Drew Wilson
The American Bar Association has selected Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin for its Robert B. Yegge Award.
The Robert B. Yegge Award, given annually by the ABA’s Judicial Division Lawyers Conference, recognizes a current or former ABA member for exceptional and noteworthy work through legal, scholarly or civic avenues. It is named in honor of Robert B. Yegge, former Dean Emeritus of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and former Chair of the Lawyers Conference.
Ruvin was selected for the award for his trailblazing and transformative work in the field of judicial administration.
“I am deeply honored by this national recognition, and I proudly accept it on behalf of my 1,147 colleagues who come to work every day in the spirit of public service and innovation. They revel in being on the cutting edge of technology and are dedicated to maintaining the people’s access to the courts, even in these pandemic days,” Ruvin said.
In selecting Ruvin as its 2020 Robert B. Yegge Award honoree, the ABA noted that Ruvin made history by literally transforming an antiquated, cumbersome, paper-driven system into the nation’s first paperless court system.
Last year, he revolutionized the jury service landscape when he launched a paperless, all-digital eJuror system in the 11th Judicial Circuit, the largest judicial circuit in the state to make the switch.
Digitizing property records, moving foreclosures to an online format, and countless other strategic innovations have saved money, increased efficiencies, and enhanced accessibility for the people of Miami-Dade County.
Ruvin has also implemented solutions to keep Clerk’s office services accessible amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his team collaborated on dozens of creative — and safe — solutions to continue providing access to essential court services in a virtual world.
His initiatives have been so successful that many are serving as models for other clerk’s offices around the state and country.
The list of people who nominated Ruvin for the award was just as prestigious as the award itself. Among them were Neal R. Sonnett, a prominent criminal defense attorney, former Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Past President of the Dade County Bar Association; the Honorable Bertila Soto, Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida; Dori Foster-Morales, President of The Florida Bar; Gilbert K. Squires, Past President of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association; and Stephen Zack, Past President of the American Bar Association and The Florida Bar.
