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Ruvin is first Floridian and first Clerk of Courts to be recognized in the award’s history
Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin is the national recipient of the American Bar Association’s prestigious Robert B. Yegge 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.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Miami-Dade County earlier this year, Ruvin 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 nation.
Ruvin was nominated for the award by a veritable Who’s Who of Florida’s and America’s legal community: Neal R. Sonnett, 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.
