2014 Summer Public Interest Events for Law Students

For more information, visit http://www.probono.net/dc/calendar/ _______ Tuesday, June 17 | 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm Caregiver Representation Pro Bono Attorney Training – Children’s Law Center Steptoe & Johnson (1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW; Red Line: Dupont Circle) Register at www.childrenslawcenter.org/pro-bono-home Current and prospective pro bono attorneys are invited to learn about adoption, guardianship, and custody law and practice, and representing caregivers in these cases. A light lunch will be provided. _______ Wednesday, June 18 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Public Interest Happy Hour – Washington Council of Lawyers & Children’s Law Center Children’s Law Center (616 H Street, NW; Red Line: Gallery Place) All are welcome! Invite a friend to join you! _______ Thursday, June 19 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Perspectives on Poverty Law from the Bench: DC Superior Court – Washington Council of Lawyers Jones Day (300 New Jersey Avenue, NW; Red Line: Union Station) Three Superior Court judges will discuss how poverty impacts the justice system, the critical role that pro bono and public interest attorneys play in securing access to justice, and how a public interest career path can lead to a judicial appointment. _______ Tuesday, June 24 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Legal Advocacy for People With Intellectual Disabilities – DC Department on Disability Services, Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, and Project Action Arent Fox LLP (1717 K Street, NW; Red Line: Farragut North) RSVP to mwhitlatch@dcqualitytrust.org An interactive brown bag discussion of: practice tips, ethical obligations, reasonable accommodations, advocacy support, and more. _______ Wednesday, June 25 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch and Law: Bullying – Children’s Law Center Conference Call: Dial 605–562–3000 and use passcode 964021# No RSVP is required; learn more at http://www.childrenslawcenter.org/ A discussion of Children’s Law Center’s efforts to address bullying in DC schools. _______ Tuesday, July 8 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Perspectives on Poverty Law from the Bench: DC Court of Appeals – Washington Council of Lawyers DC Court of Appeals (430 E Street, NW – Multipurpose Room; Red Line: Judiciary Square) Three Court of Appeals judges will discuss how poverty impacts the justice system, the critical role that pro bono and public interest attorneys play in securing access to justice, and how a public interest career path can lead to a judicial appointment. _______ Wednesday, July 9 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Fellowships 101: An Introduction to Postgraduate Public Interest Fellowships – Washington Council of Lawyers Georgetown Law (600 New Jersey Avenue, NW – Hart Auditorium; Red Line: Union Station) A panel discussion of the ins and outs of project-based fellowship programs. Expert panelists will offer tips and insights about how to craft the best fellowship proposals while in law school. _______ Thursday, July 10 | 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm An Evening at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Arent Fox LLP Holocaust Memorial Museum (100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW; Orange/Blue Line: Smithsonian) For more information, contact Emily.Dorsey@arentfox.com Gerard Leval, General Counsel of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and a partner at Arent Fox LLP, will discuss legal issues relating to the development of the museum and those affecting the museum’s operations since its opening in 1993. _______ Wednesday, July 16 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Public Interest Happy Hour – Washington Council of Lawyers Thomas Foolery (2029 P Street, NW; Red Line: Dupont Circle) Celebrity guest bartenders pour your drink: Jim Sandman (Legal Services Corporation), Paul Smith (Jenner & Block), Virginia Sloan (The Constitution Project), and William Treanor (Georgetown University Law Center). _______ Friday, July 18 | 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Practicing Public Interest Law East of the Anacostia River: 4th Annual Summer Panel Discussion with the East of the River Casehandlers Deanwood Library (1350 49th Street, NE; Orange Line: Deanwood) To register, contact Heather Hodges at 202.269.5100 or hhodges@nlsp.org A discussion about student internships and pro bono opportunities east of the river, the DC Bar Foundation’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program for public interest lawyers in DC, and the DC legal services providers that serve the low-income residents of the diverse and vibrant neighborhoods east of the river. _______ Thursday, July 24 | 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Perspectives on Poverty Law from the Bench: Office of Administrative Hearings – Washington Council of Lawyers Arnold & Porter LLP (555 12th Street, NW; Orange/Blue/Red Line: Metro Center) Three DC Office of Administrative Hearings judges will discuss how poverty impacts the justice system, the critical role that pro bono and public interest attorneys play in securing access to justice, and how a public interest career path can lead to a judicial appointment. _______ Wednesday, July 30 | 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Perspectives on Poverty Law from the Bench: US District Court for the District of Columbia – Washington Council of Lawyers McDermott Will & Emery (500 North Capitol Street, NW; Red Line: Union Station) Three DC District Court judges will discuss how poverty impacts the justice system, the critical role that pro bono and public interest attorneys play in securing access to justice, and how a public interest career path can lead to a judicial appointment. _______ Monday, August 18 – Friday, August 22 13th Annual Human Rights on the Hill – University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law To join the list for more information, including a session schedule, write to JFL@udc.edu The course features presentations from a wide range…

