Kathi Westcott, Deputy General Counsel and Senior Director, Legal Affairs, at The Pew Charitable Trusts, is a stellar example of an in-house lawyer who both personally performs pro bono work and advocates among her corporate counsel peers that all lawyers and in-house departments should engage in providing free legal services to neighbors in need.

Kathi’s personal pro bono commitment is long-standing with Whitman-Walker Health (WWH). She has personally provided pro bono services to WWH legal clients since at least 2012. Kathi has volunteered for many years at the Program’s Medicare Part D clinics, where pro bono lawyers assist clients’ efforts to secure public benefits for prescription drugs. Kathi also guided a partnership between the Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region (ACC-NCR) and WWH that has resulted in numerous successful co-hosted Name and Gender Change clinics, including clinics in Virginia and Maryland that served clients located outside D.C. and expanded the reach of Whitman-Walker Health’s legal services program.

Most recently, Kathi represented a transgender WWH legal client whose employer-sponsored health plan refused to pay for medically necessary care related to the client’s transition. Kathi established trust with the client and reassured the client that the case would be handled carefully to avoid retaliation or breaches of medical privacy. Kathi’s advocacy with the employer and insurer resulted in a positive outcome for the client and a change in plan coverage rules for the coming year. Kathi’s work changed the client’s life and empowered the client to be her true self.

Not only is Kathi dedicated to personal pro bono, she is a champion for pro bono service amongst her corporate counsel peers. Through her leadership roles with ACC-NCR, she has been a remarkable leader whose passion for access to justice, commitment to pro bono, and time and dedication have led to the aforementioned long-term collaboration with Whitman-Walker Health Legal Services (including securing funding through the ACC Foundation to provide funds for transportation and filing fees to WWH clients), an ongoing partnership with Washington Council of Lawyers to host pro bono educational programs and legal services organization fairs, and a robust and active pro bono committee that hosts multiple clinics each year with Whitman-Walker, Maryland Legal Aid, Northern Virginia Legal Services, and the DC Bar Pro Bono Center. Kathi has worked tirelessly to expand opportunities in the legal profession to all, through her active leadership of the National Capital Region Chapter’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and many other initiatives. Kathi is a visionary leader who has shown a remarkable commitment to justice in our legal community.

She is a force multiplier, not only providing legal services directly to clients, but encouraging and inspiring others to do so as well. We are thrilled to recognize Kathi Wescott with our 2024 Justice Impact Awards Corporate Legal Department award.