WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF LAWYERS

America is known as a nation of immigrants. It is a country that prides itself on being a melting pot and for welcoming people from many different countries, races, and religions, all hoping to find freedom, new opportunities, and a better way of life.  A Conversation With Kids About Immigrants and Fairness was an event hosted by Washington Council of Lawyers on October 27, 2020, to talk to younger children about why people come to America, the challenges they face, the injustices they overcome, and what lawyers can do to assist the immigrant community.

Meeting clients where they are at is one of the most essential lawyering skills, made only more essential in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. On Monday, October 26, 2020, as part of DC Pro Bono Week 2020, the Washington Council of Lawyers hosted Coding Justice, a panel discussion on how to best serve clients remotely and keep them engaged. 

There is a tremendous need for pro bono service in the District and there is a myriad of opportunities to get involved and make a direct impact in our community. On Monday, October 26, 2020, the Washington Council of Lawyers kicked off DC's Annual Pro Bono Week with the Chief Judges of the D.C. Courts, inspiring pro bono lawyers, and pivotal information about ways to help those in our community address legal needs.

Racial segregation persists in America. On Tuesday, October 20, the Washington Council of Lawyers sponsors a timely discussion among a panel of experts examining both the historical and the present dimensions of racial segregation in housing. Specifically, the panelists discussed the myriad ways federal, state, and local policies have promoted structural racial inequality in education, public health, voting, criminal justice, and more.

The numbers are shocking. Within two weeks of Mayor Bowser declaring a public health emergency back in mid-March, nearly 28,000 District of Columbia workers had filed claims for unemployment insurance (UI) – more claims than had been filed in the entire previous fiscal year.  And that was just the beginning.  As of September 22, more than 145,000 jobless workers have filed UI claims in the District, a historic wave of unemployment. In response, Legal Aid has mobilized significant internal and pro bono resources to meet the increased need for legal help. A team from Arnold & Porter stepped up to provide significant assistance in the effort to protect these workers.

Since joining Legal Counsel for the Elderly's Advisory Board five years ago, Arnold & Porter Partner Daniel Cantor has zealously defended D.C. seniors with limited means from eviction and homelessness. His exemplary pro bono work has resulted in life-changing victories that enabled his clients to stay in their homes.

Brad Guest volunteers his time to support D.C.'s small businesses because for the clients "this is often their life's dream, something they've poured their time and energy into often exclusively for a long time. Receiving pro bono legal advice may be the only opportunity for these individuals to get answers to questions that could not only impact their business, but also their personal risk and liability."

Join us for the first of this year's three-part Racial Justice Series examining institutional racism and how to advocate for real and lasting change for our clients.  At our first event, our panel will examine both the history and the present reality of housing segregation and how federal, state, and local policies have affected and advanced systems of structural racial inequality in education, public health, voting, criminal justice, and more.

In December 2018, residents across the District were preparing for the holidays and enjoying the comfort of their warm homes. However, for those living in a Brightwood Park apartment complex, a fire broke out leaving six families without a place to call home. The children who lost their homes in the fire that night were not only traumatized – their health had been endangered by unsafe housing. Children's Law Center attorneys and investigators, led by Senior Supervising Attorney Kathy Zeisel, filed a complaint and secured temporary Red Cross shelter for the six families. But in an atypical moment for our organization, we brought in Williams & Connolly to co-counsel, knowing that an unusual case this size needed pro bono help from a team of fierce civil litigators. That team included firm associates Tracey A. Fung, Michaela Wilkes Klein and Tony Sheh, with partner Andy Keyes providing support and supervision.

Kristin Whidby is not a typical senior litigation associate. She handles complex IP, real estate, and securities litigation matters for a wide range of clients, but she does much more. She's also the mother of four young children, and in recent months has added the demands of managing remote learning to her other parental responsibilities. On top of all that, Kristin has continued to be an active volunteer for the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, providing direct representation to clients and serving on its Junior Board.

DV LEAP is fortunate to work with so many pro bono attorneys who make our work on behalf of family violence survivors possible. Each brings unique skills and commitment to our cases; each makes a critical difference in survivors' lives. Jennifer Swize, however, stands out for the breadth of the impact she has made—on both our clients and DV LEAP as a whole.

Anam Rahman was instilled with the values of philanthropy, altruism, and empathy from a young age. As a fluent Spanish speaker, Anam has been volunteering at D.C.-based immigration clinics like the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center's Immigration Legal Advice & Referral Clinic and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.'s Board of Immigration Appeals Pro Bono Project for years. "Finding the time to volunteer and do pro bono work reminds me of why I became an immigration attorney in the first place: to help people and families," Anam said.

Globally, 2020 has been a difficult year and the immigration legal field has been no exception. Changes, such as new asylum rules, attempts to raise fees and alter filing procedures, and developments in case law, have made an already complex area of law much harder to navigate. The majority of unaccompanied children lack representation in their immigration cases. Representing unaccompanied immigrant children can be complicated, as the majority of these children come to the United States after surviving trauma and leaving families and communities behind to seek safety from unthinkable situations. Further, these children are placed in removal proceedings with no guaranteed access to counsel or an adult to speak on their behalf. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to add further stress on this already vulnerable population, as low-income living and working circumstances increase the risk of contracting the virus, children lose access to supports in educational settings, caretakers are unemployed, and community supports are more difficult to access. Ellen Bass has come out of retirement to help these children find peace and safety.

Two of CAIR Coalition's longstanding pro bono partners, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, recently collaborated with each other and CAIR Coalition to profoundly change the life of a young Honduran child whom the government-held for nearly a year in prolonged immigration detention. In doing so, their teams of talented attorneys advanced cutting-edge litigation that will help many similarly situated children.

D.C. Court of Appeals decisions at the D.C. Consortium meeting held on Thursday, October 1, 2020. You can view the video of Jonathan's presentation and the PowerPoint presentation slides here.

Shea Hazel joins the Washington Council of Lawyers as our virtual intern this fall.  Shea is from Boston, Massachusetts, and will proudly graduate UMass Law in May 2021.  She is a UMass Law Public Interest Law Fellow, Advisor to the Veterans Law Association, Vice President of the International Law Students Association, and a member of this year’s Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition team. Shea serves in the United States Air Force Reserve in Washington, D.C.