When Ira Leesfield first got involved in scholarship-giving early on in his career, he had no idea the chain-reaction he would set off.
“I put a heavy emphasis on scholarships because that is what helped me most growing up,” said the Board-Certified Attorney and founder of Leesfield & Partners, an accomplished personal injury law firm.
In 1990, when he started The Leesfield Family Foundation, doling out scholarships to those who needed it most was a “natural outlet” for him and his family. Since then, numerous scholarships have been given, such as the Leesfield/AAJ Law Student Scholarship and the Sookie Williams Scholarship.
“I have a deep feeling of gratitude for what was done for me and, as soon as I could, I began to pay that generosity back,” he said.
Now, in 2025, over three decades of law students, athletes and under-privileged students have found financial support in The Foundation. The 2025 recipients of The Foundation’s scholarship with the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers (MDFAWL) are Rebecca Rodriguez, a second-year law student at the University of Miami, and Genesis Navarrete, also in her second year at St. Thomas University. This year’s pool of applicants had no shortage of impressive, fledgling attorneys in need of financial support, however, these two women stood out through their community contributions and tenacity.
The latest project for The Foundation is the Dexter Butler Scholarship, which will be given to a Key West High School athlete that demonstrates the legacy of mentorship, kindness and commitment to their community left behind by a beloved teacher and coach. The idea for the scholarship came from Mr. Leesfield’s long, personal friendship with the Butler family in Key West to honor Mr. Butler after his death.
“I have known the Butler family for my entire 45 years working in Key West,” Mr. Leesfield said. “There is no finer family in the community who has done more for high school athletic programs. Dexter Butler was a true role model.”
With the creation of new scholarships and other contributions to communities all over South Florida, The Foundation is showing no signs of slowing down. It is this altruistic attitude that has sparked a chain reaction in many previous recipients of Mr. Leesfield’s scholarships to go off and start their own. Katie Phang, a former prosecutor and MSNBC correspondent, as well as several others who previously received scholarships from The Foundation have followed in Mr. Leesfield’s footsteps.
Of watching these past scholarship recipients going off to start their own awards, Mr. Leesfield said:
“It’s truly gratifying to see this second generation taking it and making it their own and paying it forward.”
