Stephen F. Hanlon has a long history of handling public interest and civil rights cases. He manages Holland & Knight's Community Services Team, which provides legal representation to people and groups that otherwise could not afford it. In 1997, the firm received the ABA Pro Bono Publico Award. The American Lawyer has described Holland and Knight as a "Pro Bono Champion."
Mr. Hanlon's major civil rights work has included challenges to high stakes testing, challenges to indigent defense systems, a claims bill in the Florida Legislature for the survivors of the town of Rosewood, housing, employment and AIDS discrimination, death penalty litigation, prisoner rights, and a constitutional challenge to unconsented medical experimentation.