Photo: Introduction Of Panel Participants; 3 Panelists Seating And Moderator Standing

Pro Bono in Protest: Protecting First Amendment Freedoms in the District

D.C. hosts over 2,000 protests a year.  This unique landscape gives local lawyers an amazing chance to protect democracy and uphold the First Amendment. To highlight and promote pro bono opportunities in this exciting area, the Washington Council of Lawyers hosted Pro Bono in Protest: Protecting First Amendment Freedoms in the District on October 22, 2019 at Steptoe & Johnson, with co-sponsorship from the American Constitution Society, the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Washington, DC, and the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association.
Photo: Ujima Panelists Megan Simmons, Dr. Jamila Perritt And Jessica Pinckney

Discussing Black Maternal Health and Domestic Violence

Every year, pregnancy-related complications kill about 700 women. That’s bad enough, but the racial disparity makes it even worse: Compared to white women, black women are three times more likely to die because of pregnancy. Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community wants more people to learn about this gap and, more generally, that too many black women and black babies suffer avoidable deaths. Ujima provides culturally specific services and resources about domestic, sexual, and community violence. Says its Executive Director, Gretta Gardner, "We hope to bring awareness that will spur conversations in the community about how we have to rely on each other to reduce harm and raise awareness instead of relying solely on systems and institutions." So two weeks ago (on Monday, October 14), Ujima held an event at Busboys and Poets in Anacostia to discuss black maternal health and how it relates to domestic violence. The program was one of over thirty District events held in October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Moderated by Ujima Senior Policy Attorney Megan Simmons, the panel featured two reproductive-rights leaders: Dr. Jamila Perritt (a local OBGYN and member of the District's Maternal Mortality Review Committee) and Jessica Pinckney (Vice President of Government Affairs at In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda). The panelists were blunt about the relationship between domestic violence and maternal health. "Many folks who will someday become pregnant or potentially become mothers or parents have often experienced some type of abuse or violence in their life," said Pinckney. And "there is no way to separate the trauma or that experience from both the experience of being pregnant and the experience of being a parent." In fighting these problems, the panelists stressed, there's no substitute for knowing about reproductive justice and its history. As Dr. Perritt explained, "If you don’t understand reproductive justice, you will continue to see inequities." And, she added, "you can’t understand the inequalities with medical care unless you understand the history." Because of this history, for instance, some African-Americans distrust medical professionals; that distrust can affect the quality of care delivered and received. As a result, doctors and other medical providers need to ask better questions to learn whether someone is a victim of violence: "You have to ask if something is going on." Unfortunately, quite a bit is going on. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, last year District domestic-violence organizations served an average of 589 victims—each day. Bit by bit, groups like Ujima are working to change that. Learn more about Ujima, Inc. here.

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Pro Bono Week 2019: Paul Thompson – Appellate Pro Bono

Paul Thompson, a partner with McDermott Will & Emery LLP, is a very successful, well-known appellate lawyer. Despite his busy practice, he regularly uses his skills and experience to advocate on behalf of pro bono clients. He handles a wide-range of appeals on behalf of pro bono clients and is a frequent author of amicus briefs.  Two of his most noteworthy efforts this year highlight Paul's commitment to pro bono.
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Pro Bono Week Profiles 2019: Jane Garrido – Making Housing Vouchers Work

Voucher discrimination is rampant in DC.  Every day, new apartment ads are posted online that say no vouchers, and every day people are illegally rejected from housing because a landlord does not want to accept vouchers.  This problem is so widespread and so harmful that it demanded the attention of Neighborhood Legal Services Program.  Once we started working on it, we quickly realized the significant impact pro bono attorneys could have. In 2017, NLSP piloted the idea of collaborating with government pro bono volunteers to file Office of Human Rights (OHR) complaints against landlords who turned people away from housing because they had vouchers. Jane Garrido was one of the first pro bono attorneys to file an OHR complaint on behalf of someone experiencing voucher discrimination.  She and one of her colleagues at the Department of Labor helped a man who was experiencing homelessness to navigate the OHR process and to demand justice from the landlord who had rejected him illegally. After that first experience, Jane came back for more. And kept coming back!

Volunteer at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center’s Advice & Referral Clinic (November 2019)

DC Pro Bono Week may have ended, but the need for volunteers to provide legal help to those in our community is non-stop!  Volunteer with us on Saturday, November 9, at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center's Advice & Referral Clinic. At the clinic, you'll provide brief advice (and referrals) to people who otherwise wouldn't have access to legal help. We meet at Bread for the City (1640 Good Hope Road SE). Parking is available. A brief orientation (with bagels and coffee) takes place at 9:30 am, and volunteers are asked to stay until the last client is seen, usually at around 2:30 pm. There's no time commitment beyond the clinic itself. As a volunteer attorney, you'll answer questions about consumer law, family law, housing law, public benefits, bankruptcy, and other topics. You don't need to be an expert in these areas of law: D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center staff and expert mentors will be on hand to help. You do need to be a member of the D.C. Bar, or a federal government attorney barred in another state to participate. Once you register to attend, our volunteer coordinator, Sébastien Monzón Rueda, will be in touch with additional details.

