida Department of Corrections, making it both a strategic co-litigant and a direct competitor for the same disability rights docket.
• Florida Legal Services: Statewide nonprofit legal-aid provider serving low-income Floridians. FJI and FLS co-litigated the Anderson v. Centurion sexual-abuse case, competing and collaborating on overlapping civil rights and institutional-reform dockets in Florida.
• Southern Legal Counsel: Florida-based nonprofit public interest law firm focused on civil rights, disability rights, and economic justice. Co-litigates with FJI on homelessness/poverty cases (e.g., the St. Johns County panhandling ordinance lawsuit), sharing an identical client base, impact-litigation model, and Florida-only geographic scope.
• Legal Services of Greater Miami: Miami-based legal-aid organization that partnered with FJI on the housing-discrimination docket (Chinye v. Milton, DeLeon v. Hialeah). Same geographic base and adjacent civil rights/poverty practice area.

Broad incumbents

• Lambda Legal: National civil rights organization using impact litigation to advance LGBTQ+ and disability rights. Comparable in mission (impact litigation for vulnerable populations, attorneys'-fee recoveries) but operates at national scale and with a different subject-matter focus.
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: National civil rights law firm litigating racial justice and institutional-reform cases. Shares FJI's impact-litigation model against government defendants, with overlapping dockets in criminal-justice and housing discrimination matters.

Emerging players

• National Center for Law and Economic Justice: Nonprofit focused on poverty-law impact litigation, including challenges to criminalization of homelessness and institutional disability rights. Adjacent peer with mission overlap in FJI's housing/poverty and disability practice areas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/floridajusticeinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fji-law
• Instagraminstagram.com/fji.law

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Florida Justice Institute (FJI)