Stephen Hanlon

Stephen F. Hanlon (born in St. Louis, Missouri) is an attorney who worked for Holland & Knight and took on many civil rights cases such as the Rosewood massacre and for the Havasupai Indians. He was the lead attorney in the 1983 Debra P. v. Turlington case that fought against Florida's State Literacy Test, which affected mostly poor and people of color. In 1989, he established the pro bono practice at Holland & Knight, and after retiring from the firm in 2012, he served as the project director for multiple state studies documenting excessive workloads for public defenders. His work has led to legislative reforms, court decisions, and national standards for indigent defense.