(FJI) was founded in 1978 by Roderick N. Petrey while serving as Executive Vice President of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation in New York City. Rod was and still is a leading figure in securing funding for public interest law programs across the country. Upon leaving the Clark Foundation to enter the private practice of law in Miami, Rod was given a start-up grant to establish FJI. Rod’s initia
l mission for FJI, a private, not-for-profit, public interest law organization, was to:
1. Improve the administration of justice for all Floridians;
2. Encourage better representation of citizens’ interests; and
3. Increase the ability of citizens to resolve disputes quickly and inexpensively. FJI was to accomplish these goals by working with existing organizations to identify major, unmet needs in the community and address them with advocacy and litigation. FJI’s initial Board of Directors, in addition to Rod, included LeRoy Collins, former Governor and Undersecretary of Commerce; Chesterfield Smith, former President of The Florida Bar and American Bar Association and managing partner at Holland & Knight; John Edward Smith, a partner at Steel Hector & Davis; Hugh McMillan, Jr., former Legislative Counsel for Governor Askew and in private practice; and Eleanor Mitchell Hunter, Assistant General Counsel to the Governor and eventual Executive Director of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. After incorporating the organization, establishing the Board, and obtaining section 501(c)(3) charitable status, FJI hired Randall C. “Randy” Berg, Jr. in 1978 to be its Executive Director, a position he held until his retirement at the end of 2018. Randy sadly passed away in April of 2019.