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Pro Bono Week 2019: Tammy Hui – Inspired by the Entrepreneurial Spirit

For Tammy Hui, a volunteer with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center's Small Business Legal Assistance Program, entrepreneurship is in her blood.  Tammy is a native of Edmonton, the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta, where she grew up as the daughter of a general contractor father and the niece of automotive shop owners and restauranteurs.  "That's what attracted me to business owners, that entrepreneurial spirit,” she says.  “Folks who are willing to make huge leaps without any protection.  I'm drawn to helping those people as best I can."
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Pro Bono Week 2019: Karen Zacharia – Prioritizing Pro Bono

"Busy." It seems this one word has become an increasingly acceptable answer any time a friend or colleague asks "How are you?" As Chief Privacy Officer of Verizon, Karen Zacharia would be justified in doing this. But she won't. Not unless you ask her outright. And she is never too busy for pro bono. In a city full of capable, ambitious attorneys eager to prove how busy they are by commiserating about outlandish deadlines and skipped meals, Karen, sets an example by finding time to do pro bono work and encouraging others to do the same. "I recently heard someone use the phrase 'ruthless prioritization.'" She says. "That phrase very aptly describes how I manage my time.  I determine what is most important for me professionally and personally and try to focus on those items as much as possible.  I appreciate how fortunate I am, and it has always been important to me to try to 'give back' to others."
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Pro Bono Week 2019 Profile: Bez Stern – Representing Unaccompanied Children

In recent years, the complexities of immigration advocacy have dominated headlines and galvanized the legal field.  Representing unaccompanied children is a uniquely difficult task due to fear within the immigrant community, mistrust of legal and immigration systems, and challenges like family separation and increased barriers to relief.  Children come to the United States fleeing horrific violence, severe abuse, deep poverty, gangs and other unimaginable harm. As the number of unaccompanied minors entering the United States rises, so does the need for quality representation of these children in their immigration cases. Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) recruits child-friendly pro bono attorneys to take on this important casework and KIND’s Washington, D.C. office was fortunate to find Bezalel Stern, Special Counsel at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

Best Practices in Pro Bono: Civil Legal Need in the District

Our November Best Practices in Pro Bono features a conversation with Nancy Drane, Executive Director of the DC Access to Justice Commission, previewing some highlights of the Commission’s forthcoming report, Delivering Justice: Addressing Civil Legal Needs in the District of Columbia. Nancy will focus on some of what the Commission learned about civil legal needs in our community, the progress we've made, and what the future may hold. How has the civil legal services community innovated, adapted, and changed since the last Legal Needs Report was issued in 2008?  What new areas of need have emerged? What are some of the barriers that low- and moderate-income District residents still face? What is the role of pro bono in moving the needle on our local legal needs? What might be some of the next frontiers in access to justice in the District? Breakfast and networking take place from 8:45-9:00 am. The conversation, facilitated by Lise Adams of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, takes place from 9:00-10:15 am. Thank you to Fried Frank for hosting! Best Practices in Pro Bono is open to pro bono coordinators at law firms, legal services organizations, government agencies, and in-house legal departments. We hope you will join us on Thursday, November 7 – first, to get your morning caffeine buzz, and then, to hear all the buzz about the Commission’s report.

Maryam Casbarro And Client Facing Forward And Smiling

Pro Bono Week 2019 Profile: Maryam Casbarro – Empowering Domestic Violence Survivors

Maryam Casbarro immigrated to the United States from Ghana with her parents when she was a young girl.  She recalls how after her family settled in the Bronx, NY, her parents "regularly engaged in community service and were active in their local African immigrant community."  In particular, Maryam recounts how her parents invited several newly immigrated women who were facing domestic violence in their own homes to stay with her family. "Overhearing the discussions between my mother and these women, I was moved by their experiences," Maryam said.  "Immigrant survivors can feel even more vulnerable being in a new country and often are unaware of the resources available to them.  It didn’t matter how well educated or highly regarded these women may have been in their home countries.  When experiencing domestic violence, they needed help." Maryam's early exposure to the impact of domestic violence has had a profound impact on her and has guided her pro bono practice as she has forged her professional career.
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