Law Students Inspired To Do Public Service at Sold-Out Summer Forum

On June 12, we held our annual Summer Pro Bono & Public Interest Forum. We were joined at Arnold & Porter by over two hundred eager lawyers, summer associates, and legal interns—eager to learn about how to make public service and pro bono work an integral part of their legal careers. Our Executive Director Nancy Lopez got things underway by sharing a line from “For Good”—from the musical Wicked—describing how we can be changed for the better by the people who come into our lives. Nancy drew not only the obvious conclusion—that clients in need can have their lives changed by lawyers who care—but also the converse: that clients can change their lawyers for the better too. Then it was on the keynote speech, delivered by Jim Sandman, President of the Legal Services Corporation. After urging everyone to join Washington Council of Lawyers, Jim shared some words of encouragement and advice for new lawyers. Among other things, lawyers shouldn’t feel the need to devise a master plan: “You shouldn’t have a plan,” Sandman said, because “opportunities for change are around every corner and you should welcome them and follow those that prove promising to bigger and better accomplishments.” He urged young lawyers to get involved in their communities, retain flexibility by living beneath their means—“I drove over here today in my 2003 Honda Civic. With a smile on my face, because I love what I do”—and to work hard on time management. The rousing and humorous speech concluded with Sandman telling the crowd to “find and collect as many mentors as possible. They can even be younger then you, but find people who inspire and motivate you and don’t let them go.” Attendees then broke out into one of five sessions. Each featured panels of experienced lawyers and advocates with experience in a particular field of public-interest or pro bono work. Attendees learned (among many other things) about the diverse career paths of civil-rights lawyers; coping with the intense emotional demands of criminal litigation; the complicated legal and humanitarian issues involved in immigration cases; the unique skills that new lawyers can develop working on pro bono transactional matters, and the desperate need for representation of parties in DC family court. It was a ton of information and inspiration packed into just over two hours. And we can’t wait for next year’s event!

The Exoneration of Sabein Burgess: Pro Bono Lawyers Overcome Junk Science and Help to Free an Innocent Man

On May 28, we cosponsored (along with the Constitution Project, the Innocence Project, and Steptoe and Johnson) a panel on the recent exoneration of Sabein Burgess. Burgess spent nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Aleta Spraguehas this report on the panel. At age 24, Sabein Burgess was convicted of murdering his girlfriend at their Baltimore home. His defense attorney called no witnesses during the two-day trial. Burgess was sentenced to life in prison; he remained incarcerated until this year –despite the emergence of contradictory eyewitness testimony and another man’s confession. Eventually, a team of attorneys demonstrated that he was convicted based on faulty forensic evidence. On February 21, 2014, Burgess, now 43, was finally able to return home. The panel featured attorneys from both Steptoe and Johnson and the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP), which worked together on behalf of Burgess. The panelists explained how the justice system failed Burgess by providing an ineffective defense attorney and repeatedly disregarding evidence of his innocence after his conviction – particularly the confession of Charles Dorsey, who today is considered the primary suspect. The conviction of Burgess rested almost entirely on questionable gunshot residue evidence – the validity of which wasformally reassessed by the FBI in 2005. Gunshot residue evidence has a high risk of contamination; today, the FBI has stopped using this type of evidence. Parisa Dehghani-Tafti of the Innocence Project explained how gunshot residue evidence and other forensic science tools were created by law enforcement, are subject to confirmation bias, and generally lack scientific rigor. Indeed, according to MAIP, “flawed forensic science testimony has been a factor in more than half of the DNA exonerations nationwide and in more than 20 percent of all exonerations nationwide.” Unfortunately, the Burgess story is not unique. A 2012 study found that more than 2000 individuals had been convicted and then exonerated of serious crimes since 1989. Mere weeks before Burgess’ release, another study found that exonerations in the U.S. have reached a record high—though an increasing number are linked to false confessions induced by plea bargains, rather than DNA evidence. Most disturbingly, a recent analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that nearly one in twenty convictions in capital cases are wrongful – meaning that around 120 of the 3000 individuals on death row are innocent. As one panelist noted, “you have to think twice about the death penalty itself…when a case like this makes its way through the system.” Attorneys who worked on the case urged audience members to find ways to become involved with exoneration work (or with any pro bono cause that speaks to their passions). To learn more about the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and identify opportunities to volunteer, click here.

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